In reply to TobyA:
> (In reply to Tyler) It is actually a very interesting question though isn't it, because at first i thought "sounds sensible" and "everyone flies into Denali basecamp". But you think, "but how high can the helicopter take you before it is cheating?" On Everest could people be flown over the icefall to avoid that? (Probably not because of the service ceiling of the choppers, but you get my point.)
Beck Weathers and Makalu Gau were helicoptered out from above the Ice Fall in 1996, and I'm sure helicopters have gone higher since then, so it's not impossible. I guess one difference is that Everest has an established Base Camp and the whole Base Camp thing is part of the acclimatisation thing, but it wouldn't surprise me if some guiding companies offer a helicopter to Camp 2 as an option.
But I guess that in itself is one of the differences - helicopters on Everest would just be another part of the overall commercialisation of Everest. Annapurna 4 is never going to suffer from the same onslaught of paying customers, so I'm not sure how far you can push the comparison.
I think it's good that Nick Bullock has taken such efforts to come to his decision. It demonstrates he cares a lot about the way he does things and that the way things are done does in fact matter. I wish him and the team every success.