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It's hard to imagine just how much the height of Everest affects the feasibility of any "normal" infrastructure as a tourist spot. The air density is exceptiona

It's hard to imagine just how much the height of Everest affects the feasibility of any "normal" infrastructure as a tourist spot. The air density is exceptionally thin (so thin that even helicopters cannot climb past a certain point), and the lack of oxygen is literally killing you at a cellular level the longer you're there. I can't even fathom getting building equipment up there to set anything up, and no one could man any of the infrastructure on a long term basis.

ostacke 2y ago
Helicopters can actually fly all the way to the top. (Or rather, one did, once.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Delsalle?wprov=sfti1#Mount_Everest_summit_landing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Delsalle?wprov=sfti1#Mo...
- tim333 2y ago
  Not as far as I know used for supplies. Yaks/Sherpas are cheaper. They do get used for rescues though.
tim333 2y ago
The 'normal infrastructure' stops at about 5200m. On the Nepal side there's a guest house there where you can stay without climbing permits and the stuff get there via human porters or yaks. On the Chinese side there's a road and you can drive a car to base camp and there are some local shop/bar type stuff. Above that in Nepal it's just tents carried by human porters. In China/Tibet there's an advanced base camp which is like a village supplied by yak but without shops/public facilities, just expedition tents. The trek to the 5200m stuff on the Nepal side is a nice trip and cheap once you get to Kathmandu.
BurningFrog 2y ago
The native Tibetan populations have adapted biologically to the low oxygen, which is why the Sherpas are so much better than the rest of us up there. Andean and Ethiopan populations also have separate such mutations of their own. Academic article: https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/46/1/18/661204 https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/46/1/18/661204
- tweetle_beetle 2y ago
  Traditionally Sherpas only make up a small percentage of "native" workers and they they tend to work in more mountaineering adjacent roles (fixing ropes, etc.) which come with more prestige, money and better equipment donations from privileged clients. Grunt work (porters, cooks, etc) is done by migrants from lowlands, on poor wages, with poor equipment and often effectively at higher risk despite not being involved in, for example, summit pushes. They do not benefit from the biological adaptations, nor noble savage mystique payday.

ostacke 2y ago

Helicopters can actually fly all the way to the top. (Or rather, one did, once.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Delsalle?wprov=sfti1#Mount_Everest_summit_landing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didier_Delsalle?wprov=sfti1#Mo...

tim333 2y ago
Not as far as I know used for supplies. Yaks/Sherpas are cheaper. They do get used for rescues though.

tim333 2y ago

The 'normal infrastructure' stops at about 5200m. On the Nepal side there's a guest house there where you can stay without climbing permits and the stuff get there via human porters or yaks. On the Chinese side there's a road and you can drive a car to base camp and there are some local shop/bar type stuff. Above that in Nepal it's just tents carried by human porters. In China/Tibet there's an advanced base camp which is like a village supplied by yak but without shops/public facilities, just expedition tents. The trek to the 5200m stuff on the Nepal side is a nice trip and cheap once you get to Kathmandu.

BurningFrog 2y ago

The native Tibetan populations have adapted biologically to the low oxygen, which is why the Sherpas are so much better than the rest of us up there. Andean and Ethiopan populations also have separate such mutations of their own. Academic article: https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/46/1/18/661204 https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/46/1/18/661204

tweetle_beetle 2y ago
Traditionally Sherpas only make up a small percentage of "native" workers and they they tend to work in more mountaineering adjacent roles (fixing ropes, etc.) which come with more prestige, money and better equipment donations from privileged clients. Grunt work (porters, cooks, etc) is done by migrants from lowlands, on poor wages, with poor equipment and often effectively at higher risk despite not being involved in, for example, summit pushes. They do not benefit from the biological adaptations, nor noble savage mystique payday.