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Strange how the Guardian published this story about Everest on the annual anniversary of the event which made Everest obsolete as a destination for ultimate cha
by vorg 12y ago
Strange how the Guardian published this story about Everest on the annual anniversary of the event which made Everest obsolete as a destination for ultimate challenges: 8 years after the first ascent of Everest, the first manned spacecraft went into space. And because Gagarin "did it alone" (ignoring support work such as base camp and mission control) instead of with a partner, his achievement wasn't superceded in any way by the moon landing another 8 years later. His solitary orbit around the earth stands as the beckoning event right in the middle of the span of time from 1953 to 1969 when humankind went "higher and further" far faster than at any time before. Whereas ascending Everest is too easy and landing on the moon too difficult, to ride into space and return to Earth all alone will define the pinnacle of achievement for explorers well into the forseeable future, regardless of any effort by the Guardian or Western media to suggest otherwise.
- sukilot 12y agoIgnoring base camp and mission control is extremely arbitrary. Neil Armstrong walked on the moon alone, ignoring the people in the capsule. A dog went into space alone before Gagarin did. Alan Eustace went into space in a suit, while Gagarin was juat in a ship that went to space . if you fiddle with the rules, you can say many things are greater than each other. It's nonsense. All achievements are achievements, you don't need to fight to argue that the Russians had the "best" achievement by inventing qualifiers.
- vorg 12y agoI'm not Russian but actually a New Zealander like one of the first two to walk on top of Everest so the rules I'm using aren't fiddled to promote some predetermined nationalistic outcome but actually lessen the memory of one of my countrymen. If you're an American then maybe you should also look more objectively at the historical importance of the events instead of blindly talking up Armstrong or Eustace.
- StephanTLavavej 12y agoUh, Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon, with Collins in orbit.
- sukilot 12y agoWhy "uh"? Armstrong walked out of the moon lander without anyone carrying him. Aldrin followed. Collins was at "base camp".