Everest Tragedy Essay

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FROM: ENIFOGHOR KAGHO-OMOMADIA TO: PROF. DAVID ANSIAU DATE: 8th DECEMBER, 2011 RE: THE EVEREST TRAGEDY. 1. Why do you think Rob Hall did not enforce or follow the 2 p.m. turnaround time on the day of the summit push? Having spent majority of his career climbing the mountain, he let arrogance cloud what should have been sound judgment. Rob was also influenced by some external and internal factors. He has so much riding on the completion of the expedition and threw caution to the wind just so he could complete the task There was also the competition factor in play. Rob Hall was looking to outclass Scott Fischer and so he had no intention of stopping as he saw it as defeat to Fischer. He was going on the expedition the same day as his direct rival or competitor so he was bent on performing better than his competitor. The presence of reporters among the clients who paid for the expedition also meant his actions would be published and known by the entire world as such he ignored the guiding principle that had always ensured a safe return for him. People tend to use less of their reasoning when they are being driven by emotions such as arrogance and pride; this was the case with Rob. He had successfully taken 39 climber of various abilities to the top of the mountain and through his personal ability he brought them back safely even with the worst of circumstances. Having this much ability and being perceived as a force to reckon with in the mountain climbing sport, made him feel he was immune to errors and could ignore the guidelines. Another notable point is the fact that the teams were separated and as such there was no exact leadership guiding them. In the case it is stated that Rob arrived the summit at 4pm and 2 hours after some members of the team had arrived there. In fact only six people from the two teams got to the top at 2pm (3 guides
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