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AIR DISASTERS D E A D LY S T O R M S E A RT H Q U A K E S E N V I R O N M E N TA L D I S A S T E R S
SADDLEBACK PUBLISHING, INC.
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MOUNTAIN DISASTERS
FIRES M O U N TA I N D I S A S T E R S SEA DISASTERS S PA C E D I S A S T E R S TERRORISM VOLCANOES
Saddleback E-Book
D I S A S T E R S • M O U N TA I N D I S A S T E R S
Even expert mountain climbers face danger and risk. Some of these risks result from human negligence; others are due to the weather or other uncontrollable factors. Accidents and their aftermath on the Eiger, Mount Everest, Mount Hood, Siula Grande, and Denali are analyzed in these accounts of bravery at the top of the world.
ANN WEIL WEIL
MOUNTAIN DISASTERS
ANN WEIL
Air Disasters Deadly Storms Earthquakes Environmental Disasters Fires Mountain Disasters Sea Disasters Space Disasters Terrorism Volcanoes Development: Kent Publishing Services, Inc. Design and Production: Signature Design Group, Inc. SADDLEBACK EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING Three Watson Irvine, CA 92618-2767 E-Mail:
[email protected] Website: www.sdlback.com Photo Credits: page 11, Mountain Camera Picture Library; page 22, Bettmann/Corbis; page 42, Craig Tuttle/Corbis; page 55, Hubert Stadler Copyright © 2004 by Saddleback Educational Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher. ISBN 1-56254-658-9 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 08 07 06 05 04 03
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2 The Eiger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3 Mount Everest, 1996 . . . . . . . . . 18 4 Mount Hood, 1986 . . . . . . . . . . 32 5 Siula Grande, 1985 . . . . . . . . . 48 6 Denali, 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
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Chapter
Introduction
DATAFILE TIMELINE June 1924 Climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine are lost on Everest. May 2, 1999 Climbers find the frozen body of George Mallory. Where is France?
FRANCE
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DID YOU KNOW? The sport of mountaineering began on Mont Blanc, a mountain in France. Mountaineers climbed Mont Blanc in 1786. It was the first time in recorded history that climbers had reached the top.
KEY TERMS mountaineering - the sport of mountain climbing
avalanche - a huge amount of rock or snow that falls swiftly down a mountain
Everest - the highest mountain in the world
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Chapter One: Introduction
Many people like climbing mountains. There are parks with trails up mountains. These trails are well marked. That way, people don’t get lost. Climbing a mountain like this is a great day trip for families. The view from the top is wonderful. People started climbing mountains for fun in the late 1700s. But people had climbed mountains before then. People hunted animals for food in the mountains. Sometimes they lived in the mountains to protect themselves from enemies.
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Mountaineering The sport of mountain climbing is called mountaineering. People all over the world enjoy mountaineering. They feel proud of themselves when they reach the top of a mountain. Climbing very high mountains requires a lot of planning. Most tall mountains are covered with snow and ice. This type of mountaineering requires special equipment. Mountaineers need extra warm clothes. It can get very cold up high in the mountains. They also use ropes. Sometimes they tie themselves to each other. Climbers often fall. Many times, the fall isn’t serious. Sometimes, though, a climber can slide a long distance. If climbers are roped together, the other climber can stop the slide. 7
Equipment Makes a Difference Climbers also attach ropes to the side of the mountain. People can hold onto these ropes as they climb. This makes climbing easier and safer. Good equipment is necessary. Still, it does not protect climbers from every danger. Mountaineering can be very risky. Many climbers die trying to reach the tops of very high mountains.
The Risks Some of the risks have to do with the weather. It can get very windy on tops of high mountains. Strong winds can blow climbers off their feet. A gust of wind can even blow a climber off the side of a mountain. A sudden avalanche can bury climbers under tons of ice and snow.
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Storms can appear with little notice. It’s easy to get lost during a bad snowstorm. The snow makes it difficult to see. Climbers stuck on a mountain during a storm can freeze to death. Many mountaineers have died this way. Sometimes their bodies are never found. They are buried underneath the snow and ice.
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“Because it is there.” In 1999, climbers on Everest looked for the bodies of George Mallory and Andrew Irvine. They did not find Irvine. But they did find Mallory. He had been dead for 75 years. His body was frozen in the ice and snow near the top of the highest mountain on Earth. Mallory and Irvine were lost on Everest in 1924. They were trying to reach the top. Did they make it to the top before they died? No one knows for sure. It is one of the great mountaineering mysteries.
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Mallory gave an interview before he set out for Everest. A reporter asked Mallory why he wanted to climb Everest. Mallory’s answer became famous. He said, “Because it is there.”
Mallory and his expedition team
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Chapter
The Eiger
DATAFILE TIMELINE July 1936 Four climbers die trying to climb the Eiger, a mountain in the Swiss Alps. 1957 Four climbers try to climb the Eiger. One survives. Where are the Swiss Alps?
ALPS
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DID YOU KNOW? Eiger means “ogre” in German. This monster of a mountain became famous in the 1930s when many climbers died trying to reach the top.
KEY TERMS Swiss Alps - a mountain range in Switzerland
fixed rope - a rope anchored in place to help a person move over a difficult area
summit - the top of a mountain
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Chapter Two: Eiger
Eiger is a mountain in the Swiss Alps. It is not a very high mountain. However, small mountains can still be deadly. The north side of the Eiger was known as “the death wall.” In 1935, two climbers died trying to climb it. They were caught in a bad storm. They disappeared. Three weeks later, someone saw their bodies from an airplane. The following year, another group of climbers came to the Eiger. They were determined to succeed where other climbers before them had failed.
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1936: Disaster on Eiger In July 1936, four men set out to climb the Eiger. Hinterstoisser made it over the death wall. He left a fixed rope behind him. The others used the rope to help them get across. Then Hinterstoisser made a deadly mistake. He pulled the rope in after him. A bad storm hit the climbers. They were forced to go down. However, the fixed rope they needed was no longer there. They could not get down. The four men were trapped on the mountain. None of them survived. Reiner froze to death. Hinterstoisser fell off the mountain. Angerer was strangled by a rope. He was trying to lower himself off the mountain. Kurz died of cold and starvation just as the rescue team arrived. 15
Getting the dead men off the mountain was very difficult. Kurz’s body hung from ropes for months. People staying at a hotel near the bottom of the mountain could see it. Finally, Kurz’s body was cut down.
Double Trouble on Eiger, 1957 The Eiger continued to take lives after the 1936 disaster. In 1957, two pairs of climbers met on the mountain. The four men decided to climb together. One pair was from Italy. The other was from Germany. There was a rock fall. The two Italian climbers were too tired to go on. They were trapped on the mountain. The Italians waited for help. A rescue team finally made it. However, they
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were too late to save one of the climbers. His dead body hung from ropes tied to the side of the mountain. The other Italian climber was luckier. More than 30 climbers from all over Europe came to help. They figured out a way to get the remaining Italian climber down alive. The two German climbers had continued on to the top. They made it to the summit. But they did not come down alive. No one knows for sure how they died. They might have been crushed by an avalanche. Their bodies were not found till years later.
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Mount Everest, 1996
DATAFILE TIMELINE May 29, 1953 Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reach the summit of Mount Everest. May 10, 1996 Tour guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer die on Mount Everest while staying with climbers on their tours. Where is Mount Everest?
EVEREST
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DID YOU KNOW? The Sherpa people live near Mount Everest. Their bodies are used to the thin air in the mountains. Climbers usually hire Sherpas to help them carry heavy loads up the mountain.
KEY TERMS willpower - strength of mind oxygen tank - a container with oxygen in it. Climbers use it to breathe on the mountain. client - a customer whiteout - a blizzard that reduces visibility to nothing
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Chapter Three: Mount Everest, 1996
Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. Standing on top of Everest is truly standing on top of the world. Many people have climbed Everest. Some are trained mountaineers. Others are just ordinary people. People do not need superhuman strength to get to the top of Everest. They do need willpower, special equipment, and good luck.
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, 1953 In 1953, two men made it to the top of Everest. Their victory was celebrated all over the world. 20
Getting to the Top Climbing the highest mountain on Earth is very hard work. It is also risky. Many climbers have died on the mountain. Still, climbing Everest is popular. Since 1953, more than 1,500 men and women have stood on top of Everest. Many of them are not experienced climbers. They would not be able to climb Everest by themselves. They pay a guide to take them to the top. Tour companies take people up the highest mountain in the world. They bring the equipment. They hire people to carry loads up the mountain. It is very expensive to climb Everest. Some people pay more than $65,000 for the chance to reach the summit.
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Guides help the paying climbers get up the mountain and back down again. Still, the best guides can’t guarantee a safe return for everyone, not even for themselves.
Hillary and Norgay
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May 10, 1996 In May 1996, several climbing groups were making their way up Everest. They started at base camp. Over the next few days, they climbed to higher camps. The best time to climb Everest is early May. There are a lot of people who want to climb the mountain. They all want to go on the best possible day. Some days there are more than 30 people trying for the summit. In many places they must go up in single file. People must wait their turn in the freezing cold. This makes the climb more difficult and more dangerous. On May 10, 1996, the weather looked good. More than fifty climbers were hoping to reach the summit that day. One group was led by a New Zealand guide named Rob Hall.
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An American named Scott Fischer led another. There were other groups on the mountain that day, too. All of them had the same dream: to make it to the summit. The large number of climbers created a traffic jam. Many of them had to wait their turn to use some of the fixed ropes. Waiting in the freezing cold is no rest period. The climbers were using up their oxygen, but getting nowhere. They had to wait again in places where the ropes had not been put up. These delays made them very late getting to the summit. Some climbers turned back before reaching the top. They did not think they would have time to get to the top and back down safely. Hall and Fischer wanted to get their people to the top. Their climbers had 24
paid a lot of money. It would be bad for business if they did not reach the summit. However, making it to the top is only half the battle. Getting down safely is the other half. Many climbers made it to the top that day. But some did not make it back to camp alive.
Running Late People need oxygen to live. There is very little oxygen above 25,000 feet. The summit is more than 29,000 feet above sea level. Most people who climb Everest carry oxygen tanks in their packs. They breathe extra oxygen through a special mask. People get tired more quickly if they do not breathe enough oxygen. Climbing Everest is a tremendous physical challenge. It’s very difficult even with extra oxygen. Most climbers could not do the climb at all without it. 225
Oxygen tanks are heavy. Climbers don’t want to carry any more weight than necessary. The delays meant that everyone was running out of extra oxygen too early. Lack of oxygen affects the brain. It makes it very difficult to think clearly. Climbers need to make life and death decisions while climbing. This is almost impossible without extra oxygen. The delays getting up to the top meant that many climbers were running out of oxygen too soon. Most of them had been climbing for more than 12 hours before they reached the summit. It was a long and dangerous trip back down to their camp. Most guides turned their climbers back by about 2 P.M. That gave them enough time to get back down to camp while it was still light.
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Some climbers were very close to the top at that time. It was a very difficult choice. Turning back meant the end of their dream. They would not reach the summit. Some climbers had already reached the summit by 2 P.M. that day. They were on their way back down to camp. However, Rob Hall and Scott Fischer were still climbing up after 2 P.M. Both guides were staying with the slow climbers in their group. It’s easy to look back after a disaster and know the right choice to make. At the time, though, it is not so easy. Neither Hall nor Fischer knew a storm was about to hit them, and that they would die on the mountain along with some of their climbers.
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Calls for Help Rob Hall waited for his slowest climber to reach the top of Everest. Then the two men headed back down the mountain together. At about 4:30 P.M., the climber ran out of oxygen. He was too tired to move. Hall used his radio to call for help. He asked someone to bring up more oxygen. No oxygen arrived. Hall would not leave his client. He could have saved himself. He chose to stay instead. Fischer also spent the night on Everest trying to help another climber. By the time a rescue team arrived, Fischer was almost dead. The rescue team could not carry him down. They tried to save the
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A memorial to guide, Scott Fischer, who perished in the deadly 1996 Everest climb.
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other man instead.
A Terrible Night Other climbers were freezing to death very close to camp. They were caught in the storm. It was a whiteout. They could not see which way to go. They huddled together to wait for help. Help did arrive. But it was too late for some of the climbers. They were already frozen. Hall and Fischer died along with six other climbers in their groups. Four other climbers died that month. It was Everest’s deadliest season ever.
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Mount Everest is 29,035 ft. (8,850 m.) tall.
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Chapter
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Mount Hood, 1986
DATAFILE TIMELINE May 1986 Seven students and two teachers die while caught in a snow storm on Mount Hood. May 2002 Three climbers die in the Bergschrund crevasse on Mount Hood. Where is Mount Hood? MOUNT HOOD
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DID YOU KNOW? The Bergschrund crevasse is about 800 feet below the summit of Mount Hood.
KEY TERMS snow blind - a condition that makes it difficult to see because of the huge amounts of snow ice cave - a cave built beneath the snow and ice crevasse - a deep crack in the ice frostbite - injury to parts of the body after being exposed to the severe cold
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Chapter Four: Mount Hood, 1986
Mount Hood is a sleeping volcano near Portland, Oregon. It has not erupted since 1865. However, a sleeping volcano can still be deadly. The mountain’s worst climbing disaster happened in 1986. It began as a school trip. It ended in death for seven students and two teachers.
Day One: Monday, May 12, 1986 A school group started up Mount Hood early in the morning. They left Timberline Lodge at the base of the mountain.
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Their plan was to climb all the way to the top. They expected to get back down around six o’clock in the evening. The weather report for the day was not good. A storm was coming. It was already cold and windy. The top of the mountain was hidden in the clouds. Other trips up the mountain were cancelled because of the weather report. The teacher in charge of the school group did not want to cancel the climb. It would have been difficult to go another day. So, the school group went up anyway. The group was from a small private school. This was the 36th year students had climbed Mount Hood. The climb was part of their school wilderness program.
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There were fifteen teenagers and five adults in the group. Two of the adults were expert climbers. Two were teachers. The fifth adult was a parent. After a few hours, five of the students and the parent turned back. Some of them felt sick from being so high up. It was too cold and too wet for them. The others continued on toward the top. Then one of the climbing experts had to go down. He was snow blind. The rest of the group kept going. The group got almost all the way to the top. Then they decided to turn around. The weather had turned nasty. The storm had arrived as predicted. One of the students was so cold he could barely walk. The trip had turned into a nightmare.
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Snow fell fast and hard. The group was stuck on the mountain in the storm. It was a whiteout. The ground and the sky looked the same. The group dug an ice cave. There was only one snow shovel. Most of them worked by hand. It took about two hours of hard work. However, the cave was too small. All of them could not fit inside. They took turns. Some of them stayed outside in the storm while others tried to get some sleep inside the cave. It was cold and wet inside the snow cave. The students were all very scared. A few of them slept a little. Some of them cried. They wondered if they’d ever see their parents again. Back down the mountain, the students who had turned back that morning waited in the lodge. They looked up 37
the mountain for their friends and teachers. They did not see them. Instead, they watched the mountain disappear under clouds. Six o’clock came and went. They knew their friends and teachers were in trouble. But there was nothing they could do. The storm made it impossible to go rescue them that night. It was too cold and windy.
Day Two: Tuesday, May 13, 1986 The storm continued through the night and into the morning. The ice cave kept everyone alive. The remaining expert climber decided to walk down through the storm. A 17-year-old student went with him. The two hiked through the storm for 16 hours. The storm was still raging. They were knocked over by gusts of
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wind. They got up and continued. Their lives depended on it. So did the lives of the others still on the mountain. Finally they came to a ski area at the bottom of the mountain. They were safe. They knew that they were lucky to have made it down the mountain alive. They also knew that those still on the mountain were slowly freezing to death. That same day, three other students also left the cave. They were going to try to get help, too. They were not so lucky.
Day Three: Wednesday, May 14, 1986 Those three students were found about halfway down the mountain. Their bodies were almost frozen. Normal body temperature is 98.6˚ F. Their bodies were about 45˚ F.
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No one wanted to give up hope. The frozen teens were flown to a nearby hospital. Doctors there tried to save them. They slowly warmed the bodies. Despite their best efforts, the doctors could not save them. All three students died later in the day. Meanwhile, the search for the ice cave continued. A helicopter flew through the storm. The expert climber who spent one night in the ice cave was inside the helicopter. He told the helicopter where to go. The helicopter passed over the area where he thought the ice cave should be. However, they could not find the cave. New snow from the storm had covered it up. Helicopters make a lot of noise. The people inside the helicopter hoped someone inside the cave would hear them. 40
They hoped one of the students or teachers would come out of the cave and wave at them. But no one did. Those still alive inside the cave were too weak to move. The cold was freezing the life from their bodies as the search continued.
Day Four: Thursday, May 15, 1986 The families of the missing students had gathered at the base of the mountain. They waited inside the lodge. The storm was finally ending. The rescue team found the cave. It was buried under four feet of snow. The rescuers looked for signs of life. Two of the teenagers were still alive! Both were flown to the hospital. One made a complete recovery. The other
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Mount Hood
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lived, but his legs were badly frostbitten. The doctors saved his life, but they could not save his legs. The school held a memorial service for the teachers and students who had died on Mount Hood. It was a very sad day. The school stopped its wilderness program.
Second Worst Disaster: May 2002 May 30, 2002, seemed like a perfect day to climb Mount Hood. About 50 people headed for the summit. Some of them got caught up in a horrible accident. The weather that day was fine. Still, it was very icy on the mountain. It had rained recently. Some places were very slick.
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One climber slipped on the ice near the top. He started to slide down the mountain. He was roped to another climber. Climbers often rope together. If one slips, the other can stop the fall. This time it did not work. Instead, both climbers slid down the mountain. Their bodies tumbled down the mountain, out of control. They were going very fast. They knocked over other climbers. The ropes got all tangled up together. Some climbers below saw what was happening. They tried to get out of the way. But they were not quick enough. Nine climbers fell into a deep crack in the snow and ice. This gap is called the Bergschrund crevasse.
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It opens each spring as the winter snow begins to melt. Parts of this crevasse are 10 feet (3 m.) deep. Other parts are more than 30 feet (9 m.) deep.
Close Call for Father-Son Team One climber watched in horror as his 14-year-old son was dragged into the crevasse. The man did not know if his son was killed. The boy and his father were lucky. The boy survived. He was all right. Others in the crevasse were not so fortunate. Three of the climbers died in the crevasse. Four more were very badly hurt.
Dead or Alive? People on the mountain rushed to help. They used ropes to pull the survivors up out of the crevasse. The boy 45
helped put the ropes around the hurt climbers still in the crevasse. The ones who were hurt the most were lifted out first. They were cared for there in the snow.
Helicopter Crash A helicopter arrived a few hours later. It was there to fly the injured climbers to a hospital. One of the hurt climbers was ready to be flown out. The helicopter was about to lift him off the ground. Then the helicopter started to shake. This meant trouble. One of the helicopter crew immediately released the rope to the hurt climber. His quick action probably saved that climber’s life. The helicopter crashed. It rolled about 1,000 feet down the snowy mountain. Incredibly, no one was killed. 46
The pilot had steered it away from the rescue party. If he hadn’t done that, more victims and rescuers could have been killed.
Survivors Later that day, the boy and his father walked down the mountain together. They had survived the second worst disaster on Mount Hood.
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Chapter
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Siula Grande, 1985
DATAFILE TIMELINE January 20, 1985 Ronald Reagan begins his second term as 40th president of the United States. May 1985 Joe Simpson breaks his leg and falls into a crevasse on Siula Grande.
Where is Siula Grande?
SIULA GRANDE
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DID YOU KNOW? Joe Simpson wrote a book about what happened. He dedicated the book to his climbing partner and to “those friends who have gone to the mountains and have not returned.”
KEY TERMS Siula Grande - a mountain in the Andes Mountains of South America
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Chapter Five: Siula Grande, 1985
Mountain climbing is a dangerous sport. Those who choose to do it know they are putting their lives at risk. When they climb together, they trust each other with their lives.
Climbing Partners Joe Simpson and Simon Yates were climbing partners. They were also good friends. They had climbed together many times before. In May 1985, the two men were climbing Siula Grande. Siula Grande is in the Andes Mountains of South America. Joe and Simon chose the most challenging way up. It was a dangerous 50
and difficult climb. They had to get up and over walls of sheer ice. No one had ever reached the top this way. The two made it to the top. Then, as they started back down, Joe fell. He broke his right leg. The knee was very badly hurt. His right heel was shattered. Simon climbed down to Joe. Joe’s leg was useless. He could not walk. Both men knew that Joe’s chances of getting down alive were slim. Still, they were going to try their best. The two roped themselves together. They walked through a snowstorm. Simon carefully lowered Joe down the mountain. Their system seemed to be working. Then Joe fell off an edge. He fell 15 feet. The rope tied to Simon stopped his fall. He was dangling in the air. Below him was a crevasse. 51
There was a wall of ice about 6 feet away. Joe tried to reach it with his ice ax. It was too far away. Joe couldn’t get up. Simon couldn’t get down. He couldn’t pull Joe up either. Worse still, Joe’s weight was pulling Simon off the mountain. Simon wanted to save his partner. However, he knew he couldn’t do it. He had to do something before he was pulled over the edge, too. Simon had only He cut the rope.
one
option.
Alone Simon spent the night on the mountain. In the morning he headed down. He felt terrible. He believed his friend was dead. He might have survived the fall. Still, he would never make it out with his injured leg. 52
It took Simon a couple days to reach their base camp. He was very tired. Parts of his body had frostbite. Worst of all, Simon was sick with guilt and grief. Simon started packing up to go home. It took him several days. Finally he was ready to leave.
Joe’s Alive! Simon was about to leave when Joe crawled into camp. He was starving and frostbitten. But he was alive. Joe had climbed out of the crevasse. He used his arms and his one good leg. He hopped and crawled over snow and ice and rocks. Most people would have died in that crevasse. Joe made the decision to live. He forced himself to keep going through the pain. He refused to give up.
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Joe’s story of near-death and survival was amazing. He wrote about it in a book. There was also a TV show about him. Many people were touched by his strength and courage. He had survived. Maybe they could survive challenges, too.
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The Andes Mountains
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Chapter
Denali, 1992
DATAFILE TIMELINE April 1992 Bosnia declares itself independent from Yugoslavia. This starts a civil war. May 1992 A snow storm hits Denali and kills eleven climbers. Where is Denali? DENALI
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DID YOU KNOW? Denali is also known as Mount McKinley. In 1896, the mountain was named after President William McKinley.
KEY TERMS Denali - the highest mountain in North America
National Park Service - U.S. governmental service that preserves natural land
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Chapter Six: Denali, 1992
The highest mountain in North America is in Alaska. Native Americans named the mountain Denali. Denali means “The Great One.” In 1913, four men stood on the summit of Denali. It was the first time people had climbed to the top. Since then, many climbers have gone for the summit. Bad weather forced some to turn back. Others made it to the top. Some died on the mountain. Denali is now part of a national park. The National Park Service started recording climbing accidents in 1932. Since then, more than 90 people have died on the mountain. 58
Some were crushed under avalanches of snow and ice. Others fell off edges of rock or ice. Some just disappeared. Their bodies were never found. Perhaps the icy crevasses swallowed them up without a trace.
1992 Denali Disaster Denali is known for getting some of the worst weather in the world. Climbers try to be prepared. Many mountaineers survive bad storms. Some do not. In 1992, the worst storm on record slammed into Denali. A group of climbers was more than halfway up the mountain. They had been climbing for nine days. Now they were trapped. Denali had turned deadly once again. It was bitter cold. Winds blew at more than 100 mph. The climbers struggled
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to survive. The storm continued for two terrible weeks. They fought the mountain for their lives. 11 climbers from other groups lost the fight. The storm finally ended. The survivors were lucky to be alive. Then they made an incredible decision. They chose to go up instead of down. They continued their climb to the summit.
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Denali is the tallest mountain in North America at 20,320 ft. (6,194 m.)
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Epilogue In 1958, the Mountain Rescue Association (MRA) was formed in Oregon. The MRA is a national search and rescue (SAR) force. There are MRA search and rescue teams across the United States. Most SAR missions do not involve mountain climbers! SAR teams also search for lost children. They look for missing hikers. They help at the scene of an airplane or helicopter crash. Members of the MRA teams are volunteers. They do not get paid. They just want to save people. With the right skills, anyone can be an MRA volunteer. A volunteer could be a mother, a mechanic, or a doctor, for example. Do you like adventure? Do you like to help people? Maybe you could be a volunteer, too!
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Bibliography Doeden, Matt. Mountaineering Adventures. Dangerous Adventures. Mankato, Minn: Capstone Books, 2001. Platt, Richard. Everest: Reaching the World’s Highest Peak. DK Discoveries. New York: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. Salkeld, Audrey. Mystery on Everest: A Photobiography of George Mallory. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2000. Werther, Scott P. Jon Krakauer’s Adventure on Mt. Everest. Survivor. New York: Children’s Press, 2002.
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Index Angerer, 15 avalanche, 8, 17, 59 crevasse, 44-46, 51-53, 59 Denali, 58-60 Eiger, 14-17 equipment, 7, 8, 20, 21 Fischer, Scott, 24, 27, 28, 30 frostbite, 43, 53 Hall, Rob, 23, 24, 27, 28, 30 Hillary, Edmund, 20 Hinterstoisser, 15 Irvine, Andrew, 10 Kurz, 15, 16 Mallory, George, 10, 11 Mount Everest, 10, 11, 20-30 Mount Hood, 34-47 Norgay, Tenzing, 20 oxygen, 24-26, 28 Reiner, 15 Simpson, Joe, 50-54 Siula Grande, 50-54 whiteout, 30, 37 Yates, Simon, 50-53
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AIR DISASTERS D E A D LY S T O R M S E A RT H Q U A K E S E N V I R O N M E N TA L D I S A S T E R S
SADDLEBACK PUBLISHING, INC.
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MOUNTAIN DISASTERS
FIRES M O U N TA I N D I S A S T E R S SEA DISASTERS S PA C E D I S A S T E R S TERRORISM VOLCANOES
Saddleback E-Book
D I S A S T E R S • M O U N TA I N D I S A S T E R S
Even expert mountain climbers face danger and risk. Some of these risks result from human negligence; others are due to the weather or other uncontrollable factors. Accidents and their aftermath on the Eiger, Mount Everest, Mount Hood, Siula Grande, and Denali are analyzed in these accounts of bravery at the top of the world.
ANN WEIL WEIL
