1996 Mt Everest Disaster focuses on the deaths of several adventurers who attempted to climb to the top of Mount Everest past their turn around time.
The program opens by noting that it was not until the mid-1980's that climbing Mount Everest became a sort of status symbol, despite the fact that die-hard climbing enthusiasts have been scaling Everest for years.
It costs tens of thousands of dollars to acquire the necessary permits and equipment, Forest Sawyer the host, explains, so only the wealthiest adventurers can make the trip to Nepal and up the mountain. Sawyer then proceeds to talk about the people involved in the 1996 mountain climbing trip. Climbing veterans Rob Hall and Scott Fisher, who opened competing businesses as mountain guides and were each leading a team up to the top of the mountain. Sawyer explains that each of the men's teams contained a member of the media, thus making the trip more high profile. Hall's team included "Outdoor Magazine" columnist Jon Krakauer, and Fisher's team included inexperienced climber and Manhattan socialite Sandy Pittman, who was reporting on the climb for ABC News. Sawyer briefly touches on the following idea that a number of people have had since the tragedy happened: if the media had not been present, the two guides might not have push their climbing teams so hard. Sawyer then provides details about the sudden and violent storm that took the climbers by surprise and ultimately took the lives of a number of the climbers. Sawyer interviews Krakauer, who had previously told his story in the successful book "Into Thin Air." Sawyer also talks to Texas businessman Beck Weathers, who managed to escape certain death at least three times on the climb; Weathers is shown recovering from the severe frostbite he suffered and the resultant reconstructive surgery he underwent. Sawyer also talks with David Breashears, a filmmaker who was on the mountain shooting footage for an IMAX movie when he witnessed the carnage on the mountain. Sawyer ends the program with the reflection that people continue to book trips to climb Mount Everest, despite the tragedy.
📼 Mountain Without Mercy: The Everest Story
Turning Point episode (season 4, episode 14)
Forrest Sawyer reports on survivors of a storm on Mount Everest
Air date: April 27, 1997
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