Debate rages over Everest dilemma

Mark Inglis's actions were strongly criticised by Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to reach the top of Everest.

Now other climbers and even the prime minister of New Zealand have weighed into the debate.

Mr Inglis says he is "gutted" at the criticism he got and has repeated that there was nothing he could have done.

Mr Inglis was initially the focus of glowing headlines after becoming the first double amputee to reach the summit of the world's highest peak on 15 May.

"The trouble is that at 8,500m it is extremely difficult to keep yourself alive, let alone anyone else... It was like 'What do we do?' We couldn't do anything"
Mark Inglis

But earlier this week he revealed he had passed British climber David Sharp on his way toward the summit. Mr Sharp, who had climbed alone, was in serious trouble after apparently running out of oxygen about 984ft (300m) below the summit as he made his descent.

Mr Inglis said there was nothing he could do for Mr Sharp - who he said "had no oxygen, no proper gloves, things like that" - and that his party was the only one who stopped to try to help.

Mr Sharp was later found dead in a snow cave.

'A human being'

Mr Inglis' actions were criticised by Sir Edmund, who in 1953 conquered Everest's summit with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.

"I don't think it matters a damn whether it's a member of another party - if he'd been a Swiss or from Timbuktu or whatever - that didn't matter, he was a human being and we would regard it as our duty to get him back to safety," he said.

Ed Douglas, one of the UK's best-known climbers, told the BBC's PM programme that the issue had triggered intense debate among climbers.

"I think a lot of climbers are very anxious about some of the headlines we've been seeing - climbers presented as an extremely callous bunch, crawling over each other to get to the summit - it's really not like that," he said.

"You don't want to be climbing a mountain and somebody's dying in front of you - but I suppose that people have a great deal invested in climbing Everest these days."

Mr Douglas said there were questions about the management of Everest, which he said was increasingly attracting people with very little experience of climbing and little connection with the sport.

'Ethics changing'

He echoed concerns raised by Sir Edmund over the commercialisation of the mountain, and called for guides and climbers to come together to create "some systems for dealing with situations like this".

Mr Inglis repeated his defence of his actions on Wednesday, saying Mr Sharp had been frozen solid and unable to speak, with the only sign of life some movement in his eyes. He said members of his team had spent time with Mr Sharp, "to no avail".

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark also commented, saying she had "considerable sympathy for what Sir Edmund Hillary has said, but he's probably also reflecting on the fact that ethics around mountaineering may well change over time as well".

RELATED INTERNET LINKS:
Legs on Everest
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites