The Happiness Quotient Thom Pollard

Thom Pollard dedicated two whole years of your life to a quest on Mount Everest. A quest to solve the mystery of the disappearance of George Mallory and Sandy Irvine in 1924. Imagine that you've poured your heart and soul into a pursuit. And, just as you're on the brink of unraveling the truth...  someone drops a bombshell. They tell you that stepping foot on that mountain means you have a 50 - 50 chance of never coming back down alive. 

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

This is Thom Pollard's firsthand account of being told by Dr. Peter Hackett, the world's foremost authority on altitude physiology, that going back up the mountain could mean certain death.
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*The mountaineering world was turned on its head on May 1, 1999 when the remains of George Mallory was discovered by Conrad Anker at about 26,750 feet or 8153 meters on the vast north face of Everest. When the news got out, it set the mountaineering world  on fire.

In this presentation about the discovery Thom Pollard gives an in-depth firsthand look at what took place on the day he visited the site with Andy Politz, on May 16, 1999. Included is an excerpt from a talk given in Sydney, Australia in November of 2019 to The Australian & New Zealand chapter of the Explorers Club.

*Audio is from Everest Mystery channel on YouTube. Here is the link to that video:
https://youtu.be/bJkA7UNgL1k


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Near the summit of Mount Everest in the death zone on the ridge of the north face there is a shallow cave, known infamously to all who climb there as the location where in 1996 an Indian man named Tsewang Paljor lay down to rest and never got up again. That man is referred to as green boots.

Almost exactly ten years later, on the morning of May 14, 2006 a small team of mountaineers climbing toward the summit were surprised to find another climber seated there, barely alive sitting next to green boots. It was one of the coldest nights of the season. The man in the cave was David Sharp, an English mountaineer who was on his third expedition to Everest.

During the time David Sharp* was sitting in the cave many people passed by, thinking there was nothing they could do to help. News of this reached the outside world and soon an international furor erupted over the death of David Sharp. Even Sir Edmund Hillary weighed in, outraged at the incident.

This is the story of David Sharp.


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"Do you think great expense and risk should be undertaken to remove bodies from Mount Everest?" The Indian government mounted an expensive and risky expedition to retrieve the remains of mountaineers who had perished on Mount Everest the year before. NY Times journalist John Branch tells us about his fascinating story that delves into the significant cultural and social significance of the Hindu families who grieved the loss of their loved ones.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qFQw1Y-2m4c

Deliverance From 27,000 Feet by John Branch:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/12/18/sports/everest-deaths.html

Our sponsor, Musa Masala:
https://musamasala.com

Everest Mystery poll question:
https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxiXLttvZznaGXehZ1IE_iJMCZZJkiTkZO


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Interview with mountaineer Willi Steindl, who witnessed over 70 people stepping over Muhammed Hassan as he lay dying in the Death Zone on K2.

The death of Mohammad Hassan on K2 has sent shockwaves through the mountaineering community. At 2:15Am on July 27 the Pakistani porter fell near the bottleneck at 8200 meters, found hanging upside down more than 5 meters below the path. 
Hassan was a porter with no climbing experience, having risked his life to earn the higher wages paid to high altitude porters, in order to support a sick mother and a family… He was woefully outfitted, lacking a down suit, or proper climbing equipment.  


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My guest today was the FIRST to reach the DEEPEST point of the ocean, known as Challenger Deep. In 1960 US Navy lieutenant Don Walsh and  Swiss oceanographer and explorer Jacques Piccard piloted the bathyscaphe Trieste 35,797 ft BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE SEA, when it
became the first crewed vessel to reach the bottom  the Mariana Trench, the deepest point in Earth's seabed.

My conversation with Don Walsh could not have predicted that such a disaster as the Titan submersible would have taken place. Eerily, Don and I discussed the logistics of preparing a vessel to dive to such depths, the safeguards, the rigorous testing.

Please stick around the the poll question near the end.


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