Scott Fischer Was A Respected Mountaineer Known As Mr. Rescue Then He Died Tragically On Mount Everest
Mountain MadnessScott Fischer was known for summiting various mountains without the use of supplemental oxygen.The brutal blizzard on Mount Everest in May 1996 led to the heartbreaking deaths of eight climbers. At the time, the tragedy was named the deadliest day in the mountains history.The snowstorm was deadly even to the most experienced of climbers, including the renowned mountain guide Scott Fischer. The 40-year-old mountaineer was guiding eight clients up the peak of Everest just before the storm hit, and tragically, he never came back down the mountain. He perished near the South Col on May 11, 1996.Throughout his remarkable career, Scott Fischer was known to summit the highest peaks in the world, sometimes doing so without the use of supplemental oxygen. Fischer also founded the guide company Mountain Madness, which is still around today. And he was known for his eagerness to help anyone who needed help while climbing the peaks.But his experience and enthusiasm couldnt save him when disaster struck.Scott Fischers Incredible Climbing CareerWikimedia CommonsScott Fischer in 1984 on Annapurna Fang.Scott Fischer was born on Dec. 24, 1955 and grew up in Michigan and New Jersey. His fascination with mountains began when he was a teenager. He was watching a documentary on the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) with his father. It was enough for Fischer to catch the climbing bug, and that summer, he headed to the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Eventually, he dropped out of high school to become a professional climber. The risks of climbing became apparent to Scott Fischer early on. In 1977, he attended an ice climbing seminar in Utah, where he and the other participants had to scale the frozen Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon. During the climb, his ice axe broke while he was off by himself, climbing a nearly vertical ice formation. Luckily, other climbers were able to get him a new axe, but when he resumed his climb again, the tool popped out of the ice. Fischer fell down hundreds of feet, fortunately only injuring his foot.Fischer began to climb the worlds highest peaks starting in the 1980s. In 1984, Fischer and his fellow climber Wes Krause scaled Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa becoming only the second team to successfully do so. That same year, Fischer, Krause, and Michael Allison created the mountain climbing guide service Mountain Madness. Before long, Fischer would not only be scaling high mountains, but assisting others with their goals as well.Mountain MadnessScott Fischer in the Mountain Madness office.Mountain Madness was designed for some of the most adventurous climbers and travelers. Fischer personally guided many clients who wanted to explore some of the highest mountains around the world. Karen Dickinson, who joined Mountain Madness later on, said Fischer helped anyone who needed help while ascending or descending a mountain: Hes known as Mr. Rescue. A lot of people owe their lives to Scott.By 1992, Scott Fischer was summiting K2, the worlds second-highest mountain after Everest, in the Karakoram Range as part of a Russian-American expedition. During the climb, he fell and tore the rotator cuff of his right shoulder. Going against medical advice, he resumed his climb shortly thereafter, using only his left arm after a fellow climber taped and tethered his right shoulder to his body so he would not dislocate it further. His first attempt to reach the top of K2 was abandoned in order to rescue other climbers, but he was successful upon his second attempt, even completing it without supplemental oxygen. During this climb, Fischer also began a friendship and rivalry with Rob Hall, a New Zealand mountaineering guide who would sadly also perish during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.Then, in 1993, Fischer guided the Climb for the Cure on Denali in Alaska. The climb raised over $280,000 for the American Foundation for AIDS Research.But Fischer was nowhere near done. He still had plenty of other goals to reach and sadly, one of them would ultimately lead to his demise.Inside The Tragic 1996 Mount Everest DisasterWikimedia CommonsEight people died during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.As a mountain enthusiast, Scott Fischer was naturally interested in Mount Everest, the worlds highest mountain, and he began applying to be considered for climbs up the famous peak starting in the late 1980s.Meanwhile, in 1990, he was part of the first American team to summit Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world, which is close to Everest. In 1994, Scott Fischer successfully completed a summit of Mount Everest. Incredibly, he and his fellow climber Rob Hess did so without using supplemental oxygen, and the two men also assisted in a massive cleanup effort on the mountain, removing trash and discarded oxygen bottles.Despite his accomplishment, Fischer wasnt done with Everest yet. In May 1996, the 40-year-old Scott Fischer was guiding eight clients up the mountain, hoping to help them reach the peak too. The group left base camp on May 6th. By May 10th, the team was making their final push to the summit, but Fischer became exhausted.It was about 3:45 p.m. when he reached the top of the mountain, notably later than the advised turnaround time of 2 p.m. Though Fischer stayed at the summit for about 20 minutes, he was visibly getting more tired and sick.Things only became worse for Fischer as he descended, as he became increasingly exhausted, likely due to a combination of overexertion, altitude sickness, and the onset of hypothermia. Worse yet, the conditions on the mountain itself were quickly worsening as a snowstorm began. By nighttime, Fischer had collapsed. Though a Sherpa named Lopsang Jangbu tried to help Fischer and was prepared to sacrifice himself to stay behind with Fischer overnight Fischer ordered Jangbu to descend without him and call for help.Sadly, Scott Fischer wasnt rediscovered until May 11, 1996, and it was clear that he could not be saved. By the time rescuers found Fischer near the South Col, he was partially undressed, meaning that he was likely in the final stages of hypothermia, as victims often take off their clothes in a confused state while wrongly believing theyre actually hot instead of cold. Since Fischers body was probably shutting down by this point in time, the rescuers made the difficult decision to prioritize the rescue of another stranded climber nearby who had a much better chance of survival.To this day, Fischers body remains on Mount Everest along with more than 200 other fallen climbers who never made it down.Scott Fischer And The Other Victims Of The 1996 Everest Disaster Are Still Remembered TodayWikimedia CommonsA memorial built in Scott Fischers honor in Dughla, Nepal.Scott Fischer wasnt the only respected and experienced climber to lose his life during the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Rob Hall, Fischers friend and business rival, also died during the same blizzard.In total, eight climbers perished in the snowstorm, which was then the single deadliest day in the mountains history (this would later be eclipsed by an earthquake in 2015 that killed 18 climbers in one day and more later on). Fischer is still widely remembered and honored throughout the mountain climbing community. A memorial stupa was built for him in Dughla, Nepal. A climbing route on Mount Kilimanjaro was also named in his honor.And in recognition of Fischers environmentally-focused adventuring, the American Alpine Club created the Scott Fischer Memorial Conservation Fund to support environmentally proactive expeditions.The 1996 Mount Everest disaster is even remembered in pop culture. In 2015, Jake Gyllenhaal memorably played Scott Fischer in the film Everest, which depicted the expeditions during the tragic blizzard.After reading about the heartbreaking death of Scott Fischer, discover the harrowing story of Beck Weathers, who just barely survived the 1996 Mount Everest disaster. Then, learn how global warming is exposing more bodies of climbers who died on Mount Everest.The post Scott Fischer Was A Respected Mountaineer Known As Mr. Rescue Then He Died Tragically On Mount Everest appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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