Hillary rips climbers who left dying man

Mount Everest pioneer Sir Edmund Hillary said Wednesday he was shocked that dozens of climbers left a British mountaineer to die during their own attempts on the world's tallest peak..."There have been a number of occasions when people have been neglected and left to die and I don't regard this as a correct philosophy," he told the Otago Daily Times.

"I think the whole attitude toward climbing Mount Everest has become rather horrifying. The people just want to get to the top," he told the newspaper.

Hillary told New Zealand Press Association he would have abandoned his own pioneering climb to save another's life.

"It was wrong if there was a man suffering altitude problems and was huddled under a rock, just to lift your hat, say 'good morning' and pass on by," he said.

It's not certain what could be done for a person who's gotten into trouble at such an altitude, but then, they did get Beck Weathers down. That's very much the exception, though, and not the rule. Perhaps fellow climbers could only offer comradery, and the comfort of listening to the last words of dying.

It seems there are times when some must be left so the others can get down safely. But, must a companion be left while a climber is on the way up? Is the summit more important than basic humanity?

I appreciate that Sir Edmund expressed outrage at the practice of leaving climbers for dead while continuing a press for the summit. Obviously, not everyone will return from an Everest expedition. But for those who return it seems preferable to be able to say that you acted honorably on the mountain. Tagging the summit holds little glory if your actions are savage and self-indulgent.