The Nanda Devi Disaster

[@Happyhappyclam]

How is this level of obsession NOT considered a mental illness??

[@phishfanvt]

I hiked to the base camp about 10 years ago, this is bringing back some amazing memories. I had no idea about this disaster. thanks for making this. The thumbnail picture on my KZbin profile is actually a picture of Nanda Devi from a 16,000 foot pass across a valley from Nanda Devi! Would love to make it back to this area sometime in my life

[@markwebster5749]

Same 7 years ago breath taking place

[@TheEmpire822]

Damn you have been using the same KZbin account since KZbin was created basically. That’s impressive.

[@jjggbbjunk]

I am finishing the book "Nanda Devi" by John Roskelly. The book does not shed a pleasant light on Willie. My father climbed with Willi Unsoeld in the Oregon State College Mountain Club. (OSC is now OSU, for the record). So I asked him about Willi. He liked him, but he described his leadership style as democratic an non-confrontational. Devi is described in the book as being stoic and strong-willed. Willi was not willing to be forceful toward her; he was no match. He really was kind of a "hippy", very risk tolerant, and probably a poor choice as a team leader. My father said he would not have chosen that particular route down Mt Rainier, as it was known to have avalanches. He said that "He isn't available to ask about his thinking." Willi may have felt pressure to get his students down the Mt Rainier quickly due to the worsening weather. Another risk. I am glad my father didn't go on any big expeditions with him.

[@classicmicroscopy9398]

You can't really regain stamina by resting that high. They should have turned back much sooner.

[@tedthesailor172]

@ceedub619cameraman3 Edmund Hillary died in 2008, so it can't be him...

[@TheBaleadaMan]

“I kid you not” First time bro broke his professional narrating because not even he could believe this brain dead reason 😭😭

[@91945punx]

Amazing how that was ever an idea.

[@solomondees.4632]

Its actaully not that unusual to power such a remote device with a nuclear battery. The soviets did it for lighthouses and radio relays in the far north. Its the only power source that will function reliably in those conditions with no maintenance. Essentially the rest of the device was just a normal radio repeater.

[@JeremyBrochu-wp5wc]

Idk why but i really like these mountaineering vids great stuff look forward to ur videos my friend

[@noteveryday]

Im looking through my subs, and you are the only one that has not succumbed to using clickbait thumbnails and titles. Much Respect. I mean I wouldnt even mind if you did, these days its like a fucking major disadvantage to not do it ever since that god damn Veritasium video that proved they were required.

[@PostModernBooRadley]

You probably already know this but the legendary Pete Boardman and Joe Tasker unintentionally played a role in this incident in that they had just finished epochal ascent of Changabang's west wall and were prepping to leave when they received word of nearby climbers requiring assistance. There was obviously nothing they could do but Joe, at least, was able to provide some morale support to the Nanda Devi team in their grief. An interesting footnote, to me anyway 😊

[@MegaAngryspoon]

This dropped just before christmas here, merry christmas and thanks for the christmas eve upload!

[@HollyCat504]

Sad Fact: John Roskelley, the climber who was ready to get back to the US to await the birth of his child, also lost a child to the mountains. His son was Jess Roskelley, who was a well-known and accomplished mountaineer in his own right. By 2003, Jess was a guide on Mt Rainer and had summited the mountain 35 times, even though he was only 20 years old. That same year, he joined his father, John Roskelley, on an expedition to Mt Everest. Their attempt was successful and Jess became the youngest American to ever summit Mt Everest (a record which has since been broken by a 13 year old) He was a professional climber and sponsored by Adidas Outdoor and The North Face. He was sadly killed in 2019, at the age of 36, during the Howse Peak Avalanche in the Canadian Rockies. He was killed alongside 2 other young and very well-known and successful mountaineers. One was a 35 year old Austrian climber named Hansjörg Auer, who was noted for his free solos. But probably the best known of the trio was David Lama, a 28 year old Austrian, quite famous for his rock climbing abilities and his Alpine mountaineering. David won climbing events all over Europe and was the first to reach the summit of Lunag Ri. It was a tragic loss on many levels for the climbing community.

[@averagejoegrows]

shit happens oh well people are dying daily

[@paulgrey8028]

David Lama kept pushing the limits and cutting the safety margins thinner and thinner. It was inevitable that he'd eventually be taken out by a dangerous route.

[@rl7012]

@@paulgrey8028 An avalanche can and does kill the safest of climbers.

[@rl7012]

@@paulgrey8028 What do you think it does? It was an avalanche that killed Lama not him taking excessive risks.

[@paulgrey8028]

@@rl7012 really? You don't say? The difference is that safe climbers don't climb in poor conditions [you know like when slopes are loaded with fresh snow for example] nor do they climb risky new routes that are natural funnels for avalanches.

[@creeseman]

My grandmother recently told me this story with a bit less detail last month, crazy seeing it appear here. When my mother and grandparents lived in Nepal, they would host expeditionary groups as they came through Kathmandu on the way to the mountains. They even hosted the folks in this tragedy at one point. Both stories ended with the comment about Mt. Rainer as well, she said Willi had been taking students from Evergreen State University on yearly mountaineering expeditions when that happened.

[@POLARTTYRTM]

That's a gnarly-looking mountain. How do you conduct a survey in 1808 to determine which mountain is taller with no modern equipment? I always find it interesting how they find out such things with no technology.

[@OfftheWallTales]

Deleted my comment because yup, Brian’s right. Apparently in the 1840s people used two equations (Law of Sines and the Pythagorean Theorem) to calculate Mount Everest’s height. They took it a hundred miles away and were only off by 27 feet. A good diagram of how they did it is on the site outdoors org, and the page is called “Calculate Mountain Elevation Like a Pro” so Google that if you want a visual explanation. But long story short, they took the measurements of the angles of two points at the base to the peak. Then knowing just the two angles and the distance between the two points, they could calculate it. The page explains it really well if you’re more curious.

[@kintustis]

Tape measure

[@brianmessemer2973]

Spherical trigonometry and triangulation.

[@OfftheWallTales]

@@brianmessemer2973One google search later and suddenly I’m remembering about the Law of Sines for the first time in 15 years. Holy crap, that is some amazing work those people did. Thank you.

[@davidpawson7393]

Geometry

[@Pewnhound112]

Yeah I saw this coming when they used the awful strategy of letting how they feel dictate their summit attempt, instead of the weather. Mountaineering 101-easier to ascend in good weather when you are tired than bad weather when you are rested. Basic, basic stuff. Not really so much a tragedy as it was a result of piss poor mountaineering. The longer your expedition takes, the greater number of difficulties you will face.

[@gavriloking5637]

Amen. Same with all outdoor sports on mountains or the sea.

[@review-report]

Well said!

[@tomperkins5657]

Hindsight, of course, is 20/20. It is hard for me to comprehend that Willi, a veteran and accomplished mountaineer, would not recognize what was happening to his daughter and get her off that mountain.

[@tedthesailor172]

I wouldn't even go to work if I had her symptoms, never mind climb a mountain. She must've been plenty tough...

[@91945punx]

too tough for her own good.

[@nimomemre6550]

I think her father pushed her 😕

[@alexyo2440]

Clearly not enough though. Strange that they even kept going

[@micfail2]

You spelled "really dumb" wrong

[@valarieirons4447]

​@nimomemre6550 apparently she was strong willed... Dad compromising.

[@zztop4996]

Jon Krakauer, Into Thin Air, p.3: "Unsoeld, who hailed from my hometown in Oregon, was a close friend of my father's. I climbed my first mountain in the company of my dad, Unsoeld, and his oldest son, Regon, a few months before Unsoeld departed for Nepal. Not surprisingly, accounts of the 1963 Everest epic resonated loud and long in my preadolescent imagination. While my friends idolized John Glenn, Sandy Koufax, and Johnny Unitas, my heroes were Hornbein and Unsoeld." It's a small world...

[@randydewees7338]

Bill Tillman the "strong little sahib". I recommend reading his accounts of mountaineering, exploration, and sailing. He is an excellent writer and is occasionally hilarious. While he did many hard things, he was not immune to impractical ideas, being the first person to ride a bicycle across equatorial Africa. He fought in both World Wars, and finally died a sailor's death in the stormy sea off Cape Horn.

[@sylviarogier1]

Thank you for narrating your own videos. So many videos these days have computer generated voices reading the text.

[@anniereddj]

Merry Christmas and thank you!!

[@richieroma]

18 years ago I was lucky enough to glimpse this mountain on the horizon from the Himalayan foothills - as stunning and majestic as they come.

[@averagejoegrows]

i want to do everest base camp and see all these beauties did you have a guide?

[@nimomemre6550]

This is so upsetting to see that Willy literally pushed her daughter to take a climb. Her daughter complained from the start about her being sick. Yet was pushed to her limits. - Question is why Willy was so irresponsible that he didn't took his daughter down when for three days she clearly showed symptoms of altitude sickness & was suffering diarrhea (in a death zone) ? 😐 - can't imagine the helpness she would've felt.😕 RIP 🙏

[@cyruskhalvati]

One may simply suggest that any minor complaint should see the team member taken off the summit team and be taken lower down the mountain immediately. Doing so too frequently however, would ultimately result in team members who will pretend like they’re fine in fear of being taken off the summit team. And thats just the normal team member-leader relationship. When you consider the team leader was devi’s dad, you have to factor in the highly elevated importance both of the factors i mentioned above. Both the safety and the emotions of devi are inherently going to be much more important to willy, the problem is now a much more personal one. Then you have the potential expectations of the parent on the child. On a mountain expectations should honestly be tossed over the cliff, but never the less, they still play a factor in the ultimate decision making of the team leader. Its not as straight forward as most would think, and this is just part of the problem viewed through a psychological lens.

[@Periodik]

​@@cyruskhalvatiThe answer is simple. He loved the mountain more than his daughter. It's why even after the mountain killed her, he would continue to scale mountains afterwards as if nothing happened.

[@v5k456jh3]

@@Periodik Why would he stop doing what he loves? Would that bring her daughter back? Would it make someone feel better if he stopped? I really don't get it.

[@SuperHenryVa757]

Same thing happened to the son on the imploded Titan Submersible went to appease his dad on Fathers Day Sulemon Dawoo??

[@cyruskhalvati]

@@Periodik its easy to say that without thinking about it, but how many over ambitious parents end up hurting their kids? Does that mean they don’t love their kids? Also devi was an adult, everyone on the team has to take responsibility for their own safety, if they cant do that they shouldnt be there. As I implied i believe the fault somewhat lies with devi. She knew the signs of failure to acclimate. She knew it could cause pulmonary edema. Obviously so did her dad, this is not an excuse for the outcome, but she made her choices as well. If she asked to go down before it was too late, she would have been fine.

[@dianedavis1833]

Photography is stunning!

[@JudyMotto]

Thanks for all you do ❤

[@Tsumami__]

That being said, Willy sounded like an incredibly selfish and stupid individual

[@dfinlen]

Don't judge a book by a couple statements about climbing. Would you spend nearly an hour doing cpr.

[@markwebster5749]

How is binx doing 😊

[@same5952]

@@dfinlen It WAS his daughter that he was doing CPR on, not a stranger. He was responsible for her condition.

[@Idekreally]

@@same5952he didn’t force her to climb. She was an adult and chose to ascend despite her sickness.

[@lyntonblair9016]

One scarey looking mountain

[@TheEmpire822]

I mean who in their right minds stays at altitude for 5 days? The first time she started having stomach issues they should have left and went back down. I feel there was a lot of selfishness going on here about summiting and it cost someone their life.

[@domesticterrorist483]

She had the hernia on the approach trekk and downplayed it. Roskelly ordered her down from camp 3 but she refused and was backed up by her hippy dippy father, thus sealing her fate. She had an ostich egg sized hernia, thats what killed her. The high altitude just sped up the process. If she had tempered her ego and her father his then she would be still alive today. They threw her down the mountainside from camp 4 like a pile of thrash.

[@5amH45lam]

I just had a hernia op on a nearing strangulated hernia in my groin just this week. It was no joke. The pain and discomfort Devi must've suffered would constitute a tortuous death. I can't imagine what hiking such a peak would have done to me a couple of weeks ago. Killed me, probably. Like it did Devi. RIP.

[@Tsumami__]

If you want to try bringing down a body that’s past rigor and now a flopping rotting cadaver from 20,000+ feet, go right ahead. Doubtful you’d survive. There’s a reason why bodies are pushed off of high altitude peaks. Climbers are well aware they can die during a summit attempt, and few would want more lives risked just to retrieve our deceased corpse.

[@5amH45lam]

​​​​​​​​@@Tsumami__ Bodies can be, and are - in many cases - retrieved from such locations. However, it requires huge resources and a team willing to risk their own lives doing so. But, then again, if the financial remuneration on offer by the deceased's family/backer is "worth" it, then it can be done. It all boils down to the Benji's available/on offer. _Everything_ boils down to the Benji's available/on offer. Even in the most untouched, least traversed, least populated, most sacred points on the planet.

[@dfinlen]

​@@5amH45lamyeah I have crohns with structures. Im told the pain is worst then child birth. Hernia being worst the CD is sadly horrifying. I had no idea he pushed her to keep going. Wow idk that's horrible.

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

To answer your description notes question, Christmas is Merry because it is so British. Christmas became part of secular American life during a period of intense Anglophilia, the Victorian Era. The UK was still more powerful then, we were having self-esteem issues and were copycats. I believe that Christmas is our only major cultural holiday (Easter, while the #1 holiday in religious Christianity, is just not the same) that precedes the formation of the US/colonial entities, which makes sense, national holidays are for the nation itself.

[@davidvonslingshot]

ok poindexter

[@dfinlen]

Poindexter was a smart man. Idk, about self-esteem but a lot of our culture of course is British thanks to being mostly British at least for a couple hundred years.

[@RSimpkinuk57]

In the words of the song, "we wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year". Never the other way round. UK's Christmas on its own can be either happy or merry. As in "eat, drink and be merry". We do not celebrate Thanksgiving in the UK. Christmas is the occasion for our big turkey feast family get-together. Descended, I guess, from a pre-Christian tradition of celebrating having got past the longest night of winter.

[@boyerbyr]

So many things wrong here. These people were not fit enough to make this ascent. They should have turned back immediately once they felt discomfort of any sort. If I feel I can’t do something feeling 100%, I don’t do it and wait til I can.

[@chrimony]

That's easy to say in hindsight. I'm sure lots of people have summited not feeling 100%. These expeditions are expensive and time consuming, so it's not surprising people are reluctant to turn back at what might just be a passing upset stomach.

[@darb4091]

AMS undoubtedly wasn't understood as well back then along with a number of other things such as gear weight and capability. I am sure that it took much more of a push through anything mentality back then and even more so the further you go back.

[@counterfit5]

The telemetry relay was most likely powered a radioisotope thermoelectric generator like the ones used on some satellites (the Voyagers, for example)

[@larrynicholson5810]

Another fine video,midnight. Thanks.

[@Parlimant_Strifey]

Was Willi really trying to sell us that as a bad idea?? Sounds pretty sweet, better then being up some mountain.

[@klifforsburg2799]

Because it was there ! No better reason.

[@norml.hugh-mann]

Who are you to judge other peoples priorities?

[@DinoCism]

Well, that and so the CIA could fuck with China. That was the other reason for this nonsense.

[@mrlaw711]

Great video. Thank you.

[@Geronimo2Fly]

It's hard to imagine spending 45 minutes doing CPR trying to save the life of your own child. I think he made a mistake staying up so high when she was so sick for such a long time, but the heartbreak must have been unbearable.

[@cyruskhalvati]

The balancing act a leader of any mountain expedition has to successfully preform is an incredibly challenging task. The difficulty seriously can not be understated. One may simply suggest that any minor complaint should see the team member taken off the summit team and be taken lower down the mountain immediately. Doing so too frequently however, would ultimately result in team members who will pretend like they’re fine in fear of being taken off the summit team. Either of these failures *WILL* lead to death of a friend. Dont fuck up. But if you do, know that countless others before you, some of whom are worlds better than you can ever imagine to be, have done the same. Learn from it, never let it happen again.

[@Galfrid]

Willy was some package 🙄 Seasoned enough to know how climbing affects you, but unwilling to remove his daughter from the climb. She was sick at the beginning and only got worse. I don't expect him to give up climbing just because his daughter died, but that gruff "alcohol and TV" attitude kinda sums it all up

[@rl7012]

It is a shame his daughter nor anyone around her was not experienced enough to recognise her high altitude sickness symptoms for the danger that they were. Her dad should have known though. He was very experienced in mountains and he knew she was suffering and when it came on and he let her go on suffering thinking she wold get over it. The dad should have made her go down the mountain and have someone go with her and if nobody would go then he should have taken her down himself. It is all well and good him going on about how much CPR he gave he even after she had died but that was just show boating about how much he wanted people to know the he cared and too little and far too late. If he cared that much then he would have gotten her down the mountain when her serious altitude sickness symptoms became obvious. Everyone knows that diarrhea can be dangerous but even more so at altitude. That poor girl even knew she was dying, but I bet he didn't believe her until it happened. He got his daughter killed and then he goes off mountaineering again acting the martyr whilst still living his dream. Daughter or no daughter nothing was going to stop this guy.

[@barrydysert2974]

He dedicated His daughter to the mountain at birth. Of course the mountain rightfully accepted it's offering when given the chance. Traject but not unpredictable.

[@Tsumami__]

Maybe if one lives in a fantasy world where you believe in deities, ghouls, goblins, and bigfoots/yetis

[@recessional5560]

Tragic. T-R-A-G-I-C

[@recessional5560]

@@Tsumami__hahahaha don’t forget Santa Claus hahahaha

[@solenoidnull9542]

@@recessional5560 But Santa Clause is real

[@recessional5560]

@@solenoidnull9542 oh yes. So is the butt fairy. He will give you three wishes. All you have to do is stick your head up your ass and then take a giant poopy dump at the same time and you can meet them.

[@cadillacdeville5828]

Good morning and thank you

[@Nefville]

That's sad, naming your daughter after a mountain only for her to die on it later.

[@tim.martin]

Spoiler alert... [edit] was top comment. It's also a *good* comment, just wish KZbin would hide comments while I watch. Top one seems always visible.

[@-jess--here--]

​@@tim.martin the thumbnail says died on her namesake mountain. How is this comment a spoiler..even if it's the first comment?

[@tim.martin]

@-jess--here-- 10 months ago lol. Thumbnails changed.

[@Nefville]

@@tim.martin Shoot, sorry. I know its belated but I just didn't see this until now.

[@tim.martin]

@@Nefville 🌞 my apology for the comment. I can watch stuff in fullscreen if the content is spoiler-able.

[@markwebster5749]

Merry Christmas everyone 🎄🎅🎄🥂🎅🍻👍🇬🇧

[@DarknessUnresolved]

Fuck xmas.

[@justinedse8435]

@DarknessUnresolved Merry Christmas!🌲🎉🤶🎅🎁❄️⛄☃️🎂😁

[@justinedse8435]

Thank you! Merry Christmas! 🎅🌲☃️

[@DarknessUnresolved]

@@justinedse8435 Not for the victims of Israel's terror.

[@patrickagee]

65k!!!!!!! Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@mjaricacat]

So heartwrenchingly sad being unable to save your own child. It feels like the mountain took her

[@agaragar21]

NOt Sad.....the father was a complete selfish piece of Shit !!!

[@metronorthwtrain1452]

These two government entities should be ashamed of themselves and clean up their failure.

[@davidvonslingshot]

they should…. but they won’t.

[@DinoCism]

@@davidvonslingshot And their idiocy continues to this day...

[@tedthesailor172]

They probably would if they could find it...

[@valvlad3176]

Well I won't bring my daughter in any of that. Whatever she wonts, I won't do that.

[@DarknessUnresolved]

Imagine being soo narcissistic that you name your kid after some mountain you're obsessed with. Then practically offering that kid up as a sacrifice to said mountain. Some people should never be allowed to have children!

[@nimomemre6550]

Yep ... I thought the same ! - His daughter was constantly complaining of her not feeling well and in her last three days, she clearly showed altitude sickness & diarrhea yet they waited for her to die 😕🤦

[@Dragondemar33]

Tu contenido es impresionante. Me gustaría que hablaras sobre qué pudo ocurrir con los montañistas Mariano Galván y Alberto Zerain en la Arista del Mazeno del Nanga Parbat en Junio de 2017. También de la cara oeste del Gasherbrum IV, la escalada más dura de la Tierra.

[@T3hderk87]

Man.... This comment section....

[@strider1237]

My guy, did you make the creepy music for your videos even creepier?

[@jeffdavis7356]

Amazing story. Tragic, and the CIA issue is nuts.

[@Raven-777-]

Name of background music?

[@justinedse8435]

Death wave

[@MorbidMidnight]

It's an original track I made! It doesn't have an official name although I can't lie Death Wave is kinda fire

[@DJ-ws6je]

Yet another amazing narration

[@davesmith5656]

I've heard of naming mountains after people.

[@ImmolationVenus666]

While mountains are glorious, if it becomes too dangerous I wouldn't risk my life trying to ascend any further

[@franciscoramirez9867]

Yea boii have a good night everyone happy holidays!

[@claudiamarlow5265]

She probably insisted her stomach virus wasn’t that bad and she could work through it. Or maybe he encouraged her to tough it out and take one for the team. They had their chances to turn back but nothing doing

[@claudiamarlow5265]

Such an amazing loss of such a beautiful daughter. Bro should have turned back when she started having bigger problems obviously know one expected her death from it

[@-jess--here--]

Can't help but to become curious about what the governments are doing up there now since it's closed to the public again and for so long.

[@Za7a7aZ]

The Chinese got the device ..would make a great spy movie tho..😅

[@91945punx]

It sure would suck knowing you contributed to your daughters death. :/

[@ralphrey474]

interesting story but the narration slayed me. I didn't make it to listen to the end.

[@5amH45lam]

I believe that "forces" bigger than the CIA and IB could comprehend did NOT want a nuclear powered, Cold War device at _Nanda Devi's_ sacred summit.

[@roderickflint1330]

Cool father...keep pushing for the summit even tho daughter is obiously suffering...

[@valvlad3176]

This one looks good. The ridge is solid to climb. No avalanches there. No seracs, good to go Alpine style. And I do ropes make no mistake. And I like the name.

[@SquamatoHD]

bURgEr KinG foOt LeTtuCe

[@warrenhall7060]

REPETATIVE AND OLD ADS MAKES YOU TUBE SUCK..

[@baginatora]

What happened to that nuclear powered device? Did anyone find it?

[@lawrenceeustache9422]

oh well it`s all good family fun for everyone ! just clean up the mess you made

[@levitatingoctahedron922]

the mountain has claimed its sacrifice, named and raised for the ritual

[@recessional5560]

It would be awful to take a massive Diarrhea in your pants right before death like his daughter did 😢

[@richardmcquade9832]

Good content, annoying narrator

[@daviddenham1511]

Narrator sounds like he needs a good nights sleep….

[@justinedse8435]

Perfect narration

[@winstonoboogie6725]

This narrator sounds slow and dreary, like he doesn't care about anything and he is tired of reading out loud. I am going to find a livelier channel than this drivel. Thanks for trying i suppose.

[@michaelgallagher3640]

ChAngabAng, no Os in that word

[@phillysauto4724]

ULTIMATE BORING

[@ZedLeppelin1989]

Play stupid games win stupid prizes

[@justinpino8115]

How original. Haven’t read that in 5 minutes

[@ZedLeppelin1989]

​@@justinpino8115 I'm more surprised that you can read to be honest