Anatoli Boukreev's Controversial Actions in the '96 Everest Disaster 

Thank you all for tuning in! HERE IS an extended discussion of this story, live streamed on 14 July 2024, which you may find super interesting: ru-vid.comeq1ILYiCWIk Your comments and insights on the 1996 Everest disaster are greatly appreciated. Please, be respectful of everyone mentioned in this video, both the living and the deceased. Everest Mystery values diverse opinions but draws the line at unnecessary name-calling and outright disrespect. Let's keep our community respectful and considerate of everyone.

I have read every book I could find on this subject. I think everyone tends to tell things from their eyes. I personally think Anatoly is a hero for his actions that day. Weather you think he is a hero or a villain I think everyone can agree that peoples lives were saved that day because of his actions.

Anatoli was a gifted mountaineer! He saved many lives that day! I cant believe his actions are even questioned! RIP on Annapurna, Anatoli!

My basic question is as to why John Krakaeur was writing about happenings in Scott's team whereas he was part of Rob Hall 's team... he should have written about Rob Hall 's poor Leadership which resulted in death of 4 climbers of his team ...just to market his book he dragged in Toli & in that process , smudged Toli's name & reputation

So much has been said about this tragic story I wonder why it keeps going. Just a few comments. 1. If Rob Hall and Scott Fischer had stuck by the 2pm turnaround time it's highly likely noone would have died. 2. Anatoli Boukreev had climbed ten 8000ers without oxygen. 3. Nobody would come with him when he went out alone, three times, to rescue stricken climbers. According to his own account, Jon Krakauer was unconscious at the time, despite having completed the climb in good style. 4. In his book, Krakauer claimed that Andy Harris, another Adventure Consultants guide, had rushed past him on the way down to the tents. This was untrue and must have caused huge distress to the family and friends of Harris, who perished going back up the mountain to help the others. 5. In recognition of his heroic efforts, the American Alpine Club awarded Boukreev the Daniel A Sowles Memorial Award. RIP Anatoli Nikoliavich Boukreev

As i understand Anatoly's argument was, if you climb up with O2 and run out, you're in trouble. But if you climb w/o it and need it and then use it, you're good. Doesn't matter what JK said in his book, Anatoly was rested and he was the ONLY man that went out and rescued those people. Some of whom never thanked him. If I'm not mistaken, directly they got down to basecamp, he climbed the neighbouring mountain solo. Beast.

Anatoli a legend and it's a shame people still put any blame on him. He did exactly what he was hired to do. He looks so sad in picture from Scott's memorial 🙏

I live in Boulder, Colorado. If I look out my living room window I can see a business establishment, by name Neptune Mountaineering. It’s changed ownership over the last ten years or so when founder Gary Neptune chose to retire. During Gary’s tenure there was a part of the store that was a climbing museum and this continues today but on a smaller scale. An imposing element of the original “museum” was a photograph, blown up to 8’x10’ size on a wall of the last known image of Boukreev, taken by Neptune. The former headed up to his death. I will never forget that image.

Im my opinion, the problems were with all the guides for not enforcing the turnaround time more strictly, but i think most of the onus for this falls on Rob Hall and Scott Fisher. I don't see a problem with boukreev not using bottled oxygen during the climb because a) he was a gifted mountaineer and was aware of his limits b) he made sure to properly acclimate for a summit push without bottled oxygen (rotation to camp 4 or close to camp 4) c) he had oxygen on hand in case he needed it d) he had the permission of his expedition leader and none of the clients cared whether he used it or not. Boukreev makes the point in his book that in the case that you run out of oxygen, you are partially deacclimated to the altitude making it much more difficult to cope with the harsh environments, and i think that in the rare case that you are in the top 1 percent of high altitude mountaineers, climbing without bottled oxygen isn't necessarily less safe because of that. I do question his decisions to turn around ahead of his clients and descend, but in this occasion it did not matter as it left him in a spot to assist climbers once he had regained his strength, since going out into the storm was very risky. Although he may have lived had he stayed with his clients, i don't know whether he would have really been in a better place to rescue them given the ferocity of the storm. Most of the clients he had to carry or drag back into the camp. Jon Krakauers account of the disaster is well-written, but many people have found errors in it so i don't think it is fully reliable as it tends to put a more dramatic spin on the events.

I've read "Into thin air" several times and this story always sends cold shivers down my spine whenever I come across an article, a video or a book. I haven't read "The climb" yet but recently I've read "After the wind", written by Lou Kasischke who was one of Rob Halls client. He was one of the climbers who decided to turn around and this decision saved his life. The book is amazing. Just because he explained so vividly what it means to stand on that mountain and what willpower it takes to turn back 100 m from the summit - after going through a lot, after so much effort has been endured, so much torment, and, after so much money has been paid. I strongly recommend reading this book! Anatoli's behavior was also discussed. I agree with both authors and with you that as a guide he shouldn't have climed without oxygen. If you are on a private expediton, you can do whatever you want. However, as a guide, you are responsible for your clients and there is no time for personal preferences. Also, Scott Fischer was the boss. He shouldn't have given the permission to him climbing without oxygen. In my opinion, though, this was not the key decision and it didn't lead to the death of all the people that day. Anatoli saved lives up there. Loads of decisions were made wrong - especially by the guides - but I think, the fact that Anatoli was in camp 4 early and had a chance to recover, saved some people's lives, while staying on the mountain might has been his own death. I think, he was an extremely strong climber and he was a hero. I can't understand why people don't get tired to accusing him or even Sandy Pittmann of being responsible for the disaster that happened back than. That's ridiculous. Yes, it's a tragedy that both experdition leaders are among the victims, but I'm convinced that their poor decisions played a large part in making this event one of the blackest days in mountaineering. It's not Sandy's fault and certainly not Anatoli's!

To me the only villains are the expedition leaders, Rob Hall & Scott Fischer. Fischer - "We've built a yellow brick road to the top". Hall - "100% success! Send for our free colour brochure." These blokes painted an idyllic picture of climbing Everest and did a sales job on clients some of whom shouldn't have been there. On the mountain, Rob Hall convinced Doug Hansen to keep climbing when he should have been going down, dooming them both. Fischer even though he was the expedition leader didn't climb with any of the clients on the day, probably shouldn't have been climbing at all. Boukreev, Lobsang, Biedelman & Groom all tried to save people at risk to themselves. None of them deserve criticism compared to the expedition leaders.

In my opinion, the villain that day was the storm. Everything else is hindsight. P.S. Love your respectful tone.

So well done Thom! Surprised how emotional this was to watch. While trekking in the Khumbu last year I read THE CLIMB, shedding tears at times. Although I love some of Krakauer's writing, it really bothers me that he refused to edit/apologize in his newer versions of INTO THIN AIR, after writing several falsehoods about Boukreev (his climbing gear, preparations, etc). One can only guess at the reasons. I agree that ultimately Boukreev was heroic and incredibly gifted. Such a tragic tale.

I prefer to not look at anyone as a Villain when it comes to weather related tragedy. With that said. The responsibility for a safe trip on Everest is always on the expedition leaders. And in this case both of them made some very bad calls on the day, costing them their life and fellow climbers. My view on Anatoli's involvement changed after listening to great Mill House Podcast with Neal Beidleman where he goes over key moments on that tragic day. Just the simple fact that Anatoly handed Neal his emergency oxygen that he never used might have been the reason why not more died on the mountain this night. Cause this extra oxygen allowed those in worst conditions to get further down the mountain and closer to the camp before the huddle. Secondly - We can not make any predictions on what would have happened if Anatoly had stayed on the mountain with or without oxygen. The most likely outcome is that he would have stayed with Scott Fischer and tried to get him down. Even died trying. But we can not look past the real big mistakes that were made on the day. We can mention the logistic issues with oxygen and fixing robes that did lead to some delays for sure. But the key moment always comes to the turnaround time no matter what. The two last mistakes on the mountain were also made by Rob Hall and Scott Fisher. Rob Hall could have turned Dough Hansen around instead of going down again to help him to the top. This would for sure have left those two further down on the mountain for rescue even the day after. And Scott Fisher pushing to the top while all of his clients were going down is beyond any rationality - other than personal goals. And him going down when he met Neal Beidleman would have saved some precious energy and again left Scott further down the mountain and better chance of rescue anyway. With that said. Lets not forget that one member of the Taiwanese expedition, Gau Ming-ho was saved off the mountain when Fisher was too far gone. Gau would most likely have died since the sherpas would probably not have been there - if not for Fisher. I encourage everyone to listen to the Neal Beidleman story on the Mill House Podcast - Episode 19 found here on RU-vid. He also talks about Anatoly oxygen debate but at the same time reflects on prior trips he did with Anatoly where both were climbing without oxygen on another 8000 meter mountain. And he also explains very well how Scott Fisher's illness affected the Mountain Madness guides. Cause Rob Hall and Scott Fisher were the leaders for both teams. It was their call to turn clients around. I also want to point out one key point Beidleman made in the podcast. The most dangerous clients/climbers on Mount Everest are not those that have zero experience in mountain climbing. The mountain will exhaust those and turn them away long before groups are dangerously high on the mountain. The dangerous ones are those with the experience that can get themselves into situations where it's almost impossible for any rescue. Fact of the matter is that all of the climbers that reached the summit on May 10th, 1996 had plenty of experience. Including even Yasuko Namba that only had Everest to finish her 7 Summits challenge at the time. And for some to dare talk like she had never worn crampons before - shows how stories can be made up to justify people's point of view rather than the truth of the matter. But at the same time - she might now have had the experience needed to turn around like some of the more experienced clients did on the day. That was on Rob Hall to do. And lets not forget this. Those with the most experience died on Everest that day in 1996. And considering the situations, and their decisions on the day - it was maybe for the best. Cause it would have been very hard for them to live with those decisions for the rest of their life. In the end - we should never forget how much the weather affected the descent for all involved. Just about anyone can get to the top of Mount Everest on the right day. This just wasn't the right day. The weather window simple was not stable enough this early in May.

WHY IN GOD'S NAME IS THE WORD "VILLAIN" EVER ASSOCIATED WITH THIS GLORIOUS HERO? IT'S ASTONISHING THAT ONE GARBAGE PIECE OF WRITING COULD PAINT A SAVIOR INTO A VILLAIN.

Hero. No question about it. He did all he could, even risking his own life to help others. It seems that not sacrificing his own life was not enough for some people, especially certain journalists.

Thanks for telling this story. There is a slight error at 18.45 where you refer to Doug Hansen and Yasuko Nambo (who passed away) as Mountain Madness clients but they were actually Adventure Consultants clients.

Thank you for this video ! I've seen many documentaries on this but you bring a fresh eye on the subject. I like that you take the risk of giving an opinion, always respectfully. There's something like collective madness playing in 1996 everest season. Many brains were affected by the altitude and it's a real paradox that anatoli, who climbed without oxygen, was one of those who kept their cool and saved people. That said, with oxygen, he could have been even more efficient. (sorry for my english, I'm french and I don't know if my sentences are correct). thank you !

Fisher's clients and guides came back alive and mostly well. Hall's clients and guides? One guide and two clients died, and a third client barely survived with terrible frostbite. I think both Fisher, Hall and Boukreev made mistakes, but only Hall's clients and guide died. I think most of the blame is on Hall and his effort to get Hansen to the summit very late in the day. If he had turned back at a reasonable time, probably only Fisher would have died. Krakauer was part of the Hall team, and understandable was sympathetic to Hall. However I think he was unfair to Anatoli. One very incisive point he makes however is the effect of high altitude on mental ability and judgment. Clearly this affected all of the climbers.

So here for this! Every time you post, I gobble up the story. Honestly, I believe it was the “perfect storm”, he truly battled nature, mountain, the other climbers and himself. Sometimes we are our own worse enemy.

Great video, as usual! Thank you for always being fair and unbiased ❤ I could listen to you tell stories forever!

There were so many factors that contributed to the tragic outcome of this 1996 climb that it is impossible to levy the blame on one alone. Was Anatoli a Villian? I think not. He was an elite mountaineer who ultimately saved lives that day via his heroic acts. As you correctly point out Anatoli was not a man from a western culture, he was a unique and different kind of 'beast'. I feel he was not really suited to be a guide on a western commercial expedition, he was an 'alpine style' climber and perhaps Scott erred in hiring him in the first place. As an aside, little is ever mentioned of the heroic acts of Hall team guide Australian Mike Groom that fateful day - shout out to Mike!! Would love to see a video at some point on Lincoln Hall and the selfless actions of Dan Mazur (and others) in that near tragedy. I'm happy to see you enjoying and supporting Australian music! Really enjoy your vids, keep 'em coming.

That day nature gave a lesson, which Jon did not learn as he remained arrogant. Into Thin Air is full of lies and honestly a racist undertone. Jon goes so far to try to shame Anatoli even depicting him as not wearing appropriate clothing....when we have proof Anatoli was wearing the proper clothing. Yet Anatoli, who climbied without oxygen, was the one to save people. Anatoli was the only rational person among them all because he had trained himself to not depend on oxygen. He knew that running out would mean trouble. It is not a coincidence that of all of them he was the one lucid and strong enough to save others. Beside he had permission to do so. Thus, not to blame. I guess we can all say it is very easy to think what we would have done differently now after the facts.

Thanks for the video! This is one of the greatest and saddest stories of adventuring history. I want to know if Anatoli’s lack of oxygen made any difference to his performance, decisions or abilities that day. If it didn’t then we can only say, that’s not advisable, and leave it at that. It shouldn’t be discussed as a factor at all. He had an aloof but good natured personality that didn’t have any interest in nursing the able bodied. From his book he seems to have been interested in climbing for himself as well as being in a group and saw his role very differently. He never intended or understood himself to be a helpmeet. If Anatoli had been better utilised and his exceptional energy corralled by Scott then perhaps, as you say, he might have been able to help in a less frenzied way, even convincing the over tired Scott to return to camp (ytf was he still going up?) and he may have been more assistance to the others and not needed to bomb around rescuing them and leaving poor Yasuko. But he never said he was a group strategist so he can’t be criticised for not being one. In the end it comes down to the weather and the inappropriate decisions of the two leaders.

Great video, Neal Beidleman doesn’t get near the credit he deserves for that day. Secondly what are the chances Scott Fischer was already beyond saving early in the day due to an altitude related medical condition? Seems he was simply on cruise control with no chance for survival.

the only person to blame is scott fisher and then at a later time Krakauer misrepresented reality.

He’s a hero. He was born in high altitude. Climbed his whole life. He saved lives. He absolutely was not a force of negativity. Not using O2 was normal for him.

For someone who has never done anything like high altitude climbing (I only did Pikes Peak), why is it important for a guide to have supplemental oxygen if he has done climbing before without it and has been successful without any issues. Not sure why it is a big deal. Thanks. Love all the videos.

I'm not a climber but I really enjoy your videos, they're informative and gripping, and I love that you have an emotional connection to the subject. Your passion for Everest and high altitude mountaineering really shines through.

That guy went out there regardless risking his own life, he went back

Thank you for informing us about the disaster that occurred in 1996, you deserve a million subscribers.

Thank you for covering this! Another great take on this disaster is "Left for Dead" by Beck Weathers.

In 2020, Neal Beidleman told Andy Mill's podcast that Boukreev had agreed to guide using oxygen, then chose not to. Neal also said although Anatoli was a good friend, he believed the story Boukreev told after the climb was tailored to fit the actions he took that day .

I have read both books and more about this incident. It is indisputable really that Anatoli made a massive mistake in climbing without oxygen and heading down before the clients were safe. After all, they needed to reach the tents alive as a first matter and the tea could flow thereafter. I think it is likely that he was being macho, not so unusual for an alpha male, and made terrible decisions that he immediately regretted and tried his very best to correct with massive efforts. He was neither hero nor villain, just a person who made an error of judgement and tried his best to correct it.

Anatoli was a hero, but he was also a selfish person who would only guide on his terms, and others be damned. Ultimately, there is no clear villain in this case. Was it Anatoli for ignoring Fisher's instructions? Was it Fisher and Hall who both invited media onto their teams, and put themselves in a position where they could not turn back. Fisher would have been the talk of the town. Hall would've had an ad campaign for life if he'd gotten the humble working man Doug Hansen to the top and back with his guiding prowess? Is it a general me-first, anything for the summit mentality? In the end, only the mountain knows the true story, but I'm sure everyone involved would like to have that day back. And if we learn from the mistakes made, then at least the deaths wouldn't have been for nothing.

The unsettling reality of life and humanity, is that rarely do people fall neatly into the category of hero or villain... People are nuanced and complex and Anatoli particularly so. Most accounts that I have read or seen, including Neil Beidleman, is that Scott did not want Anatoli to climb without Os, and also wanted him to stay with the group. It was pretty clear that Anatoli saw his job very differently, but that he was grudgingly allowed to do as he wanted that day. It can't really be disputed that what Anatoli did that night was heroic, but that does not necessarily mean he is the hero of this story, because nobody knows what would have happened had he stayed with the group. And had he stayed and been able to rescue Scott - what would have been the fate of the others?

16:09 Not all 5 climbers already lost their lives 12 hours after the storm broke out at 4pm.. Next evening (more than 24 hours later) Rob Hall have still had radiocontact with camp 2. About the rest we can speak only supposably. No one of them was found definitely dead to that moment. Even Yasuko Namba, left for death that night, could still be alive.

Good analysis. Some hard truths said with fairness and compassion. Thanks for what you do.

An interesting video, and it has raised an immediate question in my mind: Scott and Anatoli agreeing that Anatoli descended rapidly to prepare to receive clients at camp 4 suggests that there were no Mountain Madness Sherpa there to perform that function? It does back up something in Krakeur's book, where Scott is stated to have relented an earlier decision and allowed all the Sherpa who reached camp 4 to make a summit bid, but he goes on to say that one Sherpa was forbidden to do so and had to wait at Camp 4. If all this is true, it suggests Scott already had some reservations about the descent. I have recently begun to revisit the 1996 tragedy after watching some of Michael Tracy's posts, and in particular I went and got Lene Gammelgard's book. Something in there is very relevant to your post. She originally wanted to climb Everest without oxygen, and Scott was supportive of thus up until the approaches to the higher camps, when he forbad her to do so. She was angry and upset, and states Anatoli comforted her and said he would try to help her to go up without oxygen. More telling though is that she writes of Scott intending to climb up without oxygen on the summit push as far as the South Summit and use oxygen from there. (P151 paperback ed. 1999). This was in the camp 4 just before the summit departure and she states just before this Anatoli was the only one climbing without oxygen, so he must have told her of his intentions before they set out.

Thank you for this video. Why was this climb so publicized when other years more climbers lost their lives. But the 1996 disaster remains the most famous.

Listening again. The comparison of Boukreev vs Beidleman vs Krakauer's stories are fascinating.

Hi Thom. Great channel. After watching this video - particularly at 10:55 - it made me want to get your take on the deaths that resulted from the cornice collapse on the Hilary Step this season. I'm an avid armchair mountaineer without any technical insight and I'd like to know why climbers wouldn't be clipped in to the fixed ropes during the Hilary Step. I was moved by the death of Dan P during this event because he was from a very deprived town very near to mine in the UK. He was a working class man who'd saved his life for this trip and prepared well with previous summits of high mountains. A great tragedy. Thanks in advance.

@EverestMystery, Like others I have read a lot about this subject and was very interested in your take since I consider you to be one of the most balanced and informative speakers on any Everest related subjects. I’m interested to know if you have read the book by Graham Ratcliffe: A day to die for 1996: One survivor’s personal journey. I’d really like to hear your opinion on that as a source of a somewhat alternative viewpoint on some of the issues faced on that awful day. Including the accuracy of Jon Krakauer’s account and the prior knowledge of the storm forecast. If correct, the claims in that book make for some pretty big changes to the widely accepted account of that day but I never see anyone reference this book, so I’d really like to know whether you feel it is an account worthy of consideration. I trust your opinion. Thank you for another brilliant video! 🙏

Hi all , good piece by channel 4 in the UK on Everest Nepalese teams recovering 4 bodies ,a skeleton and tonnes of Trash , sorry couldn't think of another way of letting you know. Love Everest Mystery Thom , keep up the amazing work and i love the bass in Rattlesnake.

I think Boukreev is a hero. He was able to save lives on the mountain. I think the blame lays on the Fischer and Hall. They were putting people with no business being on that mountain at that altitude. Many had zero experience climbing, and/or being at that altitude. In the past, only the best climbers even thought about trying to summit Everest. The commercialization of summiting Everest is a bad idea. There should be a qualification process. It is also stressing the environment and polluting the mountain at an alarming rate.

I love your channel❤

Thank you for another great video. Boukreev was a great mountaineer. Just a sidenote, when the soviet union collapsed, many Russian officials in the former soviet republics were given citizenship there. So it's quite possible that he was a Russian with Kazakhstan citizenship, but I'm nitpicking at this point.

Bad decisions in changing circumstances. They broke their own rules, and people died..

🇨🇦🍁thank you. I don’t know why but I always love listening about mountain climbing. 😊

Will you have a John Krakauer hero or villain?

Thanks for supporting Australian music!

Good morning. Have you read Lou Kasischeke’s book? I thought it was very interesting. An account from someone who was “just there” as he was identified.

Boukreev was a gifted climber who was rough around the edges, but when it came down to it he did his best to save lives. Overall a good man even though he did make mistakes. I do not think he deserved to be villainized. I don’t think Krakauer should be villainized either. I think he did not understand the entire picture, but he is a gifted writer, so people listened to his opinions. Everyone suffered massively on that mountain during that storm. I think we should offer them all some grace, while also offering fair criticism. Humans are complex. We are just all doing the best we can.

Greek tragedy defined . Swiss Cheese Model as in causation . Just sad . . .

The inarguable part of this is that Anatoli was a hero that day, that Fox and Pittman would have died without him. And Michael Madsden, who stayed with both women to help keep them alive whilst they waited for rescue, and was the forgotten hero of this day himself, may also have died too if no rescuer had come..and Anatoli was the only rescuer who did. So inarguably Anatoli was a hero..the questions revolve around how much of one he was. But i should repeat again that NOBODY ELSE rescued anyone this day, although Beidelman and Groom did all they could and Beidelman, in particular, got all of his clients down close enough to Camp 4 where they could be rescued in the first place.

I had never heard that Anatoli was supposed to go back down to camp 4 and get the camp ready. If that was the case and Scott knew that he would have already had it planned to have his clients taken care of by another guide. I don’t think Anatoli would have been able to turn Scott around. He had summit fever I believe. Now maybe if he would have been with Scott he might have been able to help him get back down after he collapsed. Who knows.

You said if he had been using oxygen he could have saved Scott- Scott seemed to be on a suicide mission that day. I wonder if Anatoli could have helped Yasuko and Beck. Yasuko is the "quietest victim" among the two teams, and she could have made it back if she had been guided better. I know she was an Adventure Consultants client, but if Anatoli had been helping Neal Beidelman they could have kept Yasuko with the group.

Always easy to judge when you look at it from the big picture. No one knew a storm was brewing and so many other factors that are now known.Be careful to judge

Two things can be true at once- Anatoli was a hero, but he also made some poor decisions. If he was climbing solo, he could certainly do so without oxygen. However, as a guide, that seems to be foolish and dangerous behavior. If you're in charge of other people's lives, you should do everything you can to make sure your clients make it home safely- not show off. Scott Fisher also obviously made some poor choices that day as well. The deadly outcome was due to many different factors and poor choices coming together, along with the hubris of the climbers.

Theres discussion on other channels that Fischer was going to pull a prank on Rob Hall. That people were hanging around up trying to see that prank . They waited up to 40 mins at summit to descend. The two were both in competition with each other since thats how they provided for their families. Also- why have such a huge group? Why did they and others all summit at the same time?

I cried, when l heard about Scott Fisher.......

Thom, another great objective presentation with facts. It is not opinion but facts what happened that day. It was riddled with human errors that seem were piling on ,nobody stepped in to say it's enough of these cluster effects, we're done here today. But they all thought they will be okay, the mountain will give them a pass. It doesn't really matters who is hero, who is villain, there's no such thing ,just victims of their own summit fever that turned into ignorance disrespecting the mountain and the mountain sort it very quickly for them. RiP all who passed away that day and later. They are heroes, Anatoli,Scott,Rob, all of them and let's remember them as such.

Honestly, I think when they first read about Anatoli and his heroics that night, many became so infatuated they refuse to see any other pov. Hence, why so many are anti-krakauer and honestly talk as if Scott, Anatoli and Mountain Madness walked on water.

I can relate to gaining weight while climbing mountains. Being a broke field archaeologist will make you appreciate a soggy ham sandwich.

You did not touch upon shortage of radios with Guides & thus there was hardly any communication going on with Leaders...Scott in my opinion didn't carry radio

If anything.. it's probably Scott's error in hiring him as a guide but then not making sure he was acting as a guide. Clearly Scott didn't want to manage him and that likely cost lives.

He went back out and carried people in when no one else, who later smeared him, would help him do. And couldn't they have made the turn time fine if the ropes had been fixed? But they got bogged down fixing ropes.

when it comes down to it, he risked it all to save people. Not many would do that up at altitude. agreed that Scott should have made him use Bottled O.

It's very sad. I'm not voicing an opinion on this. I wasn't there.

Hero, one of a kind man. No one would do what he had done!

Depois de muito podcast sobre a tragédia de 1996 no Everest ficamos sabendo de muitos detalhes. Acredito que o caprichos da socialite Sandy com suas malas sobrecarregando um cherpa responsável pela instalação das cordas teve maior importância na tragédia, do que o Anatoli sem uso oxigênio, já que a colocação da cordas de última hora atrasou o percurso e colocou a todos no meio a tempestade. Aliás, Anatoli, depois de esperar por cerca de 1 hora, decide descer porque pressente a tempestade enquanto os outros teimosamente insistem em permanecer no cume ou tentando alcançar, num horário sabidamente perigoso. E ironia do destino foi o fato de Anatoli ter descido e poder estar em condições de salvar a Sandy. Nao fosse ele ela teria permanecido na montanha.

This villain title is disqusting...

Excellent video. I don't think anyone will every doubt Anatoli's experience nor his abilities and certainly no one can doubt his heroics saving so many members of his team when all appeared lost. He was among the best ever. But.......that doesn't mean we should gloss over all his actions of 5/10/96. He was there as a guide and with Scott Fischer in bad condition and far behind them, I would have assumed he would take charge. So why he didn't he enforce the 2p turnaround? As a guide why didn't he use supplemental oxygen? And most importantly, when his group finally descended, why did he leave the people he was being paid to guide, so he could rush down to campIV to prepare in case of rescues? Did he really think Neil himself could get their whole team down? Not saying he was the villain of the day, but mistakes were clearly made imo.

He went out and saved lives when others did nothing he is a hero rip

Anatoli really should not have left his team on the mountain. Had he assisted them higher up, while there was still time before the storm, there would have been no need for having to rescue climbers later.

Letting Anatoli climb wo oxygen was a crucial mistake on that expedition along with many other mistakes. Not turning Doug around so late after The cutoff was another huge one, along with Lopsong having to shortrope That brat Sandy instead of fixing ropes. That along w such an awful storm assured disaster. Anatoli def helped people but never should have happened if he’d brought up oxygen

Anybody know why the ropes weren't fixed?

Great hearing your thoughts. I tend to believe Anatoli was climbing for himself, and perhaps, showing out a bit. However, be it God, fate or luck, he was in the right place at the right time to save lives that might've been lost but for him. Very heroic, as well as a great climber!

What if Anatoli would have been further up and saved Fisher, saved one man and four others die? No room for what ifs in this situation. IMHO

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard bought me here

Are there birds at that height?

Krakauer should have been punished for his stupid book. PS: There are even more Books from People who were on the Mountain that day- all of them have differences but all of them have similarities- except for Krakauers.

Tom, FYI Anatoli's last name is pronounced "boo-CRAY-yev". Accent on the second syllable, as in Russian and nost Slavic languages.

Anatoli was a hero

Hero

I like that shirt.

Your "gut feeling" 20 years after the fact is no "bomb shell" to any facts.

Imagine dying to climb a frozen rock that's already been climbed thousnds of times before. What a joke.

For any of the selfish everest climbers. If you do it for yourself why do you need a summit photo

For me, Anatoly is a . r e a l H E R O.... ..

What self respecting man leaves his PREGNANT WIFE to risk his life and climb Mt. Everest. What a selfish, selfish man. If I was his wife, I would be pissed

He should have stuck with his clients and used bottled oxygen. So, in my opinion he was a villain during the 1996 tragedy.

What a horrible and distracting t-shirt! Wear something plain --- to avoid visual viewer pain.

Thank you for great channel. - Anatoli a hero, The storm unfortunately a negative factor for climbers, a natural fact on Everest

Theres discussion on other channels that Fischer was going to pull a prank on Rob Hall. That people were hanging around up trying to see that prank . They waited up to 40 mins at summit to descend. The two were both in competition with each other since thats how they provided for their families. Also- why have such a huge group? Why did they and others all summit at the same time?