They Warned Her..(Revised Death Toll)

   But she didn't listen. A Canadian woman died on the slopes of Mount Everest this past weekend, and it may be due to traffic congestion. Yeah, you read that right. Traffic congestion. It seems there were anywhere from 250 to 300 people trying to reach the summit of the worlds tallest mountain this weekend, and because of bad weather, the Sherpa guides were only able to secure one safety rope. That meant a back-up of anywhere from 2 1/2 HOURS for traffic to pass
   The woman in question, Shriya Shah-Klorifine, died after her oxygen bottles ran out on the way down. A Nepalese guide tried to tell her to turn back and try for the summit another time. Maybe in a year or so. She didn't, and paid the ultimate price. And she wasn't the only one. That same weekend a Spanish climber died while trying to reach the summit, along with 2 others, bringing the total to 4.
   It's not known when Shah-Klorifine's body will be recovered, but it could be sometime in the next 5 or so days.
   Maybe it's time they decided to close down the mountain to casual climbers, since so many are either killed or injured and need to be rescued. I mean really. 300 climbers on the mountain? At one time? That seems a little much to me, but then again the Nepalese probably need the income from those wanting to scale Everest.
   For myself, a 2 1/2 hour wait in vehicular traffic is bad enough in many major Canadian cities, not on what is after all a dangerous expedition. As Shriya Shah-Klorifine found out the hard way. Anyway, I'm not that great when it comes to heights, so Everest is OFF my "bucket list".
   'Nuff said