
Man dies on Mount Everest during cryptocurrency promotional stunt - slapshot
https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Man-dies-Mount-Everest-ASKfm-sherpa-cryptocurrency-12967630.php
======
aitrean
So, while I usually agree blockchain/crypto ecosystem is the most degenerate
thing since Vista, it's worth being a little objective here.

These were not four crypto nerds travelling with a Sherpa, it was a team of
four experienced alpinists, accompanied by three Sherpas. The expedition was
not planned by AskFM, they only decided to sponsor the expedition in exchange
for the potential to make it into dumb promotional material. In all
likelihood, the alpinists were going to make the trek with or without the
sponsorship, but the sponsorship from AskFM did help cover financial costs.
This is no different than Red Bull sponsoring dangerous stunts all the time.
For what it's worth, the team apparently rescued a climber from a different
expedition along the way down, who most certainly would have died otherwise.

That said, the CEO did not handle the situation well. On being accused of
this, he called the whole thing a rumour. Later, he conceded how fucked up the
whole thing was, but AskFM still hasn't removed the tasteless promotion.

~~~
Panjam
It's really appalling. The correct behaviour is to pull the plug on your
shitty promotion and issue a message of condolence. One company, one guy is
not representative of an industry, but my experience of 75% of people in the
blockchain/crypto space has left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

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phreack
>The statement here is that ASKfm is not at all afraid to rise to challenges.
They're conquering Everest because it's out there to conquer. By doing so they
claim: if they're bold enough to do it, they're bold enough to turn a social
network into a blockchain ecosystem, and they're definitely bold enough to
overturn the market with their new product.

This nonsense could be an absurd line from HBO's Silicon Valley, and people
would have found it hilarious. Instead it's not only real, it's cost _a life_.
I can't believe this.

~~~
MiddleEndian
When watching Silicon Valley I found some lines to be too over-the-top, only
to find out they were quotes from real people.

~~~
fullshark
Do you have any examples or a resource with some of the best ones?

~~~
adtac
I found it hilarious when Gavin compared his treatment to the plight of the
Jews in Nazi Germany [1]. And then I found out it was actually based on this
guy [2].

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5zQpN28xa4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5zQpN28xa4)

[2] [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN-
vUaawaF8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN-vUaawaF8)

~~~
ConnorG
Saving this for later

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sus_007
As someone who lives among fellow Sherpa families nearby the Himalayas in
Nepal, I come across different individuals/teams wanting to _conquer_ the
summit to experience the ridiculous "living on the edge" sensation.

Having climbed the beast myself once, I can partly appreciate the fact that
the feeling of accomplishment and reward is like no other, but practices like
these when an inexperienced group of folks lead to loss of innocent lives is
totally unacceptable. Despite our government trying our best to reduce such
casualties by implementing strict rules & prohibitions, Sherpas are compelled
to go for the climb because it's their only source of income at this remote
part of the world.

~~~
ufo
Could you talk a bit more about what kinds of rules and prohibitions exist?
Why did they fail to stop the askfm guys in this case?

~~~
sus_007
Previously, a lot of fights broke out during the peak climbing season between
foreign climbers and Sherpas after a dispute over mountain etiquette. They
wouldn't abide by the instructions of Sherpas regarding Mountain cleanliness
and safety due to their amateurishness or say foolishness. Since last
February, government has started stationing members of the army and police at
the base camp at the 17,550ft mark, around the start of the annual climbing
season. Also, unnecessary competitions were conducted between climbers to set
new records- which also risked Sherpas life. Other regulations were

    
    
       1. Climbers must be accompanied by a guide at all times – no solo climbs.
    
       2. Climbers must have summited a 7,000 meter peak prior to attempting Everest.
    
       3. People over the age of 75 are banned from climbing.
    
       4. People who are blind are banned from climbing.
    
       5. Double amputees are banned from climbing.
    
       6. Helicopter rides over EBC [ *Everest Base Camp* ] are to be heavily restricted.    
    
       7. Sherpas will also get a summit certificate after the climb.

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throwaway837474
Sensational headline that does not paint the full story. ASKfm was a sponsor
to a routine climb that had gone wrong.

The trek, independent of the company, would have happened with or without
crypto company's backing.

[https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/06/04/whos-to-be-blamed-for-
the...](https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/06/04/whos-to-be-blamed-for-the-tragic-
mt-everest-expedition/)

~~~
netsharc
Strangely without the crypto babble, the climb and the man's death wouldn't
have even made the news, it'd just be another day in the Himalayas... (How
many other sherpa deaths have you noticed?)

But the crypto promotion does make the death feel extra cheapened, it'd be
like having someone die doing a dangerous stunt while promoting, I don't know,
Kim Kardashian perfume or something useless like that.

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jxub
Sad, he was a Sherpa hired to help the hikers. Moreover, ASKfm is trying to
suppress this tragedy instead of assuming responsibility and maybe taking a
moment of reflection about all the crypto bandwagon mess they're in.

~~~
ggggtez
But they are a company that "isn't afraid to take risks". In other words, who
ever is running the show has decided they are willing to cut corners to make a
buck.

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seccess
This reminds me of a great book I read, "Into Thin Air"[0]. If you're
interested in getting a first-hand account of climbing Everest, and what
effect novice climbers have had on it, definitely give it a read.

[0][https://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-Personal-
Disaster/dp/03...](https://www.amazon.com/Into-Thin-Air-Personal-
Disaster/dp/0385494785)

~~~
yazr
I read this knee-deep in snow on the Annapurna Range.

Still keeps me the creeps...

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_bxg1
We are surely living in the dumbest timeline.

~~~
russh
Let's hope so...

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skywhopper
“ASKfm, one of the world's top 10 social media networks”

This line in the article feels really weird and sketchy. Especially given that
I’d never heard of the site. I don’t see any indication this is true whatever
it means. But the fact that they are pivoting to crypto doesn’t make me think
they’ve been all that successful in the social media world.

~~~
aitrean
It's rank 726 on Alexa ranks. Somehow I find it hard to believe that of the
725 more popular websites than AskFM, only 9 are social networks.

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sulam
Thousands of people summit Everest every year. This is not 'bold', it is a
dumb marketing stunt. I guess I'm aware of their ICO now, and my likelihood of
buying their coins can't go below zero, so they didn't hurt their chances, but
this is still sad.

~~~
unfunco
It's less than that, it's in the hundreds. Roughly 4,000 people have climbed
Everest ever.

~~~
schoen
Interesting, I would have thought it was a lot more!

Here's a page with a lot of statistics
[http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2017/12/17/everest-by-the-
nu...](http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2017/12/17/everest-by-the-
numbers-2018-edition/). It's primarily based on analysis of
[http://www.himalayandatabase.com/](http://www.himalayandatabase.com/), plus
some other history recounted by the blog author.

------
subcosmos
That's it. We've literally reached peak crypto

~~~
tromp
Cute. But note we've already reached orbit [1] and many projects are aiming
for the moon:-)

[1] [https://blockstream.com/satellite/](https://blockstream.com/satellite/)

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secfirstmd
That mountain often seems to bring the worst in people. It becomes an
obssession. I worked at Intrade for a few months and its obsession eventually
killed John Delaney, the CEO of Intrade.

~~~
exelius
This is true of more than just a mountain... it’s a story as old as mankind.
See also Moby Dick, Macbeth, Beowulf, etc.

It’s basically the achievement treadmill. Either you realize you eventually
have to get off the treadmill or you die trying to make it to the end.

------
Adamantcheese
I don't think anyone's going to climb Mt Everest for the sole purpose of
getting those tokens. 500K tokens and an expedition costs upwards of $50K?
It's not worth it to go get and wasn't worth it to even place up there,
especially in the light that a Sherpa died during the expedition. First piece
of technological junk on the summit I suppose.

~~~
DoctorOetker
I was thinking perhaps the poor sherpa tried to recover the coins: money can
make people behave illogically, he knew where the coins were buried, he was
some way up there, so it might seem less risky to turn back and descend for
the last time compared to descending and then at a later date returning,
especially if the coins might be gone already (publicity stunt => other teams
and sherpas)

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jimjimjim
i'm glad google blocked advertising for sbitcoins and their ilk.

It seems like the very worst aspects of human nature have congealed on the
coin industry. Every huckster and madmen wannabe is pushing their flavor of
snake oil.

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stinos
This must be the first site I ever visited which gave me a choice to opt out
of certain tracking/cookies. Is this something real and working, or rather
giving a false-ish sense of security/respect for privacy? Other sites do this?

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jonny_eh
Great, this tragedy just further fuels their dumb publicity stunt.

~~~
emodendroket
Who in the world is going to see this story and decide to invest?

~~~
Torwald
anybody who searches investment opportunities, has the money, deems this a
good opportunity, can distinguish between the deal itself and the PR stunt and
never heard of it before seeing this story.

~~~
emodendroket
I suspect that a company that gets someone killed in a PR stunt may be poorly
run in other ways.

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Sjayasi1
This is likely an Omen that crypto currencies are dying.

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skate22
Idk what's more risky, crypto or everest

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darod
He probably went back for the crypto.

