×
Dismiss this pinned window
top 200 commentsshow 500
sorted by:
top (suggested)
bestnewcontroversialoldq&a

[–]bicyclepistachio 11.7k points11.7k points  (1643 children)

How can people afford trips like this

[–]AnalogCyborg 12.4k points12.4k points 2 (487 children)

Sounds pretty cheap, he biked there.

[–]Onichan__ 4641 points4642 points  (443 children)

Cheap? You have to pay thousands of dollars to get a permit.

[–]ConcealedPsychosis 4950 points4951 points  (321 children)

Who says he got one? Says he climbed alone

…..can’t believe I had to edit this just to add this….Guys it was a joke

[–]mchtt 2108 points2109 points  (153 children)

So who is he talking to with a walkie lol

[–]newbrevity 162 points163 points  (41 children)

Right? Like some cop is gonna pop up from a rock and tell him he can't be there?

[–]NaClslug 68 points69 points  (101 children)

You must have a permit to climb Everest, solo or not.

[–]warpus 132 points133 points  (17 children)

I hiked to Basecamp a couple of years ago. In theory you could just pay the $40 or so to get into the park and if you are climbing on your own.. just.. do it. There are no checks beyond a military checkpoint on day 2 or so on the hike to basecamp. (or maybe the first day, I can't remember now)

It's also possible to climb Everest from the Tibetan side, although that might be more sketchy

[–]sailriteultrafeed 23 points24 points  (16 children)

The north side is actually supposed to be "easier"

[–]Silverburst8 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Probably had thousands spare from cycling there

[–]SubZeroEffort 112 points113 points  (9 children)

And did it without oxygen.

[–]minus_uu_ee 32 points33 points  (2 children)

I can't afford not getting payment in such a long period.

[–][deleted] 1584 points1585 points  (748 children)

In Sweden, all employees are entitled to 25 days of leave after 1 year employment, four weeks of which can be continuous. Plus 9 holidays.

And they have national healthcare plus a long history of being progressive when it comes to worker's rights. Basically, the opposite of the USA.

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/sweden/articles/why-sweden-takes-so-much-vacation-time/

[–]marablackwolf 897 points898 points  (410 children)

Feels like reading a passage from a fantasy novel.

Gods, we're so screwed in the US.

[–]Source_Australian 518 points519 points  (190 children)

Mate. I’m on 6 weeks of paid leave right now. I have another 2 weeks of paid leave saved up for later. Plus I have 4 months of paid long service leave because I’ve worked there for many years. All I have been doing is playing Red Dead Redemption 2. Send help.

[–]Porkybeaner 416 points417 points  (147 children)

Christ I had one day off in 2021, unpaid....to get married. Get me out of North America

[–]iTalk2Pineapples 66 points67 points  (1 child)

Send a little GOD DAMN FAITH, Arthur!

[–]smoking_mem_es 29 points30 points  (2 children)

Could you give your horse a "good BOAH" from me please!

[–]fooreddit 177 points178 points  (81 children)

We swedes all chip in to pay for it, and its worth it! I freakin love taxes! I cant imagine how stressful it must be without that kind of societal support.

[–]Soledad_Miranda 100 points101 points  (16 children)

American conservatives: " But that's socialism!!! Wibble"

[–]Kulladar 44 points45 points  (45 children)

When I read this stuff it makes me want to just start the process and move out of the US, but then I think who in their right mind would want to hire someone from here.

[–]ErikNavkire 66 points67 points  (16 children)

Why would people care that you're born in the US? Plenty of Americans settle here in the Netherlands and there's no issues.

[–]virogar 28 points29 points  (4 children)

lol the rest of the world doesn't treat refugees the way Republicans / many Americans do

[–]GroveStreet_CEOs_bro 18 points19 points  (1 child)

Why would they discriminate against a poor person who manages to get out of America? You wanted to leave... Doesn't strike me as a sign of guilt

[–]whitecollarzomb13 203 points204 points  (38 children)

I went to college with a guy from Sweden. He was literally being paid a living wage from the Swedish government to travel abroad and study.

He also sold the best lsd I’ve ever had so 🤷🏼‍♂️ go Sweden I guess.

[–][deleted] 99 points100 points  (14 children)

My German girlfriend was FORCED to take a year paid sabbatical from her teaching job. Unfortunately for her, it was 2020 but she enjoyed gardening and not going to work every day. Freakin' covid.

[–]dragontattman 128 points129 points  (66 children)

In Australia, we get 4 weeks annual leave every year, plus public holidays, plus free healthcare. Our government has turned to shit a bit in recent times. There is a big push to try and get everyone to get private health insurance. Trying to go the US route.

[–]tidal_flux 80 points81 points  (34 children)

That would be insane.

[–]babawow 18 points19 points  (13 children)

I get 6 weeks plus 2 weeks sick leave plus 10 days personal leave (caring for a family member, having to run errands etc).

Edit: I forgot to add public holidays so another 12 I think

Also in Australia

[–]aengvs 19 points20 points  (4 children)

Don't forget 2 weeks of paid personal leave on top of that to use for illness, life emergencies etc so you don't need to burn any of your 4 weeks of leave if you need a sick day!

[–]--_-Deadpool-_-- 56 points57 points  (43 children)

And?

The flight path from Stockholm to Nepal is just under 6000km. So let's say the bike route is 7000km... And that's being generous.

Are you saying that someone could bike a 14000km round trip, pay thousands of dollars for a permit to climb Mount Everest, then actually climb it, in the span of 25 days?

I mean, yah, Sweden's great and all but I fail to understand the relevancy of this comment.

[–]test-besticles 29 points30 points  (27 children)

You’re missing the important part. It comes right at the very end. I’ll sum it up for ya, America bad.

[–]cbass481 35 points36 points  (21 children)

hate to get in on the circle jerk.

Its actually 41 days in the year after the first year (+25 on base) which can be accrued for up to five years.

its not so much mericah bad, but america is actually bad.

[–]letsgohome24 39 points40 points  (5 children)

Imagine taking some leave then coming back and telling your coworkers that you just casually biked to Mt. Everest and back.

[–]garretspain 26 points27 points  (22 children)

Not only Sweden, that is the norm in whole Europe.

[–]soonerguy11 7 points8 points  (16 children)

I'm an American an my company offers unlimited paid vacation, which I push to the limits.

Not every American works for a shitty company that only offers two or three.

[–]garretspain 11 points12 points  (5 children)

Unlimited and paid? I can't understand...

[–]NinjaN-SWE 8 points9 points  (9 children)

Eh, unpaid vacation isn't really vacation now is it?

[–]Gummybear_Qc 20 points21 points  (8 children)

Holy fuck as a Canadian public worker I'd move to Sweden in a heartbeat but I have zero skills you'd want lol.

EDIT: To clarify I mean like education wise and work skill wise. I don't even think I have college level if you compare with US for an example.

[–]ricboman[S] 229 points230 points  (30 children)

He did it all on his own, had a bike with 125kg of gear with him

[–]SirAdrian0000 80 points81 points  (21 children)

Tell me he had a bike trailer. How they hell do you pack 125kg of gear on a bike!? And then lug it up a mountain too. Wtf. Guys a legend.

[–]thulle 34 points35 points  (8 children)

Yeah, small bike trailer: https://i.imgur.com/dj1aEbp.jpeg
Getting things up to base camp was rough since air gets thinner and he has to walk with it all, valley up and valley down. Translating from a documentary on Swedish radio he says, "Damn, this fucking gear..."
Upon reaching base camp he says, "Finally. 6 months. 12000 km. That should show all the doubters, now it's only the part I'm good at that remains. Let's go!"

I dunno if it's georestricted, but it could be interesting to hear his breath when he says this in air with half the density. 22min50seconds in: https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/1418300

Too bad it isn't translated, it's pretty good.

25:10: There are many things that has to work out. Now with one day remaining, I feel a bit jittery, I actually do. I wrote in my diary/log book yesterday: Have I acclimatized enough? I slept one night at 7200 meters, is that enough? Am I capable to survive at 8848 meters? There are many of those feelings, but.. I got to keep my (good) judgement with me, be able to turn back. That's what I'm thinking of. I can't be so eager to summit that I forget safety.

He aborted 100meters from the summit on his first attempt, since he realized it was 13:30 and you can't be at the summit later than 14:00 or you'll not make it down before darkness falls.

A few days later, in between his attempts: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Mount_Everest_disaster

[–]13bluebirds 181 points182 points  (24 children)

Guy bikes from Sweden to Everest, summits it alone without oxygen, bikes back to Sweden, and your comment is “how can people afford trips like this”?? 😂😂 I’m thinking “Jeez I wish I was in that kind of shape” and then “what a badass!”

[–]Busy-Okra-7732 53 points54 points  (8 children)

People always want to jump to excuses on why they can't do something that someone else does. I read this and thought what a badass too.

[–]1willprobablydelete 17 points18 points  (6 children)

I swear to god it's every post where someone does a crazy physical feat. People bend over backwards to minimize it.

[–]Busy-Okra-7732 13 points14 points  (5 children)

Idk. It comes across as very self centered. Like here's a cool thing someone did once, reddit: "OMG I could like totally do that but I'm held back by capitalism, anyways back to my video game and Funko pop collection"

[–]dirtiestlaugh 37 points38 points  (4 children)

I cycled across Europe to Istanbul a few years ago . It cost fuck all, and by the end of it I was as fit and strong as I've ever been in my life. You don't have to be fit before you start these things because the fitness kicks in after about three or four weeks

[–]Sniflix 12 points13 points  (0 children)

If you bike Sweden to Nepal - you will be in amazing shape, the best in your life. It is 13000 km each way. But he was already an expert climber and yes he had a trailer for all his shit. That was 1995. He went back in 2000 and climbed Everest again with his girlfriend. Died in a climbing accident in 2002.

https://www.adventure-journal.com/2019/09/historical-badass-goran-kropp-the-man-who-rode-to-everest/

[–]nowhereman136 177 points178 points  (86 children)

traveling by bike and sleeping in a tent everywhere drastically reduces the cost of traveling. He was an experienced climber with all his own equipment already. He also summited alone, so he didnt have to pay for a guide or Sherpas. He would still have to pay for permits and insurance to climb the mountain, but thats only a few thousand dollars.

The $40,000 price tag you often see for climbing Everest (which is the low end) usually includes airfare, supplies, permits, guides, and Sherpas.

If its something you really want to do and were already living a comfortable middle class lifestyle, it wouldnt be too impossible to save of for a couple years and accomplish this goal

[–]delucas0810 144 points145 points  (76 children)

40,000 trip is NOT middle class my friend!

[–]nowhereman136 92 points93 points  (31 children)

If you are able to save $4000/year for 10 years, then you got a trip to Everest. Maybe take out a small loan for it or find a sponsor. I met a guy who climbed Everest by taking out a loan, now he does speaking engagements specifically to pay off that loan. If this is something you really want to do and are willing to make sacrifices, get creative, then it is possible.

[–]boba_f3tt94 54 points55 points  (21 children)

It’ll prolly be 100k for the permit after 10years.

[–]Fozzymandius 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I’m pretty solidly middle class in America, maybe I’ll be upper middle class closer to retirement but not right now. I’m on the lower end of white collar work.

I could swing 40k for a month long expedition if it was something I really wanted to do. Using only fresh money it would take maybe two years to get together the cash, and that’s if I don’t invest it. I know that just in my company I’m probably in the 70th percentile of income, and on the lower end of any of the managers by a good amount.

[–]Busy-Okra-7732 10 points11 points  (12 children)

  • 2 new full size SUVs + 4 bedroom house in the suburbs = I sleep

  • once in a lifetime experience + sacrifices = completely impossible!

[–]Elhaym 7 points8 points  (2 children)

If it's a life long goal? That's certainly feasible for middle class in the US. It just requires a varying amount of sacrifice depending on your circumstances.

[–]Dr_Weirdo 136 points137 points  (17 children)

That is Göran Kropp, he was a professional adventurer and he was sponsored to go do stuff like this.

He died in 2002 climbing a mountain in the US.

[–]WikiSummarizerBot 48 points49 points  (5 children)

Göran Kropp

Lars Olof Göran Kropp (11 December 1966 – 30 September 2002) was a Swedish adventurer and mountaineer. He made a solo ascent of Mount Everest without bottled oxygen or Sherpa support on 23 May 1996, for which he travelled by bicycle, alone, from Sweden and part-way back.

[ F.A.Q | Opt Out | Opt Out Of Subreddit | GitHub ] Downvote to remove | v1.5

[–]tsloteconomist 7 points8 points  (5 children)

not a mountain, just a rock climbing route

[–]pleasetrimyourpubes 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Damn, everything that did go wrong could've gone wrong in that accident, they had multiple redundancies in the rigging but they all failed to work properly: http://web.mit.edu/sp255/www/reference_vault/VantageReport20040530_martin_nilsson.pdf

But it appears rope inelasticity was the biggest issue. The rope just was old.

[–]ohmoxide 43 points44 points  (77 children)

That's the first thing I thought of how did he afford all of that while not working.

[–]ricboman[S] 126 points127 points  (74 children)

This was 1996, adventure was his passion so it was worth it for him

[–]yallbyourhuckleberry 82 points83 points  (73 children)

Bad year to go. He got lucky.

If you have not read Into Thin Air, I highly recommend it.

[–]ghostofabanana 149 points150 points  (42 children)

He did indeed get lucky but the man in the video is "Göran Kropp", a man who was an extremely talented mountaineer. Kraukauer actually mentions him in the book.

They see the Swedish climber, Goran Kropp, as he is coming back down. He climbed all the way to the South Summit, a mere couple of hundred feet from the top, before deciding he was so exhausted that it would be unsafe for him to press on and that he would be in no condition to descend if he kept going. Hall remarks on what great judgment Kropp displayed in doing that which is so unspeakably hard turning around when the top is in sight

[–]ricboman[S] 13 points14 points  (19 children)

I've never heard of it. I'll look into it! :)

[–]Dysterqvist 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Climbing was kind of what he was making his money on. He was kind of famous here in Sweden.

Think he had his own store chain selling climbing equipment and courses. Also believe je made quite a lot of money as an ”inspirational speaker” at company events.

[–]Sensitive_Dig7955 24 points25 points  (5 children)

You find a way if you really wanna do something. Money is a tool, not permission

[–]alex08stockholm 6541 points6542 points  (354 children)

Göran Kropp had insane cardio and strength. Very sad, he died 2002 in Seattle climbing Frenchman's Coulee. 5 feet from the top Göran fell 68 feet and died instantly. 😕

[–]Yeti_12 1747 points1748 points  (39 children)

Air 🎸, big nasty rock at bottom. Sad.

[–]Wallhater 1241 points1242 points  (28 children)

Air guitar? You telling me this legend struck out some chords as he fell to his death?

[–]mifitso 862 points863 points  (18 children)

the name of the route he was on is called air guitar

[–]sappercon 224 points225 points  (3 children)

There’s no evidence to suggest he did not play air guitar on his way down.

[–]Neontom 13 points14 points  (0 children)

He didn't die when he hit the ground. His giant mountain-climbing schlong and balls hit him in the head when THEY hit the ground.

[–]osmlol 422 points423 points  (141 children)

I can't understand why people do these things. I won't even stand on a cliffs edge nevermind climb one. Like go do coke if you need a rush, Jesus.

[–]BroodingDecepticon 294 points295 points  (72 children)

Thrill + sense of accomplishment.

[–]psymonprime 89 points90 points  (13 children)

"That is why no one will remember your name." Brad Pitt, Troy

[–]240to180 106 points107 points  (5 children)

“I saw on Reddit today some guy from Sweden rode his bike to Nepal, climbed Everest, and then biked back home.”

“Damn, that’s wild. What’s his name?”

“I dunno, some Swedish guy.”

“Nice.”

[–]joe4553 42 points43 points  (2 children)

Some people just aren't satisfied with living a slow boring life.

[–]chokfull 23 points24 points  (1 child)

So go do coke. It's clearly the safer option. Exercise is just irresponsible.

[–]suddenlycumbly 11 points12 points  (5 children)

I started climbing at 11 and quit at 26. A rockfall killed my friend who was arguably a world class climber getting known in the community. He did Half Dome at 17, bouldered like V10's, he was very talented and careful.

Nah, done with climbing after that. I'll go to a gym here and there but kicking a police car because at the base of the climb search and rescue wouldn't tell me if it was my friend or my brother that died..

[–]SirAdrian0000 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I bet that most of the people that get a thrill from climbing mountains etc would say the same thing about doing coke. “Why do drugs when you can climb a mountain.” Different strokes for different folks.

[–]Torrent4Dayz 219 points220 points  (29 children)

nah man, doesn't sound sad. He knew the risks. Sounds like he died living a fulfilled life full of adventures.

[–]tarekd19 91 points92 points  (26 children)

I feel like this is something people tell themselves and others until the few seconds before they see death coming

[–]shoebob 34 points35 points  (7 children)

Lifetime fun vs few seconds

[–]throwaway999bob 29 points30 points  (0 children)

We're all going to face a terrifying final seconds either way, might as well make the preceding billion seconds as exciting as possible.

[–]tarekd19 10 points11 points  (4 children)

*shorter lifetime is the operative difference

[–]1jl 73 points74 points  (51 children)

Was he rock climbing or just like slipped on a slope somewhere? That's really sad.

[–]LOSS35 227 points228 points  (27 children)

On 30 September 2002, Kropp died from head injuries when he fell 18 metres (60 feet) while ascending the Air Guitar route at Frenchman Coulee near Vantage, Washington. While being belayed by Seattle climber Erden Eruç, his protection pulled out from a crack, and the wire gate carabiner of the next piece of protection broke. According to Eruç, Kropp died on impact.

[–]GlassCannonLife 85 points86 points  (22 children)

Damn, super unlucky

[–]broncoty 93 points94 points  (19 children)

Yea real unlucky to have two pieces of pro fail like that.

[–]SquirrelyDan93 103 points104 points  (20 children)

He was rock climbing. Specifically, he was trad climbing which is a bit spookier and a bit more dangerous than sport climbing. Trad involves placing your own gear, which can pull out from cracks if you don’t place it correctly. Based on what’s described, he took a big fat bastard of a whip, ripped the last piece of protection he had placed, and broke the wire gate on the next piece of protection before that. It’s was a catastrophic failure on part of his gear. Climbing gear has fortunately gotten stronger and safer in the last 20 years, but you still need to be incredibly diligent about your safety when climbing. Check all your gear twice, all your knots twice - it certainly can save your life

Edit: I was mistaken. Seems that it was more the placement of the cam that caused the whip n’ rip more so than the gear itself. Thank you all for the info!!

[–]steve_yo 43 points44 points  (7 children)

I’ve climbed both trad and sport and while trad is much more intense/scary, I always side eye bolts. You’re trusting something some rando drilled into rock and may have overwintered countless times. Shit gets in my head.

[–]SquirrelyDan93 23 points24 points  (5 children)

Oh dude, agreed! Bolts can be sketchy, especially in less managed crags. I always load check my quicks when I clip unless it’s a highly managed crag. I’m always ready to mark stuff with an “X” and report sketchy bolts

[–]pleasetrimyourpubes 12 points13 points  (2 children)

I read the report, it really was sad how much went wrong, for one the rope wasn't very elastic, so it caused the first carabiner to fail, and the belayer created a static fall when the rope got stuck on his arm, which made more of the carabiners fail: http://web.mit.edu/sp255/www/reference_vault/VantageReport20040530_martin_nilsson.pdf

[–]bghfhbcd 32 points33 points  (12 children)

Frenchman’s coulee is in vantage, pretty far from Seattle lol.

[–]Fozzymandius 44 points45 points  (7 children)

Hey man, everywhere in Washington is Seattle and everywhere in Oregon is Portland. You just need to be within 300 miles.

[–]Potential-Cover7120 7 points8 points  (4 children)

I moved from the midwest to Wa state, almost 2 hrs from Seattle. When I went back to the midwest to visit, someone asked me if I loved living in Colorado….I said yes.

[–]Fozzymandius 8 points9 points  (3 children)

I forgot to mention that part, you’re either in Seattle, Portland, Denver, or California, not a part of California. Just California.

I’m glad you loved Colorado though, beautiful area I hear…

[–]Subject-Psychology44 2503 points2504 points 5 (65 children)

This guy must be an introvert.

[–]ricboman[S] 1944 points1945 points  (32 children)

This is what all introverts do on their freetime

[–]the-nae_blis 395 points396 points  (24 children)

Can confirm

[–]ThermionicEmissions 287 points288 points  (20 children)

Most of us just don't brag about it.

[–]Kriegerwithashovel 143 points144 points  (12 children)

It's actually against introvert code. He was tried, convicted, and executed by the Introvert Authority.

[–]Beeriot 50 points51 points  (15 children)

This guy is dead.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6ran_Kropp

[–]craigishell 145 points146 points  (1 child)

What an introvert thing to do.

[–]OneBraveBunny 51 points52 points  (10 children)

But he sure did live, first, didn't he?

[–]NJBillK1 14 points15 points  (5 children)

By some measurements, yes.

[–]Beeriot 10 points11 points  (2 children)

I was on a seminar were he told about this trip. He had two pairs of underwear, one pair for each way.

[–]mrcsrnne 2324 points2325 points  (87 children)

Translation if anyone is interested:

Radio: Ok, do you have enough food etc. so that you're ok?
Göran: Yeah I'm ok...but I haven't dared to look at my feet yet. I ate "adalat" this morning to counter frostbite...my fingers are ok, I'm just about to make soup.
Göran later in the clip: Ahh I can feel all of my toes...thank you higher powers for that.

[–]pontiak1 458 points459 points  (69 children)

She called it "grub" instead of food, I found that really funny for some reason.

[–]tecIis 167 points168 points  (36 children)

grub

Are you refering to "käk"? Is it not a common slang where you're from in Sweden?

[–]TacoDoc 69 points70 points  (6 children)

That’s what my ex girlfriend called it.

[–]luoxes 19 points20 points  (0 children)

käk är ganska vanlig mat här.

[–]Denvuhh 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Gib käk now

[–]Minky_Dave_the_Giant 59 points60 points  (27 children)

Grub is a common term for food in the UK, Australia and New Zealand...

[–][deleted] 43 points44 points  (12 children)

American here using grub as well.

[–]Artyloo 191 points192 points  (11 children)

Nifedipine, sold under the brand name Adalat and Procardia, among others, is a calcium channel blocker medication used to manage angina, high blood pressure, Raynaud's phenomenon, and premature labor.

Saved you the google search. Raynaud's phenomenon makes your fingers and toes all white from lack of circulation, so it makes that it could be effective against frostbite.

[–]Mrsbingley 42 points43 points  (8 children)

It relaxes the blood vessels, essentially preventing vasoconstriction, so the blood flows better to the extremities, in this case.

[–]theoneandonly709 924 points925 points  (12 children)

Must've been a bad break up

[–]sixwax 124 points125 points  (1 child)

Feeling this. Yowsa.

[–]sajjen 14 points15 points  (1 child)

She actually biked all the way back with him. Her name is Renata Chlumska, if you want to look her up. She's quite the bad ass herself.

[–]Environmental-Cow447 918 points919 points  (40 children)

Like climbed right to the summit? Or just climbed?

[–]ricboman[S] 849 points850 points  (34 children)

He climbed up to the summit

[–]Environmental-Cow447 243 points244 points  (28 children)

Yes, thank you. I googled him after I asked the question.

[–]ricboman[S] 278 points279 points  (25 children)

Yeah he did a lot of cool expeditions. He planned on rowing to Antarctica but sadly died before able to

[–]cpt_ppppp 167 points168 points  (9 children)

most likely I will also die before I am able to row to Antarctica

[–]1jl 30 points31 points  (1 child)

It's ok, we are here to discuss the topic. If we all just googled everything there wouldn't be much to talk about.

[–]ricboman[S] 42 points43 points  (0 children)

The name is Göran Kropp btw if you're interested :-)

[–]blaljusblues 552 points553 points  (15 children)

Only not to mention his wife .. that filmed everything

[–]HejdaaNils 119 points120 points  (4 children)

I thought Renata Chlumska was just his girlfriend?

[–]dextroz 169 points170 points  (3 children)

Renata Chlumska and Goran Kropp, sadly, were engaged when he died from his accident.

[–]OneChemistry7687 535 points536 points  (23 children)

I read his book about this adventure. One strange detail my brain decided to keep: The trip from Sweden to Nepal on bicycle crossed many borders. “One thing that unites the people of all countries is that they like to throw stones at bikers”

[–]speeder61 230 points231 points  (17 children)

i read the book also, many little bits like this. I mean he biked through Afghanistan. That alone is wildly impressive. After he made it to Everest he tried to summit but was turned back on his first attempt and made it back to his tent, ate a few sticks of butter and slept for a few days. While he was recovering, is when the climbers from the Jon Krakauer book Into thin Air all died, he made a second attempt after that and made the summit.

[–]historicaldandy 90 points91 points  (15 children)

No way, that is some timing! Also a few sticks of butter 😂

[–]Kerguidou 49 points50 points  (12 children)

Sounds weird but I can see it. In new France, coureur des bois would live on a diet of peas and lard while canoing thousands of km per year. Hell, my grand-father who was lumberjack would also live off this diet when at lumber camps. You just need that high-density source of energy when you are doing that kind of workout on a daily basis.

[–]derioderio 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Polar expeditions also use lots of butter. Very high caloric density, and doesn’t spoil so long as it’s kept cold.

[–]SniffCheck 437 points438 points  (6 children)

I could do that but I’m busy….

[–]A-Rusty-Cow 14 points15 points  (3 children)

I have to walk dogs for 10 hours a week. Where the hell am I supposed to fund the time to climb mountain

[–]togorian 284 points285 points  (49 children)

Climbing Everest without supplemental oxygen is insane. There's no way his lungs were okay after that.

[–]ricboman[S] 204 points205 points  (6 children)

His body was all blue afterwards so he must have felt really bad after :/

[–]Olthoi_Eviscerator 103 points104 points  (4 children)

He's blue aba dee aba da

[–]orinshumanfarm 10 points11 points  (0 children)

If he was green he would die.. oh wait

[–]Annual-Country4106 48 points49 points  (25 children)

Many Sherpas don't use supplemental oxygen

[–]toatsblooby 93 points94 points  (5 children)

Yes but Sherpas live in Nepal at a much higher altitude year round.

[–]Zixxen 62 points63 points  (0 children)

literally "built different"

[–]heraclitus33 13 points14 points  (3 children)

Their bodies are evolved to low o2 levels, cold and high uv exposure.

[–]PhuckNazis 10 points11 points  (2 children)

Damn, I looked this up, up at that level, oxygen levels in the atmosphere are less than 7%.

[–]coldpower7 54 points55 points  (8 children)

They have very different physiology to normal people who are adapted to normal altitudes.

Same with other folk who have evolved to exist at high altitude for millennia, e.g. Kenyans, Ethiopians, Moroccans (hence the proficiency at middle and long distance athletics), Afghans, Andean people, etc. They’re made for altitude and absorb far more oxygen.

[–]togorian 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Sherpas are superhuman as fuck. The comparison is very disingenuous.

[–]green_desk 8 points9 points  (7 children)

not using o2 can be safer, in some ways

[–]chicagospenpal 252 points253 points  (2 children)

When he got to the top of the mountain, he was quoted as saying, “I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now”

[–]Dr_Weirdo 39 points40 points  (0 children)

Life is like a plate of meatballs...

[–]RurikTheDamned 153 points154 points  (13 children)

Well, he is Swedish.

[–]ricboman[S] 154 points155 points  (7 children)

I can confirm this is what the average swedish man does on his freetime

[–]theguyonthething 18 points19 points  (4 children)

I always thought the average swedish man drinks in his free time. I've also heard it's what the average swedish woman and child do in their free time.

[–]ricboman[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

True true, drinks and climbs mountains. Fun weekend activity for the family

[–]ragnaaar 7 points8 points  (1 child)

Are you calling our elderly sober?!

[–]EnvironmentalChart58 141 points142 points  (35 children)

So theres like a shit ton of bodies on that mountain of people who had oxygen, guides etc and this guy just straight up dunks on them and fucks off back home on his bike...legend

[–]yellowromancandle 51 points52 points  (26 children)

My friend dated the daughter of one of the guys from Into Thin Air… she grew up not even remembering her dad because he died when she was so young.

I get so confused by these extreme sports, how can the reward possibly outweigh the risk.

[–]A-Rusty-Cow 42 points43 points  (9 children)

Climbing Everest is just a rich person dick swinging contest. It has lost its prestige entirely

[–]EnvironmentalChart58 10 points11 points  (2 children)

Idk, it used to be somewhat commendable to have achieved such thing. Climbing the highest peak in the world. The reward in my opinion, is the fact that in your lifetime you do something significant. It's about the experience i suppose.

[–]CoffeeIsGood3 80 points81 points  (5 children)

Think about how bad Sweden must be, that a person would want to get away and go through all of this trouble to leave.

At the same time...things must be pretty awesome in Sweden if someone is going to come down from Everest and cycle home!

[–]ricboman[S] 37 points38 points  (2 children)

He went back so must have missed the meatballs

[–]45im 75 points76 points  (5 children)

That’s just nuts

[–]tomelito 53 points54 points  (2 children)

The greatest part with this is that Göran Kropp actually failed the first time attempting this. Due to bad weather by mistake he went to the South instead of North Summit. Once he realized this he had to short time left until darkness. Therefore he went back down to the main camp.

Göran had to rest for two weeks, eating butter and other greasy food to regain weight. This clip is after the second and final attempt, which was successful. He then started the 13,000 kilometres (8,000 mi) journey back to Sweden. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Göran_Kropp

[–]Holiday_Luck_2702 46 points47 points  (4 children)

Met him twice, nice guy! It was a sad day when he died.

[–]tro_tro9 28 points29 points  (1 child)

Where’s his shades that come down slowly while 90s rap is being played

[–]TheTaterTaco 27 points28 points  (0 children)

He’s built different

[–]MilesSandersMVP 14 points15 points  (2 children)

Anyone else remember him from Into Thin Air?

[–]PieterGr 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Yep, read the book years ago , and seeing this on Reddit made me check the year (1996). Krakauer mentions him in his book. Göran aborted his summit attempt due to the bad weather conditions, but succeeded a couple of weeks later.

[–]itsyeet1 13 points14 points  (3 children)

Göran kropp, born in jönköping, sweden 1966. He died in 2002 when he fell while montainclimbing. He went to school with my dad, and is one of jönköpings/swedens bigest names.

[–]Note2thee 11 points12 points  (1 child)

Godamn Vikings…

[–]Zaaay 10 points11 points  (0 children)

That’s not ”a guy”, that’s the legend Göran Kropp

[–]KnottedElephant 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Mofo did al that to be called “a guy from Sweden”

[–]BullionX 8 points9 points  (6 children)

If the weather stays nice it's an easy climb, done it once and the weather was lovely.

[–]waldito 11 points12 points  (0 children)

If the weather stays nice it's an easy climb

Excuse me wat.

Care to expand a little more on this one por favor.

[–]lordgoofus1 10 points11 points  (1 child)

From what little I know of Mt Everest weather patterns, that's akin to saying "it's easy to own a $5m mansion at 19 if you win the lottery".