Episode Transcript
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0:00
Imagine
0:02
you're out on a hike, it's
0:04
a beautiful day, there's a gentle
0:06
breeze, it's warm but
0:08
too hot. You get
0:10
to the top of a mountain mountain eat
0:12
some chocolate and you look around
0:14
and there's this gorgeous Panorama
0:17
of mountains, spread out in every
0:19
direction you pull
0:21
out your map to figure out what looking
0:23
at. The map,
0:25
only shows the immediate vicinity. so
0:29
are you do for us.
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There's an app out there that can help.
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0:57
Hi, I'm mobile game
0:59
and you are listening to out there the
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now onto our story for today
3:08
this story is about how
3:10
we make moral decisions
3:12
how we choose when to be compassionate
3:14
and selfless the
3:16
story takes us up the tallest mountain
3:19
in the world and brings us face
3:21
to face with decision that very
3:23
literally affects the course of an
3:25
entire life but
3:29
let's go back to beginning our
3:32
guest is man named miles
3:34
osborne he's a professor
3:36
at the university of colorado and he's
3:38
also a world traveler and an outdoorsman
3:42
and as an outdoorsman he
3:44
does a lot of things that seem the crazy
3:48
even he does these
3:50
things because well
3:52
frankly because of formal the fear
3:55
of missing out
3:56
so i have this the sort of overwhelming
3:58
thera as suddenly
4:00
yeah into to die or or
4:03
speedy get some horrible illness my will
4:05
look back and realize that realize put off
4:07
a load of things that might have done earlier
4:10
so miles has made a habit
4:12
of not sitting around and
4:15
his approach to lies this fear
4:17
of missing out it's served
4:19
him well for the most part but
4:22
a while back have been really
4:24
conflicting happened to miles something
4:26
a period all of those life goals
4:28
that he didn't want to miss out on against
4:31
the life of total stranger
4:34
reporter phoebe flanagan has the story
4:37
it's story about one of the hardest
4:39
decisions mountaineers ever have to make
4:42
whether or not to save another
4:44
human being the
4:47
role models osborne doesn't like
4:49
the talk about himself
4:50
the dot it complements me cringe
4:52
is that the thought putting personal updates
4:54
on facebook and as as
4:57
be was kind of whim those
4:59
terrified as a child there there
5:01
are many stories that my brothers and sister
5:03
will will not let me for guests have
5:05
been going to swimming lessons and
5:07
me holding onto the side of the pool and screaming
5:10
miles grew up
5:11
second the youngest of six and a small
5:13
village on the south coast of england his
5:15
father was navy man who spent
5:17
much of the
5:18
traveling so he would always
5:20
be , foreign countries writings
5:23
postcards and senate things back to the school where
5:25
were so we were were very aware
5:28
that that there was this wider world out that
5:30
as he got older males became
5:32
more and more serious about that world
5:35
the one that existed beyond the foggy
5:37
coast of his hometown the
5:39
wanted to see it for himself so
5:42
at eighteen p traveled to namibia
5:44
for three months after that he took
5:46
on scuba diving then mountain climbing
5:49
he tackled kilimanjaro right
5:51
near denali and
5:53
in two thousand two thousand he said his
5:55
on another of
6:02
at the time miles was still
6:04
pretty green as a climber any
6:06
didn't have much money she was just starting
6:08
grad school so he planned it or
6:10
the low budget route below ,
6:13
on everest still means twenty thousand
6:15
dollars miles
6:17
but next two years working odd jobs
6:19
on purpose is studies to scrape
6:21
together to scrape even so
6:24
he barely saved up enough
6:26
when i left the us god
6:28
i remember the number think was eighty two bucks and my
6:30
bank account
6:31
so no money to spare of and
6:33
a tough mountain
6:37
now experienced climbers will
6:39
tell you that everest isn't actually the most
6:41
technical
6:42
the time but , doesn't make it
6:44
safe you've probably read news
6:46
stories about lives lost from mountain
6:49
on average seven climbers die
6:51
each season that's ,
6:53
than one percent of the people who actually attend
6:55
the mountains that still over
6:57
years almost three hundred people
6:59
have lost their lives trying to get that the top
7:02
three hundred hundred side
7:04
note money of their bodies remain on
7:06
the moon they make sense they're
7:08
often too difficult too remove but
7:11
still it's grim reminder to
7:13
any who might follow in their footsteps
7:15
that this their footsteps dangerous place
7:20
my own knew all this he
7:22
says he wasn't really afraid
7:25
there's always you know course anything
7:27
can go wrong what we talking
7:29
about probably for
7:32
four five hundred climbers or something on mountain
7:35
the numbers the odds are still something going
7:37
wrong are still quite small
7:39
so so there are risks but i think that they
7:41
are they are mitigated by by being
7:43
smart and you know you can
7:45
be unlucky you going to be unlucky and this nothing
7:47
that the murray's about the money
7:50
what miles didn't consider was
7:52
that it might not be his own life
7:54
on the line as it turns
7:56
out the hardest thing he had to do on everest
7:58
involved making a this isn't about the wife
8:01
of another climber it
8:03
the choice that many of the space
8:05
on smaller scale in our daily lives
8:08
do you drive past the stranded motorists
8:10
ordered stuff and had been ,
8:12
mount everest the stakes are much higher
8:16
and whatever you choose you'll have to
8:18
live with that the rest your life
8:21
in late march of two thousand
8:23
six miles began his journey
8:26
the plan to climb everest from the north and
8:28
when he arrived in tibet the landscape
8:31
blue
8:31
why you the the the thing
8:33
that i will never forget about tibet is that
8:35
the scale of it yet these to
8:38
ordinary mountains in background that
8:40
office so much larger
8:42
than a thing that you can imagine and
8:44
then the plateau just stretches
8:47
out for us as far
8:49
as you can see this huge slot
8:51
expanses sort of dusty land
8:55
that's was was to stop bigger
8:57
than anything that i seen before
9:00
the base camp into bad sits right
9:02
beneath the everest north face on wide
9:04
gravel plateau
9:08
moonscape rocky
9:11
and fair and there's no trees
9:13
their few plants and fact
9:15
the only real color around come from
9:17
manmade signs and hence the
9:19
prayer flags forever flopping flopping wind
9:22
not so much the temperature but if the wind that really
9:26
in the that the notice it's
9:28
just constant have
9:31
something in the back of your ears and in your head the
9:33
you're always hearing the when and
9:36
it's not it's not particularly unsettling
9:38
is it's it's almost sort of comforting that that
9:40
is this sort natural fact that out there beyond
9:43
sort of or stillness perhaps and
9:46
, can you can see once you get the base camp
9:48
and you're looking the top everest you can see this
9:50
huge in couple of kilometer
9:52
poon coming off the peak which
9:54
is the wind coming across the summit
9:56
at that sort of you know maybe you know sixty
9:58
two hundred miles an hour
10:00
i'm not gonna drop before you go to the top as
10:02
a reminder that you are you are really
10:04
treading somebody shouldn't be for
10:06
a very short window each season
10:09
very short window
10:12
what my over saying is that there
10:14
only few days out of the year
10:16
when it's possible to get to the top of
10:18
mount everest the peak
10:20
is so high that it actually
10:22
protrudes into the stratosphere and
10:25
most of year the summit is whipped by haruki
10:27
the forest when when
10:29
they could kill a climber in minutes it's
10:32
only during a week long period on either
10:35
end up monsoon season that
10:37
wins on ever cement died out enough
10:39
for climbers to take their shot at
10:41
standing on the roof of the world
10:43
to pursue days
10:46
into bed third base camp drinking
10:48
water eating lot adjusting
10:50
to the altitude he was preparing
10:52
to set out with small team led by
10:54
world famous american mountaineer fan
10:56
monsieur then spirits were high
10:59
people are excited there are very few people
11:01
who had there who have nots then
11:04
significant amounts of efforts
11:06
you're healthy you're not injured you've made
11:08
it that so some ways you've you've
11:10
done the bet the you
11:13
really will worried was gonna stop you
11:15
then
11:16
they started climbing making trips
11:18
to the first camp dropping years
11:20
smith that down vesting always
11:22
taking to sept award
11:24
one step back just trying to um
11:26
a run this fine line between
11:29
getting your body used the altitude not
11:31
spending so much time high an the mountain the
11:33
start um not sleeping
11:35
losing muscle mass and getting weaker theres weaker kind
11:37
a fine balance has to be struck that
11:40
well as he was finding that balance
11:43
but as three weeks dragged into four
11:46
and five he began to worry
11:48
wasn't necessarily concerned about
11:50
my cisco shape which i saw was fine
11:53
not , but fine was more
11:56
and what everybody obsesses about as are you gonna
11:58
get an opportunity to go out
12:00
an amount is a whether gonna do what it needs to do by
12:02
the time he gets man who anybody's talking about
12:04
nina when's the window gonna be when are going be
12:06
able go to the top so yeah
12:09
they were getting antsy and
12:11
, unnerving was going
12:13
on lot people were dying
12:16
the end of the season the mountain had claimed
12:19
eleven lives from altitude
12:21
and illness and ice false it
12:24
was the deadliest year in almost a decade
12:27
and as miles and his team inched towards
12:29
their own summit post
12:30
he kept hearing about death after death
12:33
after
12:34
we were pretty low budget didn't have much
12:37
in the way tackle radios and things like that
12:39
you'd his stories but we never really
12:41
quite knew what was going on said
12:43
when you did hear about this or things to remember
12:45
yeah
12:47
to think it went happened to yes
12:50
it's just it's funny it's one those things that be
12:52
north of seafood terrible that it's happening
12:54
and you really feel for the people are involved but
12:58
there's , a sort sense gratitude the the
13:02
a this hasn't happened to you and baby may
13:04
be in on some level the mountain is gonna
13:06
take few people the cm may be seen
13:08
a maybe that's it maybe was the
13:11
was kind of an odd mindset sabean
13:15
one death in particular sparked
13:17
something of an international mean
13:19
the store not year in
13:21
mid may an english climber named
13:23
david sharp succumb to hold an
13:25
altitude sickness as he descended
13:27
from the senate push he took
13:30
refuge in cave and
13:32
remember i said there were still about three
13:34
hundred bodies left on everest sharp
13:37
found himself next the body
13:39
a dead primer known as green boots and
13:42
instead of being helped he was abandoned
13:45
their why do we left dead
13:47
by almost forty others on their
13:49
way to the top
13:51
story that came out over the next few weeks
13:54
turned out be more complicated many
13:57
of the climbers who past david sharpe said they
13:59
hadn't seen him or they thought he was already
14:01
dead some had tried
14:03
to her that after the first reports
14:05
about david trip step keynote people
14:07
on the ground were outraged media
14:10
pundits weight and asking whether ever the
14:12
become morally corrupt and
14:14
several big shots and the mountaineering world
14:17
decried behavior of the climbers who passed
14:19
david sharp as palace
14:21
and horrifying the
14:23
most of us down here sea level it
14:25
does seem coulson were fine after
14:28
all how could anyone care more about
14:30
getting to the top of the mountains than
14:32
life of another person it's
14:36
not so cut and dried and i'm going
14:38
to unpack this for you a little bit because
14:40
the understand what happens next to miles
14:42
you have to understand that are actually number
14:44
of reasons why might rationally
14:46
pass a primer and stress the
14:50
first is self preservation
14:53
once you get above twenty five thousand see
14:55
your and everest that so
14:58
at that altitude your brain and heart status
15:04
the air is so thin
15:07
that even with bottled oxygen any
15:09
movement is like running on treadmill
15:11
while been through a straw it's
15:14
hard enough to keep yourself alive let
15:16
alone someone else and as any
15:19
first aid course will tell you it's not
15:21
a good idea to help someone else is
15:23
that puts your own lives in danger because
15:26
then you've just created another patients
15:29
not make things better another
15:31
factor here is risk every
15:34
climber who sets out to tackle everest
15:36
knows they're taking on a substantial
15:38
personally risk david sharp
15:41
the guy was left dead had a
15:43
particularly risky click was
15:46
attempting the mountain solo without climbing
15:48
partner sure buzzer even a radio
15:51
though should his risk and his costly
15:53
rescue really com at the expense
15:55
of other teams the guys
15:58
who have their own clients that there the
16:00
trying keep alive the
16:02
pressure to say a moral territories
16:04
more complicated than it might first appear
16:07
right let's get back to miles by
16:10
now it's getting into late may and
16:12
miles team has been on the mountain for nearly
16:14
a month and a half that's
16:17
, typical for everest but they were getting
16:19
to the end of their supplies and the end
16:21
of the season season that window
16:23
of time where the when side down and can
16:25
actually get the top everest it
16:28
was upon them but coming to a
16:30
this is probably the twenty
16:32
eight goes a twenty fifth of may
16:35
we have with probably
16:38
one the only groups less than the mountain
16:40
about plain weird try
16:42
to get the summit the week before
16:45
we got your back by whether i'm at the high
16:47
com
16:48
six nights before the weather cleared
16:50
up enough for them to take another step
16:52
the at the top six
16:54
nights to sitting a tent waiting
16:57
hoping the emulator
16:59
did clear nearly all of
17:01
the other climbers on mountain packed
17:03
up and gone home they prepared
17:06
for their final push miles
17:08
and his team knew that it would be they're very
17:10
last chance now
17:13
just imagine that for a moment he
17:15
spent years literally
17:17
years preparing for this trip
17:21
you put all of money all the time
17:23
that you don't really have and
17:25
getting here you
17:27
one shot about once
17:30
in lifetime opportunity imagine
17:33
how much hope and anxiety
17:35
and fear is writing
17:42
at eleven thirty pm on the night
17:44
of may twenty fifth miles
17:46
, his team set up up
17:49
skies were clear the air thin
17:51
and brilliantly cold so
17:53
cold that every few minutes miles
17:55
had check makes her his oxygen and
17:58
regulator hadn't frozen they
18:01
climbed through the night carefully
18:03
stepping across narrow ridge
18:05
the dropped off thousands of the on either
18:07
side and then
18:10
they stumbled across something oh
18:13
a human body president
18:15
mountain
18:17
what a creepy thing seen the things because you're not
18:19
in a on the sort of knife edge reject for
18:21
in morning and it's ,
18:23
and you're climbing in the headlamp have
18:25
this little bubble of lighter and yourself and
18:28
you know somebody a big fan of horror movies horror
18:30
have i'm absolutely convinced these bodies it
18:32
is going to pop up and slow walking around
18:36
later found out that this was the body of
18:38
david sharp that british climber whose
18:40
death had cause such an outcry earlier
18:42
that season and know
18:45
he didn't pop up and walking around
18:48
that is it would turn out miles fear
18:50
of of horror movie scenario wasn't
18:53
actually so far from the truth
18:56
miles his team pass the body of david sharp
18:58
the worked up a sweat scaling the boulders
19:00
the first step and climbed on
19:03
into dawn it
19:05
why ever landed it's a it's a warm
19:07
beautiful morning barney six
19:09
degrees below the or out pretty still
19:12
the sun's starting to come on that
19:14
something was about to happen and so
19:16
it was just as a donors breaking and we came
19:18
around a rock and ice
19:22
the not believe that i was
19:24
, what , what what
19:26
eyes were telling me i was seeing at
19:28
first it just looks like piece of
19:30
rape fabric and soy to you know that a
19:32
bit of tensile something am looking at something else
19:35
that then as you get close euros is the guy is
19:37
actively in process of removing his clothes
19:40
as quickly as can and and you're sure did something
19:42
funky is going on because a
19:44
, can't be person here and be as the was
19:46
a person here why would they be removing the closer
19:48
eighty seven hundred meters on earth and
19:50
he says in we approach this guy
19:52
and goes bet you surprised see me here
19:55
and i was couldn't extraordinary statement
19:57
because it was tremendously prussian there was
20:01
and it was also sort the last coherent
20:03
thing that said for much of the next couple of hours
20:05
because it will do it was always sort of a windows
20:08
of clarity and this cloud
20:11
that was clearly and his mind
20:14
the
20:14
man was shivering uncontrollably
20:17
but didn't want to keep his gloves or hot
20:19
on his head surged involved
20:21
his eyes darted about on focus
20:25
and fingers were waxy and
20:27
opaque almost , long candlesticks
20:30
that's something that's happens when you have severe frostbite
20:34
it miles and his team gathered
20:36
around the man started speaking
20:38
incoherently about getting
20:40
onto a boat
20:42
and then he starts trying pull himself
20:44
off the ridge which drops in
20:46
a ten thousand feet into in singapore the
20:49
man made discovered was australian climber
20:52
lincoln hall
20:53
how had been incapacitated by exhaustion
20:55
and altitude sickness the night before
20:58
declared dead eyes team after
21:00
hours of attended his
21:03
wife and kids are gonna three earlier
21:05
had article on the phone call that
21:07
her husband their father was gone
21:11
think sun and probably woken up because
21:14
it was the summit just had the rich that
21:16
you have is he had just kind of sat up within
21:18
a few minutes and quite honestly think if
21:20
it was another few minutes later he wouldn't been they
21:22
either because he spent the first our
21:24
the wheel with him trying to get himself off the
21:26
ridge down side and i think if if
21:28
if we'd been there few minutes later i think he probably would
21:30
have a t thought we would have just kind of what boston
21:33
and never known issue is that the
21:36
hours from the senate with the peak
21:38
literally within i shot miles
21:41
and his team were confronted with the same
21:43
horrible decision put before so
21:45
many other climbers that season do
21:48
they stay and help the sky
21:50
a man who's clearly delusional might
21:53
die anyway the
21:54
exposure and frostbite or
21:57
do they forge ahead
22:00
set out to do the get
22:02
to the top it is not
22:04
at this point it's down and andrew and
22:06
jang burned myself and down and jambo
22:08
have both been to the summit said this conversation
22:11
initially that down says with
22:13
you guys just want to go up there and meet
22:15
us down and will will go down together
22:17
that might seem like logical solution
22:20
let guys you've already been to the summit help
22:22
the man in distress and the team members
22:24
who haven't can go ahead on their own
22:27
that african conversation they
22:29
decided that just wasn't safe to
22:31
leave this guy but just to other climbers
22:34
after all he was actively trying to pull
22:36
himself over it though
22:39
miles team agreed to stay all
22:41
of them at least until hope could
22:43
arise
22:45
the anchored hop the snow to prevent
22:47
him from pulling himself over the ridge and
22:49
gave hot drink food oxygen
22:52
and then the sort of a waiting
22:55
period given way the northridge
22:57
isn't it says flat
22:58
the only way to move somebody
23:01
who isn't ambulatory is worth
23:03
ten twelve guys we didn't have
23:05
that clearly i'm so weird sense
23:08
a radio message down to the high camp
23:10
which we we sorta gone through again
23:12
cause we're kind of low budget we didn't really have radios
23:14
the worked in the batteries by their message
23:16
had gotten trip
23:17
and a group of serpas were on the way up
23:20
but with the radio dead miles and his team
23:22
didn't know that then they couldn't go
23:24
anywhere until were there's someone was coming
23:28
half an hour went by then forty
23:30
five minutes a man out
23:32
of nowhere to other miners
23:35
period they approached moving
23:37
at a fast clip miles
23:39
team hailed them but they said
23:41
they didn't speak english and
23:43
continued and later
23:45
it would turn out they did speak english
23:49
how to the want to donate these guys and
23:52
he says that probably had their own totally
23:54
rational reason for doing what they did
23:58
it was surprising watch
24:00
the move on toward the summit while
24:02
he sat there waiting his
24:04
window opportunity shrinking
24:06
by the minute
24:08
because it's such a beautiful day because of the
24:10
early with , we have oxygen
24:13
oxygen even a one two three hour delay
24:15
probably would have been okay but by
24:17
the somewhere up there some three becoming
24:19
for and eventually five hours and
24:22
probably eleven in morning we
24:24
know that with too late in dated author
24:26
who made in day
24:28
the way to them make at the top and back
24:30
down again before the weather terms it's
24:33
pretty devastating and
24:36
thing anyone that situation you you're
24:39
, and upset you're frustrated and
24:42
you don't perhaps have the
24:44
hands of clarity that comes after
24:46
day or two in which you you
24:48
look the situation rationally and it's the only choice
24:51
is no such see no other option
24:53
though yeah when miles talks
24:55
about it now he says
24:57
there was no other option but to stay
24:59
and help disclaimer even though it meant
25:01
his team would never get the top mount
25:03
everest what of course
25:06
there have been another option the
25:08
option of climbers who passed matt morning
25:10
took the option to climbers
25:12
it passed david sharp just two weeks earlier
25:15
had chosen the option to get
25:17
to the top
25:19
got curious about this how is
25:21
it that miles and his team could feel that
25:23
there was no other option but
25:25
to save lincoln hall was so
25:27
many other climbers spell just the opposite
25:30
that there was no other option but to leave
25:32
distress climber behind
25:34
the question that i i don't know that i
25:36
have single as answer
25:38
to joe areva the
25:41
professor at the university of michigan
25:43
and he studies the psychology
25:45
of risk and decision making the
25:48
also happens to be mountain timer himself i
25:51
called him up to see how science answers
25:53
that question why would some
25:55
people stopped to help for others
25:58
bark on that some that's
26:00
just mainly better human beings
26:02
or is there another explanation
26:04
barbosa the crux
26:07
of the matter is that our minds don't
26:09
always see choices as choices
26:13
the climber passes another person in
26:15
distress might be making
26:17
some kind of logical calculation
26:19
about their behavior but most
26:21
of the time this isn't really some
26:23
belabored decision at all
26:26
what we see in the brain as this
26:28
this kind of balance between what call system
26:30
one which is our emotional response to
26:33
stimulus and system
26:35
to system to much more rational
26:37
response
26:38
and that balancing act happens kind
26:40
of intuitively the like
26:42
that imagine that
26:44
the decision making part your brain is it teeter
26:47
totter the website of teeter
26:49
totter that's where you put your system
26:51
one input your emotions
26:53
your feelings your gut instincts
26:56
right side of teeter totter that's
26:58
where you put system to data
27:00
he figured pros and cons staff
27:03
that maybe little more upset
27:06
normally when you just comfortably going
27:08
about your day to day life the fulcrum
27:10
of that teeter totter is right near
27:12
the middle so any emotional
27:14
input you have rounded decision it's
27:16
balanced out with logical data
27:19
think about it like this you're walking past
27:21
donut shop and you think than
27:24
those don't it's looks really good i want
27:26
one right now i'm
27:29
also trying to cut back on donuts
27:31
because logically i know they're
27:33
bad for me so the teeter
27:35
totter wobbles lands on data side
27:37
and you walk on by the
27:41
now imagine that you're walking past
27:43
that donut shop again but this
27:45
time you're under a bit obsessed
27:47
given at lunch and getting agree
27:50
or maybe are upset about something at work
27:52
what do you do that emotional
27:55
end of the teeter totter pixels to
27:57
me
27:59
when you under really stressful
28:01
conditions like you know climbing
28:03
a mountain in life death circumstances
28:06
it's not just be emotional system
28:08
one end of the teeter totter takes an extra
28:10
weight it's like the whole fulcrum
28:13
of that teeter totter has moved and
28:15
suddenly it's going to take to take more
28:17
data free to make a rational decision
28:20
rather than unemotional one the
28:22
century when you're stressed out emotions
28:24
when
28:25
i think there is for lot of people who
28:27
were climbing this kind of summit er plummet
28:30
attitude says it's what you're
28:32
there to do mean you're you're not
28:34
there to get pact or not there
28:36
to drink , in the tense
28:38
with with the serpent you're not there
28:40
to listen the weather reports you're
28:42
there summer and think that's what
28:44
happens in the mountains that even though you
28:46
may be presented with data data
28:49
seeing someone in distress that
28:52
visceral poll is just so powerful
28:54
that you to beat back
28:57
okay so our brain makes these decisions
28:59
intuitively and winner under
29:01
a lot of stress or intuition
29:03
is weighted towards making an emotional choice
29:07
mountain climbers that often means following
29:09
through on that desire to get to the top
29:12
that emotional drive can be overwhelmed
29:15
by strong data maybe
29:17
that's what happened miles and his team that
29:21
they wanted to center as badly as anyone
29:23
else
29:24
yes they were under stress and
29:26
their mental teeter totter was weighted
29:28
towards making an emotional decision there
29:31
was enough data they're to tip the
29:33
scales
29:35
read it and said hey this guy's
29:37
alive he's in distress
29:39
and if you don't step in help him you're
29:41
going to watch him die right now
29:44
they can set yeah and it going
29:46
be your fault the
29:48
people who passed by that morning and didn't
29:50
stop the help
29:52
maybe they just didn't have that same sort of the
29:54
immediate data input to tip
29:56
there the retire after all miles
29:58
team was already there hoping maybe
30:01
when you know didn't need more people
30:04
that no matter how we arrive at decisions
30:07
there's always need after the
30:09
fact define the logic interactions
30:12
the rationalize them to make sense
30:14
somehow have a choice that up and
30:16
more intuitive and sensical
30:19
people will tell
30:21
, stories that
30:23
justify their position
30:26
and the more they're able to tell that
30:28
story to to the sounds
30:31
are the easier it because oh
30:36
the story that i think a lot of climbers
30:38
com thousand the situation
30:41
following caped sharper
30:43
like and hall experiences there's
30:45
nothing there's nothing have done
30:47
the human beings we we tend
30:49
to convince ourselves of certain
30:51
things and then we look for the evidence to back
30:53
up the point that we want to make
30:56
and so you know how do walked past
30:58
lincoln whole i would be telling
31:01
you a story of how hey we checked on sky
31:03
news fine and he was redoing his gear and we kept
31:05
going and going didn't realize anything was going on
31:07
where's the reality of reality was the clearly something
31:10
was something was and
31:13
when spoke to a bunch of guys who walked past
31:16
david shop couple of weeks ago and i would speak
31:18
them the in the months following expedition
31:21
every , of them had a perfectly rational
31:23
reason for why they had walked past guy in distress
31:25
eight nine different reasons distinctly different
31:27
reasons so i think you
31:29
do something you look for reasons why did because
31:33
otherwise how could you continue
31:36
to to and to know
31:38
that you had the liberally
31:41
emitted the life of another to be lost
31:43
because of your selfish dove us that's not
31:45
something that people can live with
31:48
home made it down off the mountain that day
31:50
the serpent came and have carried have walked
31:52
them to a medical tent further down the slope
31:55
you off the tips of his fingers and
31:57
total frostbite but everyone that to the
31:59
bottom alive and miles
32:01
used to making sense of whole thing
32:03
it's not a story that i already taught i
32:05
guess huge amount of after it happened
32:08
i'm and probably never as much data as you
32:10
i as disgusting at the moment either what's
32:12
a mean you did when it ever the
32:14
question of people always ask are
32:17
they just wanna know if you go to the top or not
32:19
it's really that simple which
32:22
again as islam the
32:24
not something that i've been climbing is really about
32:27
to be honest i'm , of most impressive
32:29
guys ever met on mountain was s british
32:32
guy who was an extraordinarily modern
32:34
and he he
32:36
was that said to be part of an expedition and climb
32:38
and made it an hour to out
32:40
of camp heading towards the summit and
32:42
thought you know of seamless have enjoyed
32:45
this this is great and headed down
32:47
perfectly happy because he
32:49
had he had done what he set out to do he had challenged
32:51
himself against speaks the summit was utterly
32:53
irrelevant and was and irrelevant some ways that was the
32:55
the most profound thing i took home from that
32:58
climb was that it was it really is about process
33:00
is not necessarily whether not you check box
33:02
on list on
33:08
most
33:10
of us won't ever go to mount everest
33:12
that we do make difficult decisions
33:15
all the time decisions the pit
33:17
are self oriented emotional desires
33:20
against the wellbeing of other people
33:22
the psychological mechanisms behind those
33:24
choices that teeter totter
33:26
and our brain the same way
33:29
we would back and craft stories to
33:31
make sense of our decisions is the same
33:34
though that kind of selfish or not
33:36
admirable thing that we did it
33:38
was offer best it was a learning
33:40
experience that was
33:42
the only option
33:44
and we do when we make difficult the selfless
33:47
decisions too
33:48
we recycle even though trash cans
33:50
closer when we stopped we stopped
33:52
the injured biker over winning the race
33:55
those choices also demand
33:57
and narrative however grand
34:00
ah the story proper to
34:02
survive decisions and
34:04
just maybe to make better money
34:17
that we see these men again she's
34:19
currently living in portland and is working
34:21
on a gimlet media show called every
34:24
little thing mild
34:26
osborne is still in colorado and
34:29
he and his wife just opened an animal
34:31
sanctuary as
34:33
for lincoln hall he passed away
34:36
in twenty twelve of causes unrelated
34:38
his near death experience on mount everest
34:41
you can read his version of events in book
34:44
the wrote it's called dead lucky
34:51
if you enjoyed today's episode please
34:53
take thirty seconds and share the link
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with friend seriously pas
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35:40
he did
35:48
i'm on out there i'm going share story
35:50
about something that happened to me quite
35:52
few years ago
36:06
water
36:08
because i'm a mom i brought you ever such as is
36:10
nothing here wow
36:13
it's the it's the
36:14
toddler yeah
36:17
, mean i gotta gotta it right how
36:20
do you eat this fucker it and the
36:24
that on your episode yeah
36:30
tune in on july seventh to
36:32
hear that day
36:33
the story has plenty of light hearted
36:36
moments that it also takes
36:38
close look at success
36:40
and what happens when we're a laser focused
36:42
on goal that might not end up serving
36:45
in the long run
36:53
so we've been hearing about mount everest
36:55
today and i was curious
36:58
whether peak sizer the app i
37:00
told you about at the start the show would
37:02
work there like could i stand
37:04
on top of mount everest and use
37:06
pete fraser so
37:08
are you know them and asked and they
37:10
wrote back right away
37:12
they told me that yes p closer
37:14
would work just fine from the top of mount everest
37:17
and in fact they said a lot of people
37:19
use their app during everest base camp
37:21
tracks because you don't have to have cell
37:23
phone reception to use the app he just
37:25
need be able to turn on your phone now
37:28
they did say that it might not be super convenient
37:30
to use phone at the top of mount everest
37:33
because it's really cold and windy
37:35
etc but hypothetically
37:37
it would work
37:39
if you like your own personal mountain died
37:41
in the himalayas or anywhere else in the
37:43
world check out pete visor in the
37:45
app store you just might love it
37:53
good a story about miles osborne
37:55
first aired in twenty seven keys
37:58
the piece was reported and produced by see
38:00
flanagan and edited by me willow
38:02
belvin sound design by came
38:04
as long as
38:08
middle weather and special
38:10
thank you to and or net of the all
38:12
things everest website allen
38:14
arnett thought
38:16
out there is advertising manager is jessica
38:19
taylor our audience growth director
38:21
is she by joseph or ambassadors
38:23
or tiffany twang ashley white and
38:25
say so bennett and our theme music
38:28
was written by [unk] merino i
38:30
a beautiful day and will see you in freezer
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