Re. Medvetz, the narrator describes Russell as the only person with the power to turn him around...
What "power"? If Brice tells one of his climbers to abandon a summit bid, what's to stop the climber from pushing onward? What penalty is there (besides possible death)?
You answered your own question. If someone who has years more experience than you and is responsable for your well-being, is guiding you on a precarious and sometimes fatal expediition, you should probably listen to him when he says, "turn around now or you'll die".
share...and Russell has said that he will not let his sherpa guides die as a result of a climber's ambition to continue on to the summit against his advice. He will pull his sherpa from the climb before he will allow an ambitious millionaire to put the sherpa's life in danger.
I remember a few years ago, Phurba Tashi (Russell's favored sherpa) tried so hard to encourage Tim to turn around and obey Russell's wishes. Phurba did not want to leave the man (who was delirious at the time) up there to die. Phurba is a good man. I admire him.
--The day I hold too tightly to my opinion is the day I stop learning. May that day never come.