Everest Case Study

Everest Case Study

By the time the teams made it to base camp, many climbers were dealing with respiratory and digestive problems from the poor living conditions in the Himalayan villages. This is while others were dealing with logistical issues which inhibited delivery of essential supplies. Fisher mentions all of these issues made everyone feel emotionally and physically unready for the long expedition. As the days passed, health issue exponentially increased. A few climbers suffered severe frostbite while other suffered more serious conditions, such as HAPE and HACE, closer to the summit. In addition, the teams carried out the expedition passed the stated turn around for a safe descent. The magnitude of health issue and a clear violation of the teams stated rules brings into question if team leaders were suffering from the Sunk-Cost Trap – were decision makers believe their decisions are rational based on previous decisions, leading them to make inappropriate decisions (Hammond & Keeny, 1998).

“Many climbers noticed Fischer’s deteriorating physical condition during the ascent, yet no one questioned his plans to proceed.” After reading this quote, one would think a key contributor to the Everest tragedy was due to the Status-Quo bias – alternatives that perpetuate the status quo (Hammond & Keeny, 1998). However, earlier evidence indicates that team leaders insisted that whatever they said during the final ascent to the summit was non- nonnegotiable given that most accidents occur during the last leg of the expedition. Therefore, it seems as if clear failure in leadership occurred when Fisher did not disclose that his health was deteriorating, thus, putting the team’s safety in jeopardy.

Fisher and Hall’s leadership style had many problems that started before the expedition. In the beginning, both leaders failed to prepare adequately for the expedition by performing an in depth research to understand the key elements or factors that may...