Peak bleak: The dead of Everest and the lonely death of David Sharp

Everyone Dies In Sunderland: A podcast about growing up terrified in the eighties and nineties

Something you might not appreciate about climbing Everest is... it’s a bit fiddly. Lethally fiddly. And lethally chilly. And lethally tiring.

In fact that 4% of people die while doing it. And in most cases, it’s impossible to recover their bodies. As a result there are as many as 300 dead bodies on the mountain, including the remains of David Sharp from Teesside.

In 2006 he climbed Everest at the third attempt, but on his descent cold, fatigue and darkness forced him to take shelter in a cave – and as the story goes, 40 people walked past him as he slowly froze to death, but chose to summit instead of helping him.

Obviously it’s a bit more nuanced than that.

Inspired by last week’s chat about Apaches we also remember the public information films of our era, a time when Jimmy Savile had some personal safety advice “for all you ladies” and children valued their kites and Frisbees enough to risk being blown to smithereens to retrieve them. Not like kids today!

The gang also learns the true meaning of SPLINK.

Claire offers to shoot a dog for £1! Gareth is saved from third degree burns by Hale and Pace! John briefly considers making this an entirely Love Island-based podcast in an attempt to use the phrase “the Clausewitz of televised handjobs” as much as he can.

Along the way: Let Loose! Apache Indian! Albion In The Orient! Mary Roach’s excellent book “Stiff”! An ambitious attempt to get some advertising cash out of What Three Words!

You can reach us on email [e-mail], on Twitter at @everyonediespod, on Facebook and Instagram.

Our theme music is “Steady Away” by Pete Dilley and can be found on his album Half-truths and Hearsay which you can/should buy/stream here: https://petedilley.bandcamp.com/album/half-truths-and-hearsay

Some animals were harmed during the making of this podcast.

I bought fireworks, a big bag in Pennsylvania/I'm gonna light em up
when I get home to Jersey/ They'll probably arrest me, they'll probably ruin my whole summer/Stop taking pictures with your phone