Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Quantitative Analysis in Sports

Publication Date

3-30-2013

ISSN

2194-6388

Keywords

8000 m; mountaineering; survival analysis; total time on test (TTT); graphical inference

Disciplines

Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law | Law

Abstract

Whether the nature of the risks associated with climbing high-altitude (8000 m) peaks is in some sense “controllable” is a longstanding debate in the mountaineering community. Well-known mountaineers David Roberts and Ed Viesturs explore this issue in their recent memoirs. Roberts views the primary risks as “ objective ” or uncontrollable, whereas Viesturs maintains that experience and attention to safety can make a significant difference. This study sheds light on the Roberts-Viesturs debate using a comprehensive dataset of climbing on Nepalese Himalayan peaks. To test whether the data is consistent with a constant failure rate model (Roberts) or a decreasing failure rate model (Viesturs), it draws on Total Time on Test (TTT) plots from the reliability engineering literature and applies graphical inference techniques to them.

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