Put a pressurized funicular car up to the top of Mount Everest, with a pressurized, heated café at the top, so people can ride up and have a coffee and meal while they enjoy the view.

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Weary_Swordfish_7105@reddit

And a covered pressurised slide to get back down

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rob94708@reddit

Maybe it doesn’t even need to be pressurized: if you’re going fast enough and you keep your mouth wide open, maybe you’ll get enough oxygen as a side effect!

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SmoothOperator89@reddit

Gotta go fast enough that the air friction keeps you warm.

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GoldenDragoon5687@reddit

Premium package comes with a complementary reentry ablator!

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Weary_Swordfish_7105@reddit

I’d wear my onesie and take a hot water bottle, should be fine

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I bet more people would die overall. 1, from constructing. And 2, from the fact this type of instant gratification would have people flying from Kathmandu taking some other fast transport to the Funicular and then heading up, maybe 24 hrs ago you were an out of shape sea level habitant. You’re gonna get some serious altitude sickness at best and cerebral edema at worst.

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eneug@reddit

Not possible. Between permafrost, landslides, avalanches, extreme cold, and hurricane level winds, the funicular track would lose alignment and become nonfunctional very quickly. Other options would face similar problems. You’d also have to get materials up there, figure out how to blast or drill into unstable rock and ice, and formulate concrete that you could pour and cure in that environment.

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ursois@reddit (OP)

So you're telling me it'd be better to mine straight into the mountain, then dig up until you get to the top and put in an elevator?

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eneug@reddit

That faces other problems. It doesn’t have a solid core. The rocks are fractured and sheared. Don’t think you could prevent collapses and rockfalls. Plus it would easily be the largest such tunnel and elevator. Probably best bet is to spend the money developing a helicopter that could reliably go to the summit. It was done once before.

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iwasstillborn@reddit

What's the highest mountain that's solid and safe for a train to elevator solution?

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eneug@reddit

Just did some research. Most of the large mountain chains (Himalayas, Alps, Andes, etc.) were formed by folding, which creates the internal fractures and shears. The tallest formed by block-faulting (excluding volcanoes) I _believe_ is the Sierra Nevada range, so Mt. Whitney is a good candidate potentially. Although I have no idea how solid the core has to be for this to be feasible.

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iwasstillborn@reddit

I guess that's a go then!

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dinution@reddit

>That faces other problems. It doesn’t have a solid core. The rocks are fractured and sheared. Don’t think you could prevent collapses and rockfalls. Plus it would easily be the largest such tunnel and elevator. >**Probably best bet is to spend the money developing a helicopter that could reliably go to the summit. It was done once before.** That doesn't sound very crazy.

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-YellowFinch@reddit

I'm sure they would love that. 😅 (Edited because apparently saying the .gov word is bad...?)

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Exciting_Turn_9559@reddit

I like the cut of your jib OP.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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AutoModerator@reddit

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LoneSnark@reddit

Being inside the mountain would also make it easier to remain pressurized.

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simikoi@reddit

So you're telling me there's a chance..

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Moist-Ointments@reddit

Or maybe don't eff up one more natural place with ugly human infratructure and construction?

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Euphoric_Raisin_312@reddit

Everest isn't natural though

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ScarletDarkstar@reddit

Um, who do you believe built it, then?

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Rooster-Training@reddit

Aliens... really old ones... like ancient.

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Euphoric_Raisin_312@reddit

Same who built the pyramids duh.

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Joddodd@reddit

The reptilians or the greys?

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Euphoric_Raisin_312@reddit

You mean you think they didn't work together? Pfff

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FortWendy69@reddit

I like to think they’re bitter rivals and that the greys are our intergalactic ancestors protecting us from the cold blooded subterranean reptilians who seek to destroy us with nuclear weapons.

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deleted_by_reddit@reddit

[removed]

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AutoModerator@reddit

Your post was automatically removed because it contains political content, which is off-topic for /r/CrazyIdeas. Please review the subreddit rules and guidelines. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/CrazyIdeas) if you have any questions or concerns.*

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VoluptuousSloth@reddit

There's a first come first serve cabin on top of my favorite mountain in Alaska. It's not visible until you're there, and it's tastefully done. Not every building is inappropriate for nature. This would go double for Everest, where a pressurized building would let climbers recover from oxygen deprivation, enjoy their accomplishment, and lower their chances of dying on the way down Obviously I'm really just into it for the boozy hot chocolate at 29000 feet though

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SmoothOperator89@reddit

It's already littered with garbage and corpses.

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Moist-Ointments@reddit

Corpses are natural. But the trash is horrendous. People suck. But no need to make it worse.

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Mundane-Caregiver169@reddit

You could place bets on the people climbing up. Who would make it to the top, who would turn back, who would die.

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-YellowFinch@reddit

Like Survivor, but lives are at stake. Sounds fun.

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Mundane-Caregiver169@reddit

Exactly. The mob would get involved eventually of course, grease the palms of a few sherpas to rig it.

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VoluptuousSloth@reddit

The Nepalese mafia is among the most feared in the world

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-YellowFinch@reddit

Okay, now this is Hunger games...

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ulyssesfiuza@reddit

The filming crew would be a problem.

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-YellowFinch@reddit

Plot twist: the film crew had no idea what they signed up for, and they are the actual stars of the show.

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ScarletDarkstar@reddit

I think you're failing to understand the scope of Mt. Everest as well as the motivation people have to climb it.

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soulself@reddit

I would love to take a cozy funicular car to the top of the highest mountain in the world. This would be crazy popular.

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ScarletDarkstar@reddit

Sure, but it is not feasible to construct, and the climbers who want to conquer it want the accomplishment in climbing. They don't do it just to see the top. Would you want to get 2_3 up or down, experience an equipment failure , and wait out storms to get anyone to come sssess it, much less be able to bring equipment to make repairs?

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half_dragon_dire@reddit

It also completely ignores the people who live there and their beliefs. No, I'm guessing the locals do not want to build a funicular to the top of their sacred mountain any more than the people of Mecca want to build a rollercoaster spiralling around the Kaaba.

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VoluptuousSloth@reddit

I think a tasteful pressurized wooden cottage near the summit serving boozy hot chocolate could work though, accessed by an elevator shaft drilled through the interior of the mountain. So many local jobs.

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core_krogoth@reddit

Their loss

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ScarletDarkstar@reddit

I'm sure. I have nothing to do with it and I would hate to see this attempted, much less completed. It would take so much away from the place.

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VoluptuousSloth@reddit

It would be nice for the extreme climbers too. Right now they have to be absolutely miserable on the way up (with no supplementary oxygen), can enjoy the summit cause they are gasping for air, then have to leave almost right away cause they're literally in the zone of death. Having a place to take a breath and enjoy their accomplishment, with some boozy hot cocoa I'm sorry engineers, but we need boozy hot cocoa at the top of Mt Everest, so let's hear some solutions, not excuses!

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dinution@reddit

>Sure, but it is not feasible to construct, and the climbers who want to conquer it want the accomplishment in climbing. They don't do it just to see the top. >**Would you want to get 2_3 up or down, experience an equipment failure , and wait out storms to get anyone to come sssess it, much less be able to bring equipment to make repairs?** Yes I would. Because that would be a crazy idea.

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evilmonkey853@reddit

Especially if there is boozy hot chocolate.

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ptolani@reddit

I think you're failing to understand what sub you're in.

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IWasSayingBoourner@reddit

Most of the people with the "motivation to climb it" aren't really climbing it. They're loading up a Sherpa with all of their junk, and hiring another to carry them half the way.

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Minute_Hurry7809@reddit

this idea is at the same level as putting an elevator on Kelingking beach

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Megafish40@reddit

yes yes yes. get some swiss engineers and just build it.

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optimalslacker@reddit

Werner Zeeegler

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AttackCircus@reddit

... call it Milliways.

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FairlyInconsistentRa@reddit

You joke but Mount Snowdon in Wales has a cog and rack railway up to the summit. There's a visitor centre at the top with a cafe etc. I wouldn't say it's absolutely impossible but a very difficult challenge.

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OftTopic@reddit

For under $50, a tourist can look out the windows of the once tallest building (sears tower) For under $500, a tourist can sip champagne while in 1st class of a jet cruising in the 40,000 foot range. For under $500,000 a tourist can see space on a Blue Origin flight at 300,000 feet. What are you offering in comparison?

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ptolani@reddit

The real comparison is with the Jungfraubahn which is basically exactly this (but obviously much lower), in the Swiss Alps. It's a few hundred dollars return for tourists.

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agitatedprisoner@reddit

I wouldn't travel anywhere just for the view but if I were in a town with an elevator to the top of the world I'd check it out for a reasonable price. That's pretty much the Sky Needle in Seattle and it still gets lots of tourists despite not even being all that tall by modern building standards.

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100Dampf@reddit

This isn't much of a crazy idea but simply a not doable one. A cog wheel railway would probably be a better idea as they are much more flexiblewith distance and track alignment

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ptolani@reddit

I don't think OP was intending to be specific about the exact mechanism by which the carriage is hauled up.

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reddititty69@reddit

Gondola?

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100Dampf@reddit

Even worse, you are way to exposed to the wind and still hqve pretty much the same problem as a funicular

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SmoothOperator89@reddit

Their name isn't nearly as fun, though.

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100Dampf@reddit

You think this is a funi?

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ElJayBe3@reddit

Isn’t nearly as funicular.

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DemmyDemon@reddit

It would multiply the trash, and there would be thousands of deaths during construction, but other than that, I love this idea. Let's put more white people bullshit on brown people holy things! /s

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Cynical_Tripster@reddit

Ah yes, Tibetan Buddhists considering an entire mountain a diety good, but obviously Sky Daddy bad right?

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DemmyDemon@reddit

Just because I think religion is kinda silly doesn't mean I go kick over the shrine in your front yard. I respect the people, even if I think the idea is dumb. Well, except Catholics. They need their moral compass adjusted *as people.*

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ursois@reddit (OP)

Three cheers for colonization! Hip hip, Huzzah! ^(also ^/s, ^but ^it's ^sad ^that ^such ^a ^marker ^is ^even ^necessary)

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Hazy-n-Lazy@reddit

They probably don't even know what sub they're in.

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The-Real-Mario@reddit

Doesn't need to be pressurized , just use a pure oxygen atmosphere ,

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ursois@reddit (OP)

That's an even crazier idea than mine! Hope nobody tries to light up a cigarette.

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The-Real-Mario@reddit

Infact , you would be trading pressure for concentration , read up about "relative pressure of oxygen" and it's use in life support systems like spacesuits , it's very interesting!

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ursois@reddit (OP)

I'm familiar with the idea. It's just that 100% oxygen environments tend to be dangerous, even at lower pressures. Also, at the top, even 100% O2 is not enough for someone who's not acclimated to hugh altitudes.

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Tricky_Ad6844@reddit

Or… take a plane that crosses the Himalayas. You will get to the same altitude, have even better views, and don’t need to build any new infrastructure.

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erisod@reddit

Gemini (AI) estimates the cost from Basecamp to peak to be around $60 billion and that the journey would take about an hour. It suggests that construction is only possible two months a year due to weather and that it would take 22 years.

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Reasonable_Mood_5260@reddit

It'd be an hour long journey in a cramped, cold cab, that rocks every time it goes over a tower. I'm sure it is magnificent on days when the weather is good but there are probably 100 other places with better peaks. Going up on overcast days would be useless.

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flopsyplum@reddit

Avalanches

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leo_the_lion6@reddit

I think a gondola or tram system would work better, but would be a super serious and controversial undertaking

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