r/whowouldwin • u/ThePriestofVaranasi • Jul 09 '25

Challenge Every human on Earth vanishes, except for one random person in the US. A button is placed on the summit of Mount Everest that can be pressed to undo this change. Can humanity be restored?

Every human on Earth vanishes without a trace, except for one random survivor: Ethan from the United States. Moments after the disappearance, a mysterious device materializes before him, displaying a message:
"Humanity can be restored. To activate revival, you must press the button housed at the highest point on Earth—the summit of Mount Everest."

Ethan essentially has as much of a prep time as he wants to gather all the essentials like food, water, weapons, vehicles and everything else that has been suddenly abandoned. He can raid supermarkets, libraries, military depots, and pharmacies for supplies. Ethan can still die of old age so this prep time isn't unlimited.

Now, Ethan faces an impossible gauntlet:
He must travel to Nepal and ascend to the summit of Mount Everest without dying.

Can Ethan survive long enough to reach the button and restore humanity?

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u/Old_Ben24 Jul 09 '25

The odd of the average person having the knowledge and ability to safely climb mount Everest is somewhat low. Succeeding is far from easy even among experienced hikers with guides. Not to mention Ethan is going to need to learn how to fly a plane to get to Nepal or how to navigate a hell of a long sea journey. Unless humanity gets real lucky and Ethan is a pilot, there are just too many opportunities for failure along the way.

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u/nanoray60 Jul 09 '25

I made a comment above talking about how he could drive to Alaska and boat to Russia. Would cut the sea journey down by thousands of miles, then he could drive all the way to Nepal.

Once in Nepal he could train on the other mountains besides Everest. Then he has to make a go while the ladder bridges are still in place and he’s strong and confident enough. Chances are still high he dies in the ocean with no experience. He wouldn’t be the first person to die in the Bering sea lmao. At least he has the diomede islands in the middle for comfort and refueling(maybe?).

My route should take the hardest parts out of journey to the mountain. I have no solution for the mountain problem though. The reason Everest is “so easy” now is because of the training and MASSIVE support system. With the sherpas gone, no more local experts either. How many people have solo’d Everest? How many of them were amateurs? How many of those weren’t naturally gifted athletes? My guess is 0. So he should probably die on the mountain.