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/Blazeitbro69420 Jul 09 '25

What if he just flew a helicopter to the top and pressed the button with a really long stick

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u/Rogue__Jedi ​ Jul 09 '25 edited Jul 10 '25

Helicopters don't like the thin air that high.

Once you find one that can, you have to learn how to fly it.

Then, you have to learn how to fly it in winds AVERAGING 100mph at 30,000 feet.

You'll need to train to fly to that elevation very quickly because you can only carry so much oxygen in the helicopter before you've added too much weight and it can't reach the top.

Also, you likely can't use a stick, I would imagine that opening the door (if you could even open it, in 100mph winds would basically turn the interior of the helicopter into a large parachute. Pushing you away and to your death.

Tldr: he would die