This past year, Mount Everest dealt with 11 deaths within two popular weeks of climbing. A lot of drama and politics have unfolded because of these incidents, but many experts have their ideas as to what happened… It’s eerier than anyone thought.
Deadly Mountain
Since the 1850s, over 300 people have perished on this mountain. Eleven of those deaths have occurred in two weeks last May. Professionals and officials are horrified, and there’s an underlying reason as to why this is all happening…
Season for Climbing
Every year, the climbing season brings a lot of folks out to Mt Everest. Nearly 4,300 people have successfully climbed to the top and lived to tell the tale, but now they are getting tricky…
Mt. Everest History
In 1953, New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary paved the way for future Mt. Everest junkies with the help of Nepali sherpa Tenzing Norgay. They were the first people to reach the top of the world’s tallest mountain.
Setting a Goal
The peak of Everest is nearly 29,000 feet above sea level. It’s even still growing about a quarter of an inch a year! In the 1850s, it was extremely sought after…
The Golden Age
In the golden age of alpinism, many Westerners set their eyes on this peak when an Indian mathematician called it the highest peak on the planet. Naturally, everyone wanted to be the first to explore it.
Deadly Explorations
It would take another century of deadly explorations before someone could reach the top. They had to figure out the winter conditions, terrain, and altitude, and people had to die in order to find that out.
The Country of Nepal
Mt. Everest is located in Nepal. Nepal is an extremely poor country, especially since the 2015 earthquake that devastated the communities all over the country.
Major Point of Tourism
In 2014, tourism accounted for 8.9 percent of Nepal’s GDP and 7.5 percent of their employment. If Everest becomes too dangerous, the entire country will suffer…
Death Spike
The last time Mt. Everest suffered from a spike in deaths was in the 2015 Avalanche, when 19 climbers perished as a result. This year, there was no avalanche, but something seemingly invisible…
How Is This Happening?
The climbers who have perished so far this year did not suffer from falls, avalanches, or even exposure to the elements… In fact, it’s something many newbies don’t take into consideration.
Peak Time To Explore
The spring months in Nepal are perfect to go explore Mt. Everest. The intense winds that are usually surrounding the mountain are way less intense around this time of year, meaning that it’s a perfect time for a trek.
Everyone Has the Same Idea
Since it’s the perfect time to go, obviously, everyone will want to go! Tons of athletic and explorative individuals want to climb to the peak, whether it’s their first time or fourth time. This is fine, when it’s controlled…
Small Time Window
Unfortunately, this perfect-weather window was about half the time as it was in years prior. This meant that there was a high demand to get to the mountain in a small amount of time.
Long Lines…
In a horrific result of this, there were literally lines heading up to the peak. That’s a lot less glamorous than it used to be, isn’t it?
No Control
According to experts, Nepal decided to give out a record number of permits this year. Most of them went to agency-led expeditions who bring the untrained with lots of money on for the ride. These bring in at least $45,000 into Nepal just for one trip of a few people.
In-Coming Zoo
Since Nepal did not try to limit the amounts of permits given, they basically introduced zoo-like crowds to the mountain. At first, this was just annoying, especially to many experienced climbers who saw how inexperienced some of these people were… Then, the deaths started happening
Even Experience Won’t Save You
At this point, the overcrowding on the mountain is the issue. The lack of experience doesn’t help and adds to the problem, but these long lines are deadly…
Long Wait Times
Since inexperienced climbers are up there in droves, that makes everything go longer. They move slower and react slower, meaning that everyone behind them, experienced or not, has to operate on their timeline. That means life or death…
No Turning Back
Many people are also refusing to turn back when things start to get hard. They feel that they should just “push through it” even if that means risking their health. Officials say that they have been seeing this mentality too often.
Needless Deaths
Out of the 12 deaths that occurred this year, 10 of them were due to altitude sickness or exhaustion. How did they not realize altitude sickness was occurring and turn around?
Altitude Sickness
Humans begin to struggle above 8,000 feet. If someone is above that height for a long period of time, they can get sick. Symptoms are fatigue, headaches, vomiting, and dizziness.
The Higher You Go, The Sicker You Can Be
Everests base camp operates at 17,600 feet. Most people can stay there for weeks at a time without feeling adverse effects, but the problems arise when they begin the climb…
The Death Zone
The death zone is between 26,000 and 29,000 feet high. Basically, any hiker will start to “die” and the race to the top is also a race against the clock. “You’re slowly dying above 18,000 feet,” says Peter Hackett, a clinical professor in the University of Colorado School of Medicine’s Department of Pulmonary Sciences. “But when you get above 26,000 feet, you start dying much more quickly.”
The Brain is Dying
When you’re exposed to a high altitude to for long time, your brain starts to lose oxygen and it struggles to work. “Thinking is impaired, judgment is impaired, motor coordination can be impaired,” Hackett says. Mistakes can easily be made, such as trip and falls or resting at bad times.
Add In Those Long Lines…
It’s just a call for disaster. Long lines mean that folks will be up in those high altitudes slowly getting sick for a very long period of time. Plus, people will be at a greater risk for hypothermia since they’re literally just sitting in line and not moving at all.
No Safety Protocol
Since China ended up banning some expedition companies who did not participate in common safety practices from getting permits, those companies ended up going through Nepal. That’s another reason why this part of Nepal was so congested…
Inexperience
“Nepal’s choosing to take permit fees from anyone and allowing any company to set up as an expedition operator,” Adrian Ballinger,CEO of Alpenglow Expeditions, said, “and that’s leading to this dramatic increase in the number or people, in the number of inexperienced people, and increasing number of companies that aren’t ethically treating the mountain or their employees or even their clients.”
Too Much Time Wasted
Waiting in those long lines can be detrimental and has many people walking the line of life and death. On May 23rd, 2019, three deaths were recorded within the crowded lines.
All About Money
Basically, it’s boiling down to money. Nepal is giving out permits for large sums of money. Inexperienced climbers are being allowed onto budget companies for money. If a climber gets turned away, they’ll find another company that will take their tens of thousands of dollars. These companies have a huge disregard for human life.
Longterm Illnesses
Not only have people died, but others also came back from their expedition with horrific illnesses. Frostbite, worsening heart conditions such as arrhythmias, and even lung diseases. A lot of the time, the climber doesn’t know about these ailments, but they are absolutely ill when they leave.
The Hardest Part of Everest
Many can agree that the hardest part of the climb is not the actual climb but facing the altitude. Other than falls and hypothermia, the altitude is the most likely thing to kill a climber or at least make them very ill.
Bizarre…
A lot of experts have noticed that a lot of the climbers are dying on the descent as well. “The fact that these people are dying on the way down is really intriguing because altitude sickness doesn’t happen on the way down,” says Hackett.
Time Will Tell
Hopefully, the ER people at Everest are doing autopsies that will get to the bottom of this not-so-mystery.