The Climb to the Top

Mount Everest And Its Captivating Dangers

by Meg McKenzie

Deep in the Himalayas, between China and Nepal, looms Mount Everest: the world’s tallest mountain, standing 29,031 feet high. In the midst of its obvious natural beauty lurks extreme temperatures, dangerous avalanches, and deadly terrain.

Geographically, Mount Everest consists of six glaciers: The Kangshung Glacier, the East, Central, and West Rongbuk Glaciers, the Pumori Glacier, and the Khumbu Glacier. Naturally, with its elevation, Everest is prone to extreme temperatures, ranging from -2 degrees Fahrenheit in July to -76 degrees Fahrenheit in January.

While captivating, these glaciers pose their own risks. In 2015, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake caused an avalanche, killing 19 people at Everest’s base camp. The temperatures that maintain these glaciers have also been a leading cause of death to hikers who did not prepare correctly.

Despite these extreme conditions, Everest attracts a whopping 35,000 tourists per year, creating a mass tourism opportunity for the Nepalese locals. Attractions on the mountain include skiing, safaris, mountain climbing, camping, hiking, gondola rides, biking, and water rafting.

Although the mountain is a mecca for thrill-seekers, Mount Everest is not all fun and games. In fact, Everest is equally famous for the many adventurers who fall prey to its harsh and unpredictable conditions. Each year, the mountain takes the lives of four to five people, culminating in a total of 310 deaths as of 2022, according to the Climbing Kilimanjaro website.

Some of the most famous deaths are those of Rob Hall, George Mallory, and Mallory’s climbing partner Andrew Irvine.

Robert Hall, a seasoned climber from New Zealand, acquired funding for his expedition by advertising his goal to climb all of the Seven Peaks in just seven months. However, on one of his Adventure Consultant expeditions, disaster struck.

On May 11, 1996, Hall was separated from members of the group, leaving him stranded on the Southern Peak of the mountain with a broken oxygen mask and severe frostbite. He famously called his wife, Jen Arnold, just before his death, telling her, “Sleep well, my love. Please don’t worry too much,” according to Golden.com.

Another famous death is that of English climber George Mallory and his younger, less-experienced partner, Andrew Irvine. On June 8, 1924, the two men mysteriously went missing after departing from their camp, and their bodies have still yet to be found.

The bodies of those taken by Everest are extremely difficult to remove and become preserved due to the severe temperatures, making them landmarks to climbers who test their luck on the mountain. The most famous of these markers is the unidentified body of a climber that has earned the name “Green Boots” for his bright green shoes. While the body has not been officially identified, it is believed to be that of a climber named Tsewang Paljor, who died in 1996.

If the markings of dead bodies littering the mountainside aren’t enough to turn you away, at about 26,000 feet, climbers enter what is known as the “death zone.” An adequately given name, this climbing area has extremely limited oxygen levels, impairing one’s judgment, killing the body’s cells, and bringing about severe altitude sickness.

While the terrain poses lethal threats to tourists, those who venture to Everest cause destruction to the mountain as well. Tents, cans, human waste, and even human remains have littered the mountain’s base and peaks, some of which will never be fully restored. Excessive consumption of resources coupled with over-grazing by wildlife has damaged the mountain’s animal habitats as well.

In an effort to combat these effects, the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation, also known as the UIAA, has been awarding organizations from different countries with the UIAA Mountain Protection Award since 2013 to promote initiatives to combat climate change.

This past September, an organization from Peru called Asociación 7a Escalada, dedicated to beautifying and cleaning the climbing area, was honored with the award, making it the first project from South America to achieve this.

Despite the natural beauty that Mount Everest emanates, visitors should remain wary of the dangers that go hand-inhand with braving an expedition to the summit, as well as their own impact on the landscape. Alternatively, tourists can enjoy activities from Everest’s base camp or even appreciate views of the mountain from many other sites in Nepal.

With all of this in mind, one question remains: Are you still willing to brave a climb to the top?