Mt. Everest is the most famous mountain in the world. Drawing climbers for almost a century, it is know as Qomolangma Peak in Tibet and Mount Sagarmatha in Nepal.

The north side was first attempted by a British team in 1922. They reached 27,300' before turning back. The 1924 British expedition with George Mallory and Andrew Irvine was notable for the mystery of whether they summited or not. Mallory's body was found in 1999 but there was no proof that he died going up or coming down. It was a Chinese team who made the first summit from Tibet on May 25, 1960 by Nawang Gombu (Tibetan) and Chinese Chu Yin-Hau and Wang Fu-zhou who is said to have climbed the Second Step in his sock feet.

However, the first summit of Mt. Everest was by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmond Hillary with a British expedition in 1953. They took the South Col route which is used by the majority of modern expeditions. At that time the route had only been attempted twice by Swiss teams in the spring and autumn of 1952. They reached 8500m well above the South Col. Of note, Norgay was with the Swiss thus giving him the experience he used on the British expedition. The Swiss returned in 1956 to make the second summit of Everest.

Today, hundreds of climbers from around world try to stand on top of the world. According to 8000er.com as of 2009, there have been about 4,500 summits since 1922 with 222 deaths or a 4.9% fatality rate. Over 400 people made it from the south in 2009 and 50+ on the north. 500 people summited in 2007 evenly split between the north and south sides. Since 1990, the deaths have dropped to 4.1% due to better gear, weather forecasting and more people climbing with commercial operations. Annapurna is a much more deadly mountain than Everest with a summit to death ratio of 2:1 deaths for every summit (109:55).

The menu at the top of each Everest page links to:

• Pictures from the climbs are organized in six albums by the trek in, base camp, Khumbu Icefall, Lhotse Face, South Col and Above and a Best of Everest Album.
• Videos from my Everest climbs.
• Alan's 2002, 2003 and 2008 Climbs with an overview and dispatches sent during the climbs
• Coverage and commentary of the Everest 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 , 2009 and 2010 climbing seasons
• 6 essays on topics from money to family to death
• Extras including Everest for Kids, Musical Slide Show and Pictures of the South Col Route plus the Northeast Ridge Route map.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)about climbing Mt. Everest
• Links to other websites for more information
• Click here to see the south route in motion

Everest 2002 Climb

In 2002 I attempted Everest using the Southeast ridge route. This was my most difficult climb thus far due to the length of the trip, logistics and health. I reached 27,200' (8250m), a personal record, before turning back just below the balcony due to a lung infection. It was a fabulous trip that I never anticipated making when I starting climbing seven years earlier.

Continue reading about the Everest 2002 climb.

Everest 2003 Climb

I returned to Everest in 2003, to attempt the South side again. While it was incredible to be back only ten months after my 2002 climb, it was a big disappointment with altitude sickness and weather problems. I knew about halfway through I would not summit so I reset my goal to go as high as I could - safely - and reached 27,200' (8250m), the exact same spot as 2002.

Continue reading about the Everest 2003 climb.

Everest 2004 Coverage

Over 150 climbers reached the summit on all routes, 99 on May 16 and 17 alone!. Using a summit (not attempts) ratio of clients: guides: sherpas of 5:2:8 this would imply that 50 summiteers were clients, 20 guides and 80 Sherpas. By far, Sherpas have summited Everest more than any other category of climber. The most sought out Sherpas have summited 5 or more times and know the routes, conditions and how to deal with Westerners. I would estimate that 80% of Sherpas and Guides have summited before so that would imply that there were 70 new summits this season.

Continue reading about Everest in 2004

Everest 2005 Coverage

Quite a season! The summits on May 21 were the latest first summit day in 45 years of climbing Mt. Everest. Norgay and Hillary did it on May 29, the earliest was April 4 in 1984. But it was still a good year for summits with over 230 climbers standing on the top of the world. To put this in context, around 150 made the summit in 2004 with the first summits on May 15.

The season started quickly with teams arriving early and getting their acclimation trips in by early May. They were assuming a "normal" season with first summits around May 15. But the Jet just sat there. It didn't move and when it did, it came back so quickly that the 3-day window never materialized. So the climbers sat in base camps. Some went down valley to enjoy the rich air and sleep on real beds, some went on sight seeing trips to nearby Monasteries and other just sat there. But they entertained themselves with chess games, concerts, hockey games and swap meets. These climbers are creative if nothing else!

Continue reading about Everest in 2005

Everest 2006 Coverage

The season started with controversy as the political unrest in Katmandu delayed many expeditions and created uncertainty that gear and climbers would arrive on time. However it all got sorted as seasoned leaders guided their teams through the bureaucracy, small arms fire and chaos that comes with a country in turmoil.

But by early April base camp on both sides were established and teams got settled in. However there was a huge surprise for this season! The weather was spectacular and teams on the north took advantage of it by aggressively fixing the ropes to the summit (and beyond!).

Continue reading about Everest in 2006

Everest 2007 Coverage

The season started early - late March - with the arrival of the huge IMG team closely followed by the Xtreme Everest Medical expedition into Nepal. Over on the north it seemed that Hollywood had moved to Tibet for April and May.

Dispatch after dispatch spoke of their "film crew" and some climbers were worried about their bad hair days. But one climber stood out - David Tait. The British climber was on a mission to raise money for his charity by attempting the never before accomplished double traverse. He began posting his thoughts, fears and observation in a rarely seen candid manner.

Continue reading about Everest in 2007

Everest 2008 Climb

I returned to Everest in 2008, to attempt the South side again as part of The Road Back to Mt. Everest . I had trained hard with four previous high altitude climbs in the prior 8 months. I felt great the majority of the climb but felt it was too dangerous for me to continue and turned back at the Balcony or 27,500' (8300m) which was 1535 ' short of the highest point on earth. This was my highest altitude ever reached.

I have written an extensive document on the experiences during this climb as impacted by the Chinese Olympic torch summit and closure of the north and heavy restrictions on the south side. It is a PDF document named Everest 2008: Mountain of Politics

Continue reading about the Everest 2008 climb

Everest 2009 Coverage

Overall this was one of the safest seasons in the past few years in spite of some difficult weather that created a long delay in early May. There were over 400 summits and sadly 5 deaths on Everest and one on Lhotse.

Similar to 2008, the Chinese Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) changed the rules and gave vague guidance to teams during the critical planning period resulting in almost all of the major north side operators making the switch to Nepal. That fueled speculation of overcrowding, bottlenecks and record summits and record deaths. And in the end it was just speculation.

Continue reading about Everest in 2009

Everest 2010 Coverage

By recent standards, Everest 2010 was a safe and successful year. There were about 513 summits (347 from the south) with 4 reported deaths, all on the north, and several injuries and rescues. The total Everest summits broke the 5,000 level since 1953.

This year's story line for climbers and their families was the weather, however it was all Jordan Romero and Apa Sherpa for the rest of the world.

For the first time in several years, the north operated in an almost normal manner. Teams dealt with a few border restrictions early but arrived at base camp and immediately began their acclimatization rotations.

On the South, the ropes were in early and the weather seemed drastically different from the North, at least in April.

Continue reading about Everest in 2010

South Col Route Map

Mt. Everest was first summited by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Edmond Hillary with a British expedition in 1953. They took the South Col route which is described on this page. At that time the route had only been attempted twice by Swiss teams in the spring and autumn of 1952.They reached 8500m well above the South Col. Of note, Norgay was with the Swiss thus giving him the experience he used on the British expedition. The Swiss return in 1956 to make the second summit of Everest. Nepal was closed to foreigners until 1950.

Today, hundreds of climbers from around the world use this route to try to stand on top of the world. It is considered slightly more dangerous than the North Ridge Route due primarily to the instability of the Khumbu Icefall. However some considered it slightly easier than the north due to the absence of the ladders and rock climbing on the steep steps of the North Ridge route.

Read more details on the South Col Route

Northeast Ridge Route Map

The north side of Everest is steeped in history with multiple attempts throughout the 1920's and 1930's. The first attempt was by a British team in 1922. They reached 27,300' before turning back and was the first team to use supplemental oxygen. It was also on this expedition that the first deaths were reported when an avalanche killed seven Sherpas.

The 1924 British expedition with George Mallory and Andrew Irvine is most notable for the mystery of whether they summited or not. Mallory's body was found in 1999 but there no proof that he died going up or coming down.

It was a Chinese team who made the first summit from Tibet on May 25, 1960 by Nawang Gombu (Tibetan) and Chinese Chu Yin-Hau and Wang Fu-zhou who is said to have climbed the Second Step in his sock feet however without a summit photo, some doubt the summit claim. In 1975, a second summit was climbed by the Chinese and the ladder on the Second Step was installed.

Tibet was closed to foreigners from 1950 to 1980 preventing any further attempts until a Japanese team summited in 1980 via the Hornbein Couloir on the North Face. The north side started to attract more climbers in the mid 1990s and today is almost as popular as the South side when the Chinese allow permits. In 2008 and 2009, obtaining a permit was difficult thus preventing many expeditions from attempting any route from Tibet.

Read more details on the Northeast Ridge Route