In 2024, Everest has become completely commercialized. Shock, right? Well, Will Cockrell’s new book, Everest, Inc: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World, tells us how it happened. If you love Everest, despise it or don’t really care, this book has something for everyone.
In this fascinating read, Will did extensive research and uses quotes from original interviews with more than a hundred Western and Sherpa climbers, clients, writers, filmmakers, and even a Hollywood actor; the voices of the people who have made the mountain what it is today.
In this Podcast, Will tells me that he positioned Everest, Inc. as the opposite of Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. His book gets to the heart of the mountain through the definitive story of its greatest invention: the Himalayan guiding industry. It all began in the 1980s with entrepreneurs like Rob Hall and Gary Ball, Todd Burleson and David Breashears, with Dick Bass establishing a new, innovative industry for climbing high-altitude mountains, including Mt. Everest. Many of the pioneers are still living and climbing today and have helped thousands reach their climbing dreams.
I talk through the three areas of commercialization with Will: the industry’s formation in the 1980s and ’90s, the early 2000s, when Western companions dominated guiding climbing Nepal, and the late 2000s, until today, when Nepali-owned operators lead 80% of all commercial clients.
Everest, Inc: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World will be published by @simonandschuster imprint @gallerybooks in April of 2024.
You can read about Will on his website and YouTube.
Here’s the video podcast version of the Will Cockrell Interview:
The Podcast on alanarnette.com
You can listen to #everest2024 podcasts on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Anchor, and more. Just search for “alan arnette” on your favorite podcast platform.
Climb On!
Alan
Memories are Everything
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