Day: April 4, 2026

The media is going crazy with this headline in, of all places, People Magazine: “Mount Everest Climbers ‘Poisoned’ by Guides Prompting Mass Helicopter Rescues in $20 Million Insurance Fraud Scheme, Police Say.” The gist of the story is that thirty-two guides were charged in connection with the scheme, which impacted 4,782 international climbers between 2022 and 2025, on March 12, The Kathmandu Post reports.

But this goes back further, and the fraud appears to be widespread. However, the mainstream media has a few facts wrong, similar to the headlines around last October’s incident, which read “Hundreds of climbers stranded on Mount Everest amid freak blizzard.” Spoiler alert: In both cases, the victims were trekkers and not on Mt. Everest. But let’s look at the fraud problem in depth. #everest2026