Everest by the Numbers: 2019 Edition
For those who follow Everest closely, the arrival of the official summit numbers is always a milestone. The Himalayan Database (HDB) updated the latest summit statistics on December 4, 2017. I’ve been digging into the stats the last few weeks and found some interesting trends and trivia. This post is a nice complement to my recent post […]
How Much Does it Cost to Climb Mount Everest? – 2018 Edition
“How much does it cost to climb Mount Everest?” The short answer is a car or at least $30,000 but most people pay about $45,000 and the price is going up. This 2018 update looks at the current prices, trends and how 2017 turned out what 2018 might bring. This annual update since 2013 has become […]
Nepal to Ban All Solo Climbers and those with Disabilities – a Political Move
I was hoping we could go into the Everest 2018 season without Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation announcing another plan to “make Everest safer” thru Byzantine rules that are not grounded in merit or even common sense. But alas they have once again met my low expectations. This time they are repeating […]
Avoiding Death on Everest
94 paying members have died on Everest between 1996 and 2016. Who were they, why did they die, who were they climbing with? How can you safely climb Everest, but not risk everything? I finally took the time required to analyze all the deaths over the past 20 years and found some startling conclusions. The […]
Everest: 4 Weeks, Unlimited Oxygen, $117,000
For several years, I have been writing about the bifurcation of the Everest guiding business. In other words, the separation between the low-end operators and the high-end is growing larger each season. Now as we began to think about 2018, it is clear that Nepali operators like Seven Summits Treks are making huge inroads into […]
Everest by the Numbers: 2017 Edition
For those who follow Everest closely, the arrival of the official summit numbers is always a milestone. The Himalayan Database was updated with the latest summit statistics on December 6, 2016. This post is a nice complement to my recent updated post on “How Much Does it Cost to Climb Mt. Everest“. The Database contains the […]
A Personal Letter to Everest 2016, and 2017, Summiteers
“I want to climb Everest, but there is so much negative press about it. I don’t want to add to the problems.”, she added with genuine concern as I was having coffee this week with two 20 something aspiring climbers. Her statement got my attention. On one hand, I admired her ethics, on the other, damn it, […]
Everest/Lhotse 2016: Why People Die on Everest
Why do people die on Mount Everest? That is the question many people are asking this Monday after three deaths were reported over the weekend, five thus far for the season with tragically more to be reported. Sadly, many of the press articles, and pundits, are looking for a villain, someone or some organization to blame. […]
Everest 2016: A Changing Mountain – Part 3
Some people are questioning the wisdom of climbing Everest from Nepal. Is the North safer? Is this another change in climbing Everest that could result in a serious economic impact for Tibet, but more so for Nepal? The Nepal (south) side of Everest has seen a tragic series of events the past few years including Himex abandoning their entire expedition […]
Everest 2016: A Changing Mountain – Part 2
“How can I get on a team to climb Everest?” This is the second most asked question on my blog other than “How much does it cost to climb Everest?” The short answer on how to get on a team is money. Sadly, these days most anyone can join an Everest team if they have the […]