Mount Everest—the highest point in the world—goes by many names. In Sanskrit and Nepali, it is called Sagarmatha; Tibetans call it Chomolungma; and Chinese call it Qomolangma Feng. The summit, with its elevation of just over 29,000 feet (nearly 8,850 meters), is the pinnacle of mountaineering because of its challenge and its danger. For many, conquering Mount Everest is the ultimate in bucket-list activities.
One of the first attempts at an ascent was by British explorer and mountaineer George Mallory, who organized three unsuccessful expeditions to the peak between 1921 and 1924. Just before embarking on his final attempt, the one where he would go missing, he was asked why someone would go through all the trouble to scale Everest. In response he quipped, “Because it’s there.” For decades, history did not know whether Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, made it to the summit of the mountain before succumbing to the elements. Irvine’s axe, an oxygen canister dating from the 1920s, and other clues were found over the years, but it was not until 1999 that a climbing group discovered Mallory’s body at 26,760 feet (8,155 meters). It was determined that he had died after a bad fall; Irvine was not found.
It was not until 1953 that the first successful summit of Everest was made. First to the top were Tibetan mountaineer Tenzing Norgay and New Zealand mountain climber and Antarctic explorer Edmund Hillary. After being forced to turn back on an attempt on May 27, they completed the climb on May 29 and remained at the top for only 15 minutes before descending.
Hundreds of climbers have reached the top of Everest since 1953. In fact, Nepal and China have turned the prospect of climbing Mount Everest into a significant industry, with the cost of a standard supported climb (that is, with guides and equipment) ranging from $28,000 to $85,000 per person in 2017. Since about 2005, the number of Everest climbers reaching the summit has exceeded 300 per season, with some seasons seeing more than 600.
Yet, conquering the mountain is not as “routine” as it would seem; people still die. Avalanches, altitude sickness, falls, and a host of other threats have killed an average of eight people per year since 2000. Some 41 percent of all recorded deaths on Everest occur above about 26,250 feet (8,000 meters) above sea level, although deadly incidents happen closer to the ground as well. Some of the deadliest years in Everest history have been recent ones, with many of the deaths occurring outside of formal climbing activities. In 2014, 16 Nepalese guides and support crew were killed by an avalanche. In April 2015, the entire climbing season was canceled after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck near Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu, killing approximately 9,000 people, 22 of whom died at an Everest base camp under an earthquake-induced avalanche that struck the site.
Despite the risk, climbers from all over the world still attempt Everest every season. Check out the infographic below to find out more about the people who climb Everest and their successes and failures.
Mount Everest