Uncharted Thoughts.

I’ve mentioned my love for Nepal enough in this blog now for my regular readers to be fed up hearing about it. So, naturally I will continue to do so. However, I think it is time for me to address something that has been playing on my mind for the past couple days. Is it cool to climb mount Everest? or is it kind of goofy?

Mount Everest is the crown jewel on most mountaineers (some would argue k2). Its the tallest mountain in the world, standing at 8,849m above sea level. That’s the equivalent of sixteen Empire state buildings, roughly 10 Burj Khalifa’s and according to some guy on reddit, 89.4 million pieces of paper stacked on top of each other.

When I was growing up, Everest was a dream. It was everything I wanted to do, to conquer the world most inhospitable landscape. To be the highest person on the planet, to look down at the glaciers below, to look down on mountains over 8000 meters tall. I wanted this more than anything, more than exploring the Amazon, or trekking across the Sahara. This was it. I’d day dream about it at school, imagining myself returning to my home town as a hero.

However, like most things, the reality is much different. I think Everest has become a gimmick, a one way ticket to death, and a rich mans game that risks the lives of poorer people for a bullshit goal that has been achieved by thousands already.

This may be me venting a little. I mean at the end of the day I am jealous of those that have made it to the top. I envy them and wish I could achieve that childhood dream of mine. But, there is a reality that we all need to address, and who is better to expose it that a bitter jealous man? Especially one that enjoys ruining peoples fun with facts.

Money…

Lets start with money. Everest is a rich persons activity. There is no escaping that. With an average cost of $45 – $60,000, there is no room for a Tesco shelf stacker or McDonalds employee. Of course, this is expected, after all you are spending the better part of two months hiking, sleeping, eating, and sitting around on a mountain in one of the cheapest countries on the planet. Your food has to be Yaked, Hiked or airdropped to your location, tents, equipment and insurance have to be paid for as well as guides, porters and sharpers.

But let’s be honest, at $45,000, its kind of a waist. Yes you can say you’ve been on top of the world. Yes you can gloat at all future dinner parties and weddings you attend for the next 60 years. But lets be honest, there are cheaper alternatives that are just, if not more impressive. Annapurna, which in my personal opinion is a more impressive feat, costs $12.000. Cho Oyu costs $20,000. Kanchenjunga is $30,000.

With $45,000 I could fund 4-5 years worth of exciting travel. Visit every continent, hell, maybe every country. Okay, maybe I can’t say I have reached the highest point on planet earth, but to say I have visited every country on earth must be more of a crowning achievement that Everest, specially when less that 500 people have done it.

These climbs remind me of the Titanic submarine incident in 2023. It’s rich people trying to combat nature and loosing with devastating consequences. I was horrified by the reactions of some people when the submarine went missing, a loss of life is devastating no matter the circumstances, but… Lets be honest. It was foolish and so is attempting Everest.

Dying…

When I say goofy, this is what I mean by it. Dying on Everest is goofy. I don’t mean it in a disrespectful way, but to line up, on the side of a mountain that’s 8849 meters fall, with no way of surviving without an oxygen tank, attached to a rope with vertical drops either side, in negative degree temperatures is the epitome of goofy. Its the equivalent of swimming with a great white shark without a cage. Yeah, its something to boast about, but you are underwater, with the best apex predator of this planet.

I think the most vital element of goofiness is the queuing. Climbing a mountain like Everest without a queue is dangerous, but I wouldn’t call it a goofy death. Dying in a queue is goofy. Some of the picture you can find of the queue on Everest are astonishing. Its like looking at a line of ants, heading towards a large long nosed dark furry mammal somewhere in South America.

It is reported that 6 climbers died in the space of a week in 2019. Their reasoning? waiting in a queue.

I am not one to tell you what to do with your own body or life. I understand why people attempt this climb but, I must say, its the epitome of a selfish endeavour. If you fall within the death zone, not only do you risk your own life, leave behind a loving family and or children, but you also risk the lives of everyone behind you. If you stall the queue, you can kill.

Roughly, 5 people die each year in the summit attempt, a number which is steadily climbing according to reports. Deaths compared to the number of people that summit, result in an overall 4% chance of dying.

Is it the achievement it once was?

No, its not. Prior to 1990, there were no commercial summits up Everest. Only private explorers with the backing of big businesses would attempt the climb. Since then however, 800-1000 people attempt the climb each year, of which 2/3rds would make the summit. Making the accumulated number of summiteers 6664. Now in the grand scheme of things, that is a remarkable achievement, however only 1200 more have achieved the Lands End the John O’ Groats walk, 3800 less people have accomplished the Bob Graham, 500 less people have swam the English channel (officially), less than a quarter have completed Badwater Ulta. Everest is not what it once was, and with each passing year, it becomes a less valuable achievement.

The truth is, those paying $35,000+, with a 4% chance of dying, or potentially aiding in the death of another, are doing it for clout, for Instagram likes and a chance to have their name in a long line of other names.

There have been incidences of people walking over the dying corpses of others, just so they can summit. In 2023, a Sherpa was filmed dying by a drone on K2 as mountaineers climbed over him in attempt to reach the summit. This is the mentality of some of those attempting summits. This is why commercialisation of summiting Himalayan mountains is wrong. I expect that that $35,000 was ringing through their heads as they climbed over the freezing, exhausted body on a fellow human being. Likes on social media and the occasional head nod from mum and dad at dinner parties killed a man who, according to sources, could have been saved if they had attempted to help rather than push on.

The real hero’s.. the real explorers..

Its a tale as old as time, the poor die, and the rich smile. Like most things in life, the poor are the worst to suffer and when it comes to summiting Everest there is no difference. Last year, according to explorersweb.com, there were 18 deaths, one third of these were Sherpas.

Of course we understand that if there are dangerous jobs, people will take them. That’s a fact of life. However, upon each Sherpa death, small communities across Nepal break out in a often violent rage. The Sherpas take these jobs because they pay well, how long until the risk doesn’t balance out the reward? $35,000 to a rich westerner is nothing. How much of this do you think goes to the Sherpa? Well, I have the figures for you here… prior to the introduction of IFMGA qualifications (2021), Sherpas were paid $4-$5000, with IFMGA qualifications they are paid upwards of $10,000. Which obviously drives up the price of expeditions.

Just so you realise what a Sherpa does, we shall explore their job rolls further. In short however, there will be no expeditions on mount Everest without the Sherpas. They are the lifeline of the Everest expeditions, they carry the majority of the equipment, have to clean, pack and unpack the tents, carve their way through glacier ice to make safe routes. This includes crossing ladders over glacier gorges. All a while supporting some old rich westerner each step of the way. If the Sherpa was to try and buy this experience for himself, he’d have to summit the mountain 10+ times.

Imagine working at a restaurant for 12 hours, finishing, and not being able to afford a meal there.

Conclusion.

Yeah, its goofy and selfish.