Climbing Everest

You would think that after the ill-fated 1996 summit attempt on Mt. Everest – the world’s tallest peak at 29,035 feet (or 8,850 meters) recounted in John Krakauer’s extraordinary retelling “Into Thin Air” that the mountain’s popularity would begin to wane. Quite the opposite, in the ten years since Everest Guide Scott Fischer and 6 others lost their lives, Mt. Everest is more popular (and more expensive) than ever before.

A quick fact for you in case you’re thinking of being the first on your block to scale Everest: one in 10 mountain climbers die while trying to scale Mount Everest.

So what could possibly be the attraction? There are dozens of company’s that offer “summit attempts’ on Everest. Notice I said, “attempt”, because no reputable company can guarantee that you’ll make it to the top of Mt. Everest. There are too many unknown variables: freakish weather, avalanches, slipping, frostbite, cerebral edema. And people PAY for this? You better believe it. Where else can you pay over $50,000.00 for a chance to stare your own mortality right in the face?

In 2005, there were 192 official attempts on the mountain’s south side (the “easier” side), there were 183 summit attempts on the north side (the more difficult side). The forecast to date in 2006 is over 200 attempts, but 12 climbers also lost their lives.

In 1980, it cost roughly $2700.00 dollars to get your papers in order; pay for some Sherpa guides and off you went. A few years - when the Nepalese government realized they had a viable tourist attraction on their hands - the price to summit Everest jumped to $10,000.00 dollars, shortly later the price was hiked to $20,000.00.