How deadly is Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world and stands at a height of 8,848 meters. Sitting in the middle of a huge range in the Solukhumdu district in Nepal, the mountain has become the ultimate challenge for climbers ever since the first successful ascent in 1953. So far there have been just under 300 officially recorded deaths on the mountain, and an unknown number of missing people who could still be buried beneath the ice.

Around 65% of all the fatalities on the mountain remain in the place they died because it is simply too dangerous to recover them and bring them back down, and far too high for a helicopter to safely reach. The most famous body on the mountain is nicknamed “green boots” after the color of his boots, and also because no one actually knows his real name, but it is believed he was part of an Indian expedition where two other people died.

According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, Mount Everest is only the 10th most dangerous mountain in the world, and the average chance of death is less than 4%.

Each year several hundred people attempt to climb the mountain, but usually no more than 100 try to reach the summit. This almost guarantees a handful of deaths each year, with 2019 totaling 11 deaths, but as equipment improves this number seems to be slowly dropping.

Main Causes of Death on Everest

Avalanches and falling seem to be joint first, with 68 and 67 deaths respectively. Exposure follows with 27 officially recorded deaths and altitude sickness is at 21 deaths. As for everything else, the list goes as follows:

Cardiac arrest – 11

Exhaustion and/or exposure – 8

Exhaustion – 7

Serac (a column of glacial ice, prone to easily falling over) – 6

Cerebral oedema (a build up of fluids in the brain) – 7

Stroke – 2

Frostbite – 1

Other – 15

Unknown cause – 52

Mount Everest only has a fearsome reputation for being dangerous purely because it’s the most popular. Most people who choose to climb a huge mountain don’t usually want to settle for second best, making the number of deaths it has caused so far come mostly from its popularity. In terms of how dangerous it is to climb compared to other mountains of the world, it’s not as scary as it looks. Here are a few other mountains and the chance of death if you try to climb them:

Annapurna in Central Nepal – 33%

Kangchenjunga, India-Nepal border – 20%

Nanga Parbat in Pakistan – 18%

Mont Blanc massif in France – 15%

K2 on the China / Pakistan border – 10%

See, 4% for Mount Everest isn’t so bad after all, but as long as it continues to be the highest mountain it will continue to attract people who wish to climb it. If you happen to be one of those people then it must be something you really want to do, as the $45,000 package isn’t in everyone’s price range. If you’re coming from Europe or America you can expect to pay around $45k, but local packages range from $20,000 to $40,000 depending on the time of year and who you go with. Around 10,000 of that amount will go to the Sherpa who escorts you up the mountain, which may seem like a lot of money but considering he could die each time he does it, it seems fair.