It comes as no surprise that climbing the tallest mountain in the world could be dangerous, but four climbers have recently passed away while trying to climb down from Mount Everest.
Over 100 people tried climbing the mountain this past weekend, causing delays on the route. The four climbers died after suffering from exhaustion and altitude sickness to which the delays may have contributed.
The deaths have since sparked questions about how many people should be allowed on the mountain at a time. However, the route delays were just one of the factors that made the trip dangerous.
Up that high, there’s less oxygen so it’s harder for your body to breathe. Other dangerous factors include bad weather, frostbite and hypothermia.
But, some of the climbers from the weekend were successful. Twenty-two year old Matthew Dieumegard-Thornton reached the top on Saturday. He also said that there weren’t too many climbers and that the delays were manageable. “As long as the climbers are courteous of other climbers on the mountain, everyone can work well,” he commented.
The first man to ever successfully reach the top was Sir Chris Bonington, who led the first ever ascent of Everest’s south-west face in 1975. He’s an advocate for fewer climbers at a time.
The worst climbing season was in 1996 when 15 climbers passed away one season, eight of them in one day.