Many adventurers believe that if they can conquer Mount Everest, one of the most daunting climbs in the world, they can tackle just about any hill or mountain that comes their way. Reaching a staggering height of 29,035 feet, Everest offers challenges unlike no other mountain in the world, which means reaching the summit gives you a lifetime membership
to a very exclusive club.
Long after Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to successfully reach the top on May 29, 1953, Everest continues to claim lives each year at the eye-opening rate of 1 death for every 10 attempts. Severe injuries always are among the factors to consider when climbing any mountain, but there are lots of ways to die on Everest, including sudden avalanches, hypothermia, pneumonia and infections.
A surprising number of Everest climbers are struck down by something as simple as a lack of oxygen, which causes a condition known as hypoxia. At altitudes above 7,000 feet, the atmosphere contains less oxygen and this makes your heart and lungs work a lot harder. Some symptoms of altitude sickness identified by the American Heart Association include
insomnia and swelling of the hands and feet; ignoring these warning signs has proved fatal for some climbers.
In a 2006 report, BBC News reported that Dr. Andrew Sutherland, who has served as a medical advisor on some Everest attempts, said that he was "shocked" at the amount of altitude-related sickness that's found among Everest climbers. With all the modern equipment and online resources available to climbers in the 21st-Century, many still neglect to account for the effects of thin air and sometimes don't make it back.
To combat altitude sickness, most climbers do spend time getting their bodies used to the lower oxygen content. Experienced climbers also carry oxygen tanks when climbing Everest. Without this extra air, climbing the entire 29,035 feet to Everest's summit could become a
slow, plodding and perhaps fatal undertaking.
Even with the threat of altitude sickness, a few climbers have successfully tackled Everest without benefit of supplemental oxygen tanks. In 1980, Reinhold Messner, considered by many to be one of the greatest climbers in the world, made a successful solo climb to the summit without extra oxygen, Sherpas or ladders, a method that's referred to as "fair means." For Messner, it was the man versus mountain....and Messner won.
In addition to injury, money and bureaucratic red tape can keep even an experienced climber from conquering Everest. Unlike a mountain or hill in a national park, an attempt at Everest can set you back about $25,000, with $10,000 going towards your permit fee. Climbing this
mountain takes more careful planning, preparation and work than any other mountain in the world.
For those who have the drive, determination and guts to make the attempt, though, Mount Everest sits patiently waiting.
Resources:
http://www.extremescience.com/HighestElevation.htm
BBC News: "Concern over Everest Death Rate": http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5281344.stm
http://www.mnteverest.net/history.html
High-altitude sickness: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4618
http://www.mounteverest.net/expguide/survivalrules.htm
