Date: 3/20/2018

To: International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation President

From: Aaron Hibyan
Subject: Increase in the number of deaths on Mount Everest
Reference: Why are more people dying on Everest than ever before?
Action Required: Implementation of stricter requirements to climb Everest.
Distribution: Members of UIAA
Mount Everest continues to be the pinnacle of mountaineering and mountain climbing
for most climbers around the world. The irresistible urge to climb Everest has attracted those
who have little to no experience climbing, which is a leading cause for the increase in the
number of deaths. Currently there are few regulations on who can climb Mount Everest, and
the only thing prohibiting people is the price. Although there is no shortage of high profile
clients willing to pay upwards of $70,000 to climb Everest, more technical prerequisites need to
be put in place.(Parker)

The Nepali government is against putting limits on the number of climbing permits that
are issued for the sole reason of depending on the revenue it generates. The government has
also resisted requiring climbers to prove a certain level of mountaineering capability. In recent
years, due to earthquakes and a warming climate, the number of avalanches has increased
dramatically. This includes one in 2014 that killed 16 Sherpas, making it the single deadliest
incident to occur on Everest. Before the 2014 avalanche, 2012 was the deadliest year with
twelve deaths, and before that, 1996 with eight deaths. (Narula) There is little that can be done
to stop an avalanche, but limiting the number of climbers on Everest each season needs to
become a primary goal moving forward.

Summary
Everest has recently come under criticism for becoming a tourist destination instead of a
mountaineering destination. Expeditions are no longer filled with experienced climbers who
have spent years training for Everest, but have become filled with inexperienced people who
are looking for an adrenaline boost. These inexperienced climbers are putting not only
themselves at risk, but also the Sherpas who are with them. These high-risk climbers have
caused paths up Everest to become overcrowded, making it even more challenging to climb
Mount Everest. These climbers are the reason why stricter regulations need to be implemented
before giving passes to climb Mount Everest. The UIAA needs to get involved by helping
implement some form of restriction on inexperienced climbers if the Nepali government
refuses to do so. Another option would be to increase monitoring of the mountain to help
predict earthquakes when possible. Avalanches on Everest, commonly caused by earthquakes,
are responsible for the deaths of 46 percent of the Sherpas who died and 28 percent of the
climbers who died between 1959-2009 (Narula). The loss of life on Mount Everest can only be
expected to rise if inexperienced climbers continue to make attempts at climbing it. Therefore,
we must work towards limiting inexperienced climbers and help raise awareness on the true
danger of climbing Mount Everest.

Everest by the Numbers

Everest Fatalities

Deaths on Everest are unavoidable as climbing a mountain that reaches nearly six miles
into the sky will certainly have its risks. Between the years of 1959 and 2009, there is a
recorded 608 “member” deaths, which consists of paying clients, and 224 “hired” deaths which
consists of Sherpas. (Narula) The main cause of death for each group is vastly different for
Sherpas most of the deaths occur due to avalanches. For clients attempting to climb Everest,
most deaths occur because of falls, this number is even higher in between the altitude of
6500m and 8500m. Solutions to these incidents are not easy to implement and there is no way
for them to be completely effective. One solution is to set a limit on the number of climbing
permits issued by the Nepali government. Nepal is where most Everest expeditions begin from
and selling these permits has become a key part of their economy. There has been push back in
recent years on the limitation of permits per year.

Although safer routes have been established on Everest and the overall risk to climbers
has gone down, the risk for Sherpas has not changed at all as they have more inexperienced
climbers than ever before. This is creating a rift between Sherpas, who rely on the mountain for
a majority of their income, and the climbers who are trying to add Everest to their list of
mountaineering accomplishments. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics along with the Himalayan
Database gathered mortality rates for Sherpas and other jobs that take place in harsh
environments between 2003 – 2014. For each 100,000 full time workers that were
Sherpas4,053 of them died, on the other hand US soldiers from 2003 – 2007 only had 335
deaths per 100,00. It is easy to see why being a Sherpa is a controversial job, but for most in the
area there are few jobs that pay as well as being a Sherpa does.
Everest Controversies and Politics

The increase in the number of climbers on Everest has led to controversies involving
topics most would never expect to hear about involving Everest. One of these is the pollution
that builds up on the routes to the summit as people tend to leave behind their garbage instead
of carrying it with them. This has lead to teams of people going up the mountain with the sole
purpose of picking up trash, putting their lives in danger just to clean up after other people.
Yearly cleanup efforts have recovered upwards of 33,000 pounds of trash from the mountain as
well as 1,500 pounds of human waste (Nuwer). Deaths on Everest lead to many problems, one
of those is how to recover bodies that are left on the mountain. Human remains are commonly
committed to the mountain which is when they are simply pushed out of site or covered with
rocks. Although this seems gruesome, when someone dies near the summit it is practically
impossible to recover the body.

Even the most experienced climbers and Sherpas can die attempting to summit Everest,
but the chance of an inexperienced climber dying is much higher. For example, Ueli Steck who
was one of the best modern-day climbers, died in 2017 as he was attempting a longer than
normal route to the Everest summit. When Ueli Steck died it, shocked the mountaineering
community, he released his route before setting off, but ended up going elsewhere on a more
dangerous path. Although he was a world renown climber, the question of if regulation could
have saved Ueli Steck’s life was brought up. A lot of climbers understandably do not want more
regulation in a sport that is about exploring and reaching new heights. Mountaineer Melissa
Arnot, who has summited Everest five times, once said “My passion created an industry that
fosters people dying. It supports humans as disposable, as usable, and that is the hardest thing
to come to terms with.” On an expedition in 2010, Melisa had a Sherpa that died on the way to
the summit. This shows that even the most experienced climbers and those accompanying
them are always at risk of losing their lives. Freak accidents happen and there a lot of
unpredictable factors on Everest, people are going to die but we should try new things to lower
that number. Therefore, regulations or prerequisites should be put into place before people
blindly go to Everest as their first big summit.

Conclusion
Mount Everest is and always will be at the center of some controversy in the
mountaineering community. Whether its an increase in fatalities or the impact on the
environment that humans have even in such harsh environments. Things on Everest need to
change, from the process of getting climbing permits, the number of climbers allowed per
season, and even previous climbs being considered. The idea of climbing Mount Everest is
something that people want to be able to name drop in conversation and is no longer seen as
the ultimate mountain to climb . The UIAA needs to get involved where others will not, the
Nepali government implements few restrictions and expedition companies are usually more
interested in making money.

Recommendations
There a few actions that can be taken within the next few years with small costs and
some that will need to be implemented over time. These recommendations are not guaranteed
solutions, but are a good starting point for changing the way things are done at Mount Everest.

1. Set a limit on the number of climbing passes allowed per season that is no larger
than 300. In the 2015 climbing season 359 climbers attempted to summit Mount
Everest (Parker), although this number was inflated due to the canceling of the
2014 season the need for limits still exists. This would eliminate over crowded
routes which puts all members of an expedition at a greater risking of dying.
2. Require climbers to have summited at least two mountains with peaks that are
15,000 feet or higher. This includes any of the Seven Summits but should also
include mountains over 15,000 feet not on the list. This will stop climbers who
have only trained to climb mountains and not climbed any mountains from
attempting Everest first. The main goal is to stop new climbers from thinking
they can climb Mount Everest first.
3. Invest more into technologies that would allow those who have fallen ill or been
injured but are at either base camp one or two to return safely off the mountain.
Whether it is infrastructure that connects base camp to ground level or some
new mode of transportation to rescue those in too high of an altitude to send a
helicopter to.

If the number of people attempting to climb Mount Everest every year continues to
increase, we should be ready to implement new and more safe regulations. These
recommended items are just a few of the possible changes that can be made to increase the
safety of everyone attempting to climb Mount Everest.
References
Narula, Svati Kirsten. “Charting Deaths on Mount Everest.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 21
Apr. 2014, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/04/mortality-on-mount-everest/360927/.

Nuwer, Rachel. “Future - Death in the clouds: The problem with Everest's 200 bodies.” BBC, BBC, 9 Oct.
2015, www.bbc.com/future/story/20151008-the-graveyard-in-the-clouds-everests-200-dead-bodies.

Parker, Laura. “Will Everest's Climbing Circus Slow Down After Disasters?” National Geographic, National
Geographic Society, 13 May 2015, news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150513-everest-climbing-
nepal-earthquake-avalanche-sherpas/.