# Everest: Just Don't Do It **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 22, 2016, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397 "2016-05-22T21:31:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/521 "2023-05-23T13:34:39Z")
I think most people are unaware of what Mount Everest has become, so that brag of Everest will still impress many. The press in the United States rarely covers Everest except when an American dies, or when the number of deaths becomes such in a given year that it cannot be ignored. Furthermore, a superficial look at those deaths just makes the dangers of Everest seem more alluring and the challenge more daring. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/522 "2023-05-23T14:09:05Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > If you were just into remarkable views, enormous personal challenge/accomplishment, the awesome cultures of Nepal, etc, you WOULDN’T be climbing THIS mountain. You’d much more likely be climbing any number of other nearby challenging mountains. According to Wikipedia and Google, Everest has been summitted by 11,346 climbers (as of 7/22), and 310 deaths, for a ratio of about 37 to 1. The summitter-to-death ratio for K2, the second highest mountain, is 4 to 1. > **[K2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K2)** > > K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft). It lies in the Karakoram range, partially in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and partially in the China-administered Trans-Karakoram Tract in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang.\[a\] > K2 also became popularly known as the Savage Mountain after George Bell—a climber on the 1953 American expedition—told reporters, "I... For Annapurna, the tenth highest, the ratio is about 5 to 1. > **[Annapurna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapurna)** > > Annapurna (/ˌænəˈpʊərnəˌ -ˈpɜːr-/; Nepali: अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at 8,091 metres (26,545 ft) above sea level and is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its ascent. > Maurice Herzog led a French expedition to its summit through the north face in 1950, making it the first eight-thousand meter peak ever successfully climbed. The entire massif and surr... To my knowledge, there are no traffic jams near the summit of either of these peaks. Anyone looking for bragging rights or even just the personal satisfaction of overcoming extreme adversity ought to try one of those peaks instead of Everest. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/523 "2023-05-23T15:24:14Z")
I am much more impressed by people climbing Nanga Parbhat\* or Annapurna or K2. \*I know it will never happen but I’d honestly like to see it stop being called Everest and be called SagarMatha or some other local name. So tired of white people claiming all our shit. Also can we please have the Kohinoor back, you thieves? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/524 "2023-05-23T15:31:01Z")
And interestingly, the man who Everest is named for pronounced his name EEV-rest, not EVV-erest. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/525 "2023-05-23T15:43:02Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I am much more impressed by people climbing Nanga Parbhat\* or Annapurna or K2. > > \*I know it will never happen but I’d honestly like to see it stop being called Everest and be called SagarMatha or some other local name. So tired of white people claiming all our shit Also can we please have the Kohinoor back, you thieves? Wholeheartedly agree with you. We did it with Denali and Uluru, no reason we can’t do the same with Everest. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/526 "2023-05-23T15:54:28Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > And interestingly, the man who Everest is named for pronounced his name EEV-rest, not EVV-erest. He never even saw it or had much to do with it other than hiring the surveyor who determined how high it was. He objected to it being named for him. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/527 "2023-05-23T17:18:05Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > They should increase the price of a permit to $100k for the standard easy routes that the chumps are doing, and set a mandatory pay structure for Sherpas that’s 3 times what they get now. The Sherpas could earn the same or more from working less time, and with less risk taking smaller groups. > > It’s not like this is something where “everyone should have the right to do it even if they are not rich” really carries much weight. It’s getting so stupid that the two objectives should be to cut the numbers down dramatically while protecting the interests of the locals - which means fewer richer people. Agreed. All good suggestions. People can (and do) climb mountains, jump out of planes, and otherwise undertake risky activities. All well and good until other people start dying. The sherpas (and their widows) deserve to be compensated. Whole families struggle when a sherpa dies. He is often the only source of income. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/528 "2023-05-23T17:24:31Z")
A woman who lives here at the Overlook has a daughter who is a mountain climber. She was supposed to summit Everest yesterday. She also attempted Denali but got altitude sickness at 18K feet and turned back. I’ve never had the least desire to do any of that sort of stuff. When we were vacationing in the Southwest, we pulled into a turnout in Zion that turned out to be the trailhead for Angel’s Landing. I briefly considered hiking the trail until I saw the sign that said “You may die here.” I think some dozen people have fallen off that damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/529 "2023-05-23T17:28:00Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I know it will never happen but I’d honestly like to see it stop being called Everest… Although I agree with you, it would have spoiled the nickname for our high school principal who shared that name - “peaky”. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/530 "2023-05-23T17:37:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I briefly considered hiking the trail until I saw the sign that said “You may die here.” I think some dozen people have fallen off that damn thing. 17 people are confirmed to have died since 1987, roughly 1 per year. I hiked it and loved it, but we went before dawn when no one else was on the chains. I have friends who’ve summited Everest and they say it was the hardest thing they’ve ever done; and they’re wicked accomplished climbers. It’s not traditional mountaineering, but it is still more physically demanding than anything 99.9% of people have ever done. [![Google Photos](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/ADCreHfljauq4kH1QkzbfU3iNwOyDzflG3xk8pXLengIQCKD2vrcbmhCJEq9VTkd-AQsdA0ge_N9PjXl_gYGvsERWibZVdKJxx9xR1K-N4jwYBaXZ2p9XSOK=w600-h315-p-k "New item by David Metsky") ](https://photos.app.goo.gl/h1FwB1ZhjL2Bci8w6) ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/531 "2023-05-23T17:37:55Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > So tired of white people claiming all our shit. Also can we please have the Kohinoor back, you thieves? > **[Stuff The British Stole with Marc Fennell - ABC listen](https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/stuff-the-british-stole)** > > Throughout its reign, the British Empire stole a lot of stuff. Today the Empire's loot sits in museums, galleries, private collections and burial sites with polite plaques. But its history is often messier than the plaques suggest. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/532 "2023-05-23T17:41:25Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > People can (and do) climb mountains, jump out of planes, and otherwise undertake risky activities. All well and good until other people start dying. Yes, I have no time for those who criticize adventurers who choose to take on risky challenges putting only _themselves_ at risk, and calling it a “waste” if they die young. We all find meaning in our own way. But it’s an entirely different matter when people who don’t really have any special aptitude are just paying $$$$ to relatively poor people to be shepherded through unoriginal commoditized (but still very dangerous) activities, with the expectation that their guides must put their own lives at risk to save their clients when their inadequate talent and preparation lead them into trouble. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/533 "2023-05-23T17:44:58Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > According to Wikipedia and Google, Everest has been summitted by 11,346 climbers (as of 7/22), and 310 deaths, for a ratio of about 37 to 1. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > The summitter-to-death ratio for K2, the second highest mountain, is 4 to 1. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > For Annapurna, the tenth highest, the ratio is about 5 to 1. > [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Anyone looking for bragging rights or even just the personal satisfaction of overcoming extreme adversity ought to try one of those peaks instead of Everest. Maybe a lot of climbers who want to summit the world’s highest peaks don’t have an actual death wish. 37 to 1 is a lot better odds than 4 to 1. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/534 "2023-05-23T17:51:52Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Maybe a lot of climbers who want to summit the world’s highest peaks don’t have an actual death wish. If they don’t have the climbing talent or motivation/temperament to take on something remarkable, the solution is not to seek bragging rights while paying money to impose a significant risk of death on others. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/535 "2023-05-23T17:59:13Z")
Just ran across this bit about a relatively small (6500 ft) Japanese peak that has killed an extraordinarily large number of climbers. “Over 800 people have died attempting to climb Mt. Tanigawa; the hiking trails are lined with commemorative plaques in memory of those who died on the mountain. Because of the heavy snowfall, one group of climbers that went missing in 1943 remained undiscovered for 30 years, when a separate hiking group happened upon their remains. In the 1960s, another group of climbers froze to death while scaling the mountain’s main face; still attached to their harnesses, the Japanese Self-Defenses Forces had to shoot the climbers’ ropes in order to retrieve their bodies.” ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/536 "2023-05-23T18:17:40Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > When we were vacationing in the Southwest, we pulled into a turnout in Zion that turned out to be the trailhead for Angel’s Landing. I briefly considered hiking the trail until I saw the sign that said “You may die here.” I think some dozen people have fallen off that damn thing. That’s a heck of a hike. You could also try the narrows and face flash flooding. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/537 "2023-05-23T19:30:04Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > 17 people are confirmed to have died since 1987, roughly 1 per year. Umm… Welcome to 2023, time traveler. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/538 "2023-05-23T20:33:50Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Nanga Parbhat Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/539 "2023-05-23T20:45:11Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Umm… Welcome to 2023, time traveler. Sorry, I meant over the last 5 years there has been 1 death per year. Although it looks like there were no deaths in 2022, but that may be due to restricting access via the lottery they just introduced. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397/540 "2023-05-23T22:15:01Z")
Here’s a harsher take on the current Mount Everest mess: > **[We've Said it Before and We'll Say It Again: Stop Climbing Mount Everest, You...](https://www.pajiba.com/miscellaneous/2023-death-and-missing-toll-on-mount-everest-increasing-at-alarming-rate.php)** > > We're a really daft species, one with a propensity for doing stupid stuff even when the entire planet is warning us not to. Case in point: Mount Everest. The tallest mountain in the world is a climber's biggest challenge, and... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/everest-just-dont-do-it/755397.md?page=28)