MT. EVEREST – MAY 8: In this photo released by BOCOG, Chinese climbers celebrate with an Olympic torch, an Olympic flame lantern, a flag of International Olympic Committee, a Chinese National flag and a flag of the 29th Olympic Games after they sucessfully carried the Olympic flame to the top of the 8844.43-metre summit of Mt Everest, or Mt. Qomolangma, on May 8, 2008 in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region. (Photo by Chagxi Cering/Xinhua/BOCOG via Getty Images)

Mount Everest is 29,029 feet high, the tallest mountain on Earth. Over the years, many people have died trying to climb the mountain due to the elements. However, recent events suggest it’s now climbers killing other climbers, albeit unintentionally.

Binaj Gurubacharya of The Associated Press has an extensive feature on the third confirmed death (with two more climbers missing and suspected to be dead) in the last few days, part of what some experts are calling a “man-made disaster” on the mountain. The key issue is overcrowding and poor management of teams trying to climb the beast. As a result, there’s been a recent spike in accidents and tragedies on the mountain.

An Indian climber’s death while being helped down was reported Monday, only days after Dutch and Australian climbers passed away near the peak. Additionally, two Indian climbers are missing. All of this could’ve been avoided, according to climbing and park experts who spoke to Gurubacharya.

“Poor planning and overcrowding on the world’s tallest peak may have led to bottlenecks that kept people delayed at the highest reaches while waiting for the path to clear lower down, Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said Monday.”

“‘This was a man-made disaster that may have been minimized with better management of the teams,” he said. “The last two disasters on Everest were caused by nature, but not this one.'”

What’s interesting about these accidents is they’re not the kind of overcrowding accidents one might first envision, like too many climbers on a narrow path and a couple falling off. The Dutch man who passed away was 35-year-old Eric Arnold, and the Australian woman was 34-year-old Maria Strydom. Both didn’t die from overcrowding issues or poor climbing technique. Instead, they reportedly died from altitude sickness. This past Monday, Subhash Paul of India was reportedly the third climber to die by altitude sickness, Wangchu Sherpa of the Trekking Camp Nepal agency in Kathmandu stated.

So while these aren’t exactly overcrowding issues in the manner of too many people on a narrow bridge or pass, instead they are overcrowding in the way that guides and Sherpas who help people climb up and down the mountain can’t keep track of everyone. Instead of using the Sherpas, which have been around for years to help climbers summit Everest, they’re using their own guides that sometimes don’t have the proper training to deal with emergency situations on the mountain.

For reference, here are some numbers to keep in mind:

Everest was first climbed by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Since then, more than 4,000 climbers have climbed to the top of the mountain. Nearly 400 have reached the top since May 11. That means roughly 10% percent of the people to ever climb Everest had done so in the past two weeks.

What that means is too many people are trying to do it at once and therefore the Sherpa guides can’t keep track of where everyone is. As a result, climbers use inexperienced guides who aren’t trained to help them in certain situations.

On top of all of this comes the cost. Nepal charges climbers $11,000 for a permit to climb the mountain, plus anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 more to buy the correct equipment. As a result, only 289 climbers received permits this year, meaning there are a large number of climbers who are on the mountain illegally, making the problem even worse.

Not to mention, when there is a natural disaster, it makes it harder for the people who manage the mountain to keep track of where all the legal and illegal climbers are. Last year on April 25th, an earthquake caused an avalanche that killed 19 people at Base Camp, which ended climbing to the top in 2015.

While natural disaster deaths aren’t exactly preventable, altitude sickness and other overcrowding-related deaths are, and these deaths run against the trend of improving safety.

The use of bottled oxygen and better equipment had helped reduce the number of deaths each year. Satellite communication equipment and better medical facilities have also helped prevent tragedy.

Yet some criticize expedition companies for taking novice climbers without any mountaineering experience. There are no regulations to require climbers to have any experience before trying Everest.

The above two paragraphs really drive the point home. While satellite communication equipment and improved medical facilities help prevent tragedies, they aren’t enough due to the overcrowding issues. On top of that, with more climbers comes a higher rate of inexperienced climbers or guides. This is also a major issue, because they don’t know how to handle emergencies and can’t be relied on in dangerous situations.

There’s no easy way to solve the Everest issue other than to close the mountain completely to climbers, and that’ll never happen. The small Himalayan country relies on the mountain for a large portion of its tourist economy. According to the AP, the mountain brings in more than $3 million in just permit fees per year. Millions of more money is brought in through hotels, resturants, and other tourist needs.

The Everest dilemma won’t be solved quickly, but the sooner it is, it’s likely fewer people will die.

[AP]

About David Lauterbach

David is a writer for The Comeback. He enjoyed two Men's Basketball Final Four trips for Syracuse before graduating in 2016. If The Office or Game of Thrones is on TV, David will be watching.