WhyclimbingMountEverestisso difficult formanypeople?The best time of a year toclimbMountEverestisin May.NowmanyMt. Ifyouimagine the summit ofMountEverest,youmight picture a quiet, snowy peak far from civilisation. But a striking photo, taken by mountaineer Nirmal Purja, shows how the reality can be a lotmorecrowded.

Understanding the Context

DiscoverwhyclimbingMountEverestisperilous, from altitude sickness to hazardous conditions.Thesemountainsare 30 timesmoredangerousthanEverestClimbingthe World'sMostDangerousMountains. Themountainconsideredmostdangerousamongclimbersbecause of its steep passages and constant avalanchedangeris K2. At 8,611 meters, it is the highestmountainin the Karakoram and the second highest of the eight-thousanders afterEverest. ClimbingMountEverestisnot a high probability formostpeople and does require nerves of steel but there is a better chance of trekking to the part of themountainknown as base camp.

Key Insights

“As temperatures rise,Everest’s thousands of feet of ice and water are becoming unstable, making themountainevenmorevolatile.” Collapsing ice is a growing threat, as it can both fall onclimbersand trigger avalanches that may affect people further down themountain. MountEverest’sclimbingindustry has become controversial. As popularity of theclimbhas increased, there havebeenmore“traffic jams” asclimbersspend toomuchtime in the death zone waiting for their chance to go to the summit. Firstclimbedby Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953,MountEverestis, of course, the highestmountainin the world.This makes Kangchenjunga the highest peak in India. Themountainwasactuallythoughtto be the highestmountainin the world until 1852.

Final Thoughts

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