Editing Mount Everest (section)

==Climbing==
[[File:Hillary Step near Everest top (retouched).jpg|thumb|Looking up along the southern ridgeline, the face of the [[Hillary Step]] is visible. The top of the Southwest Face is on the left in shadow, and in the light to the right is the top of the East/Kangshung Face. In 2016 and 2017 there were serious reports that the Hillary Step was changed, which triggered a big discussion in the climbing community. (2010 photo)]]
{| class="wikitable" style="width:20%; float:right;"
|+ Typical Nepal Camp Altitudes<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mounteverest.net/expguide/route.htm|title=The route – climbers guide to Everest|website=www.mounteverest.net|access-date=24 May 2017|archive-date=31 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531063921/https://www.mounteverest.net/expguide/route.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
! scope="col" | Location
! scope="col" colspan="2" | Altitude (km)
|-
! scope="row" | Summit 8848&nbsp;m / 29035&nbsp;ft
| {{bartable|8.8||10}}
|-
! scope="row" | Camp 4 8000&nbsp;m / 26000&nbsp;ft
| {{bartable|8.0||10}}
|-
! scope="row" | Camp 3 6800&nbsp;m / 22300&nbsp;ft
| {{bartable|6.8||10}}
|-
! scope="row" | Camp 2 6400&nbsp;m / 21000&nbsp;ft
| {{bartable|6.4||10}}
|-
! scope="row" | Camp 1 6100&nbsp;m / 20000&nbsp;ft
| {{bartable|6.1||10}}
|-
! scope="row" | Base camp 5400&nbsp;m / 17700&nbsp;ft
| {{bartable|5.4||10}}
|}

===Permits===
In 2014, Nepal issued 334 climbing permits, which were extended until 2019 due to the closure.<ref name="ekantipur1"/> In 2015, Nepal issued 357 permits, but the mountain was closed again because of the avalanche and earthquake, and these permits were given a two-year extension to 2017.<ref name="kathmandupost.ekantipur.com">{{cite web|url=http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-05-11/everest-expeditions-likely-to-be-delayed-by-bad-weather.html|title=Everest expeditions likely to be delayed by bad weather|website=ekantipur.com|access-date=23 October 2017|archive-date=24 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424053705/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2017-05-11/everest-expeditions-likely-to-be-delayed-by-bad-weather.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="ekantipur1">{{cite web |author=Sangam Prasain |url=http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2016-02-20/everest-permits-to-be-extended.html |title=Kathmandu Post- Everest permits to be extended |publisher=Kathmandupost.ekantipur.com |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-date=19 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919203745/http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2016-02-20/everest-permits-to-be-extended.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{clarify|date=June 2016}}

In 2017, a person who tried to climb Everest without the $11,000 permit was caught after he made it past the Khumbu icefall. He faced, among other penalties, a $22,000 fine and a possible four years in jail. In the end, he was allowed to return home but banned from mountaineering in Nepal for 10 years.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/world/asia/mount-everest-climber-arrested-permit.html Mt. Everest Beckoned, So He Climbed Without a Permit. Now He's Under Arrest] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220827015551/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/17/world/asia/mount-everest-climber-arrested-permit.html |date=27 August 2022 }} ''www.nytimes.com'' accessed 12 December 2020</ref>

The number of permits issued each year by Nepal is:<ref name="kathmandupost.ekantipur.com"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/climbers-did-not-die-due-to-congestion-on-mount-everest-says-nepal-2052554|title=Climbers Did Not Die Due To Congestion on Mount Everest, Says Nepal|work=NDTV|access-date=13 June 2019|archive-date=26 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220826202811/https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/climbers-did-not-die-due-to-congestion-on-mount-everest-says-nepal-2052554|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2008: 160
* 2009: 220
* 2010: 209
* 2011: 225
* 2012: 208
* 2013: 316
* 2014: 326 (extended for use through 2019)
* 2015: 356 (extended for use through 2017)
* 2016: 289
* 2017: 366 to 373
* 2018: 346
* 2019: 381
*2020: 0 (no permits issued during the pandemic)
*2021: 408 (current record)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Everest Climbing Season Was Like No Other|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/south-central-asia_everest-climbing-season-was-no-other/6206664.html|access-date=30 October 2021|website=VOA|date=5 June 2021|language=en|archive-date=12 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412051449/https://www.voanews.com/a/south-central-asia_everest-climbing-season-was-no-other/6206664.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Ledur|first1=Júlia|last2=Galocha|first2=Artur|title=Covid reached Everest base camp. Now climbers are trying to prevent its spread amid a record season.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/mount-everest-basecamp-coronavirus-nepal/|access-date=30 October 2021|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|archive-date=12 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412055902/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/mount-everest-basecamp-coronavirus-nepal/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Chinese side in Tibet is also managed with permits for summiting Everest.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2168681/everest-2017-new-routes-new-records-and-lots-climbers|title=Everest Will Be More Crowded Than Ever This Year|first=Devon|last=O'Neil|date=3 April 2017|website=outsideonline.com|access-date=23 October 2017|archive-date=12 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512105907/https://www.outsideonline.com/2168681/everest-2017-new-routes-new-records-and-lots-climbers|url-status=live}}</ref> They did not issue permits in 2008, due to the [[2008 Summer Olympics summit of Mt. Everest|Olympic torch relay being taken to the summit of Mount Everest.]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/15/world/asia/15nepal.html|title=Nepal Puts Everest Off Limits During China's Olympic Torch Relay in May|first=Somini|last=Sengupta|date=15 March 2008|access-date=23 October 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|archive-date=12 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512190159/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/15/world/asia/15nepal.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In March 2020, the governments of China and Nepal cancelled all climbing permits for Mount Everest due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/mount-everest-china-cancel-permit-12531116|title=China shuts down Everest over coronavirus|date=12 March 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313050922/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/mount-everest-china-cancel-permit-12531116|archive-date=13 March 2020|publisher=[[CNA (news channel)|CNA]]|agency=[[Agence France-Presse]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51866342|title=Mount Everest: Nepal's government shuts off mountain amid virus outbreak|date=13 March 2020|access-date=13 March 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313034815/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51866342|archive-date=13 March 2020|work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> In April 2020, a group of Chinese mountaineers began an expedition from the Chinese side. The mountain remained closed on the Chinese side to all foreign climbers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Khadka |first1=Navin |title=Coronavirus: Chinese explorers start Everest climb amid pandemic |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52157968 |access-date=3 April 2020 |work=BBC |date=3 April 2020 |archive-date=3 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403223121/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-52157968 |url-status=live }}</ref> On 10 May 2021, a separation line was announced by Chinese authorities to prevent the spread of coronavirus from climbers ascending Nepal's side.<ref>{{cite news|title=China to draw 'separation line' on peak of Mount Everest|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-china-to-draw-separation-line-on-peak-of-mount-everest-2/|access-date=10 May 2021|archive-date=10 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210510123751/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-china-to-draw-separation-line-on-peak-of-mount-everest-2/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Commercial climbing===
[[File:The World’s Tallest Mountain (15473492788).jpg|thumb|Top down view showing the location of the summit, and its three main faces/sides]]
[[File:Everest Base Camp on a Stormy Day.jpg|thumb|[[Everest base camps|Everest Base Camp]]]]
[[File:Gorakshep, Everest Zone, Nepal.jpg|thumb|[[Gorakshep|Gorak Shep]] is about a three-hour walk to South EBC (Everest Base Camp).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.himalayas-trekking-pictures.com/everest9.htm|title=Gorak Shep to Everest Base Camp and return|website=www.himalayas-trekking-pictures.com|access-date=5 August 2022|archive-date=5 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005160713/https://www.himalayas-trekking-pictures.com/everest9.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>]]

According to [[Jon Krakauer]], the era of [[commercialization|commercialisation]] of Everest started in 1985, when the summit was reached by a guided expedition led by [[David Breashears]] that included [[Richard Bass]], a wealthy 55-year-old businessman and an amateur mountain climber with four years of climbing experience.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-05-02-mn-20109-story.html|title=Conquers Mt. Everest to Fulfill Dream: Millionaire First to Climb Summits of All Continents|journal=Los Angeles Times|first=Bill|last=Stall|date=2 May 1985|access-date=14 August 2024|archive-date=17 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017205614/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-05-02/news/mn-20109_1_climbed-mt-everest|url-status=live}}</ref> By the early-1990s, several companies were offering guided tours to the mountain. [[Rob Hall]], one of the mountaineers who died in the [[1996 Mount Everest disaster|1996 disaster]], had successfully guided 39 clients to the summit before that incident.<ref name=Krakauer-1997/>{{RP|24, 42}}

By 2016, most guiding services cost between US$35,000 and US$200,000.<ref name="heraldsun.com.au">{{cite web|date=28 May 2016|title=Mt Everest 'summit fever': Why climbers make poor decisions near peak|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/mt-everest-summit-fever-why-climbers-make-poor-decisions-near-peak/news-story/3502b64dc81a65fec0466bf1983efff5|url-access=subscription|access-date=17 June 2016|website=Herald Sun|location=[[Melbourne]], Australia}}</ref> Going with a "celebrity guide", usually a well-known mountaineer typically with decades of climbing experience and perhaps several Everest summits, can cost over £100,000 as of 2015.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Stadlen|first1=Matthew|date=11 August 2015|title=Kenton Cool: my journey from a wheelchair to the peak of Mount Everest|website=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/11794351/Kenton-Cool-my-journey-from-a-wheelchair-to-the-peak-of-Mount-Everest.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/active/11794351/Kenton-Cool-my-journey-from-a-wheelchair-to-the-peak-of-Mount-Everest.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=20 September 2015}}{{cbignore}}</ref> However, the services offered vary widely and it is "buyer beware" when doing deals in Nepal, one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world.<ref name="heraldsun.com.au"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://developingworldconnections.org/destination/nepal/ |title=Nepal |publisher=Developing World Connections |date=25 April 2015 |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416232208/https://developingworldconnections.org/destination/nepal/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Tourism contributed 7.9 per cent of the [[gross domestic product]] (GDP) in 2019<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nepal tourism generated Rs240b and supported 1m jobs last year: Report|url=https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/05/26/nepal-tourism-generated-rs240b-and-supported-1m-jobs-last-year-report|access-date=22 November 2021|website=kathmandupost.com|language=English|archive-date=30 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730002145/https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/05/26/nepal-tourism-generated-rs240b-and-supported-1m-jobs-last-year-report|url-status=live}}</ref> in a country with high unemployment,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nepal's unemployment rate estimated at 11.4 percent|url=https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/04/27/nepals-unemployment-rate-estimated-at-114-percent|access-date=22 November 2021|website=kathmandupost.com|language=English|archive-date=2 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202212944/https://kathmandupost.com/money/2019/04/27/nepals-unemployment-rate-estimated-at-114-percent|url-status=live}}</ref> but an Everest porter can make nearly double the nation's average wage in a region in which other sources of income are lacking.<ref>{{cite web |last=Conger |first=Cristen |url=http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/climbing/mt-everest-tourism.htm |title=How has Mount Everest tourism affected Nepal? &#124; HowStuffWorks |publisher=Adventure.howstuffworks.com |date=1 April 2008 |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516074456/https://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/climbing/mt-everest-tourism.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

Costs beyond the guiding service can vary widely. It is technically possible to reach the summit with minimal additional expenses, and there are "budget" travel agencies that offer logistical support for such trips. A limited support service, offering only some meals at base camp and bureaucratic overhead like a permit, can cost as little as US$7,000 as of 2007.<ref name="thefever" /> However, this is considered difficult and dangerous (as illustrated by the case of [[David Sharp (mountaineer)|David Sharp]]).{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}}

Climbing gear required to reach the summit may cost in excess of US$8,000, and most climbers also use [[Bottled oxygen (climbing)|bottled oxygen]], which adds around US$3,000.<ref name="ClimbingMagazineCost">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.climbing.com/news/how-much-does-it-cost-to-climb-everest-2021-edition/|title=How Much Does It Cost to Climb Everest? 2021 Edition|first=Alan|last=Arnette|magazine=[[Climbing (magazine)|Climbing]]|date=20 April 2021|access-date=9 May 2021|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420203256/https://www.climbing.com/news/how-much-does-it-cost-to-climb-everest-2021-edition/|url-status=live}}</ref> The permit to enter the Everest area from the south via Nepal costs US$10,000 to US$30,000 per person, depending on the size of the team.<ref name="ClimbingMagazineCost" /> The ascent typically starts at one of the [[Everest base camps|two base camps]] near the mountain, both of which are approximately {{convert|100|km|mi|-1}} from [[Kathmandu]] and {{convert|300|km|mi}} from [[Lhasa]] (the two nearest cities with major airports). Transferring one's equipment from the airport to the base camp may add as much as US$2,000.<ref name="ClimbingMagazineCost" />

Many climbers hire "full service" guide companies, which provide a wide spectrum of services, including the acquisition of permits, transportation to/from base camp, food, tents, [[fixed ropes]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mounteverest.net/expguide/ropes.htm|title=Fixed ropes – climbers guide to Everest|website=www.mounteverest.net|access-date=18 October 2011|archive-date=6 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220206114729/http://mounteverest.net/expguide/ropes.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> medical assistance while on the mountain, an experienced mountaineer guide, and even personal porters to carry one's backpack and cook one's meals. The cost of such a guide service may range from US$40,000 to $80,000 per person.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://outdoors.whatitcosts.com/mt-everest-pg3.htm|title=What It Costs To Climb Mount Everest|date=2 May 2016|access-date=12 October 2011|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105115/http://outdoors.whatitcosts.com/mt-everest-pg3.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Since most equipment is moved by [[Sherpa people|Sherpas]], clients of full-service guide companies can often keep their backpack weights under {{convert|10|kg}}, or hire a Sherpa to carry their backpack for them. By contrast, climbers attempting less commercialised peaks, like [[Denali]], are often expected to carry backpacks over {{convert|30|kg}} and, occasionally, to tow a [[sled]] with {{convert|35|kg}} of gear and food.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.alpineinstitute.com/articles/expert-tips/how-difficult-is-climbing-denalis-west-buttress/|title=How Hard is Denali? &#124; American Alpine Institute|website=www.alpineinstitute.com|access-date=5 August 2022|archive-date=28 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128052837/https://www.alpineinstitute.com/articles/expert-tips/how-difficult-is-climbing-denalis-west-buttress/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The degree of commercialisation of Mount Everest is a frequent subject of criticism.<ref name="NG-20130600">{{cite news|last1=Jenkins|first1=Mark|title=Maxed Out on Everest|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/125-everest-maxed-out/jenkins-text|access-date=31 January 2017 |work=National Geographic|date=June 2013|archive-date=26 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226100239/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/125-everest-maxed-out/jenkins-text}}</ref> [[Jamling Tenzing Norgay]], the son of [[Tenzing Norgay]], said in a 2003 interview that his late father would have been shocked to discover that rich thrill-seekers with no climbing experience were now routinely reaching the summit, "You still have to climb this mountain yourself with your feet. But the spirit of adventure is not there any more. It is lost. There are people going up there who have no idea how to put on [[crampons]]. They are climbing because they have paid someone $65,000. It is very selfish. It endangers the lives of others."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/guardianweekly/story/0,12674,961195,00.html |title=Everest's decline blamed on trail of rich tourists |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-date=19 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819075342/https://www.theguardian.com/guardianweekly/story/0,12674,961195,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

One example of this is [[Shriya Shah-Klorfine]], who had to be taught how to put on crampons during her summit attempt in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|title=Canadian Everest victim used inexperienced company, lacked oxygen|work=CBC|date=13 September 2012|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/exclusive-canadian-everest-victim-used-inexperienced-company-lacked-oxygen-1.1195149|access-date=24 January 2021|archive-date=18 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918072953/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/exclusive-canadian-everest-victim-used-inexperienced-company-lacked-oxygen-1.1195149|url-status=live}}</ref> She paid at least US$40,000 to a new guiding company for the trip, and died when she ran out of oxygen during the descent after climbing for 27 hours straight.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mount Everest : Into the Death Zone – the fifth estate|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEcHBFs-qME |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/QEcHBFs-qME| archive-date=11 December 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=24 January 2021|website=www.youtube.com| date=20 August 2016 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[Reinhold Messner]] concurred in 2004: <blockquote>You could die in each climb and that meant you were responsible for yourself. We were real mountaineers: careful, aware and even afraid. By climbing mountains we were not learning how big we were. We were finding out how breakable, how weak and how full of fear we are. You can only get this if you expose yourself to high danger. I have always said that a mountain without danger is not a mountain....High altitude alpinism has become tourism and show. These commercial trips to Everest, they are still dangerous. But the guides and organisers tell clients, 'Don't worry, it's all organised.' The route is prepared by hundreds of Sherpas. Extra oxygen is available in all camps, right up to the summit. People will cook for you and lay out your beds. Clients feel safe and don't care about the risks.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1315445,00.html |title=Home on the range |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=12 October 2011 |archive-date=16 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116171405/http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1315445,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref></blockquote>

By 2015, Nepal was considering requiring that climbers have some experience, hoping this would both make the mountain safer and increase revenue.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jason Burke|date=28 September 2015|title=Mount Everest to be declared off-limits to inexperienced climbers, says Nepal|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/mount-everest-to-be-declared-off-limits-to-inexperienced-climbers|access-date=17 June 2016|archive-date=18 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818210237/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/mount-everest-to-be-declared-off-limits-to-inexperienced-climbers|url-status=live}}</ref> One barrier to this is that low-budget firms make money ''not'' taking inexperienced climbers to the summit.<ref name="heraldsun.com.au" /> Those turned away by Western firms can often find another firm willing to take them for a price—that they return home soon after arriving after base camp, or part way up the mountain.<ref name="heraldsun.com.au" />

However, not all opinions on the subject among prominent mountaineers have been strictly negative. For example, [[Edmund Hillary]] stated in 2003 that while "Having people pay $65,000 and then be led up the mountain by a couple of experienced guides...isn't really mountaineering at all",<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2938596.stm |title=Hillary laments Everest changes |work=BBC News |date=26 May 2003 |access-date=13 October 2011 |archive-date=1 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501091300/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2938596.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> he was pleased by the changes brought to Everest area by Westerners: <blockquote>I don't have any regrets because I worked very hard indeed to improve the condition for the local people. When we first went in there they didn't have any schools, they didn't have any medical facilities, all over the years we have established 27 schools, we have two hospitals and a dozen medical clinics and then we've built bridges over wild mountain rivers and put in fresh water pipelines so in cooperation with the Sherpas we've done a lot to benefit them.<ref>{{cite web|last=Bradford|first=Gillian|date=29 April 2003|title=Interview with Sir Edmund Hillary|url=http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s843061.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114194558/https://www.abc.net.au/foreign/stories/s843061.htm|archive-date=14 November 2013|access-date=26 April 2014|website=Foreign Correspondent|publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]]}}</ref></blockquote>

One of the early guided summiters, Richard Bass (of [[Seven Summits]] fame) stated in 2003 that "Climbers should have high altitude experience before they attempt the really big mountains. People don't realise the difference between a {{convert|20000|ft|m|adj=on|disp=sqbr}} mountain and {{convert|29000|ft|m|adj=on|disp=sqbr}}. It's not just arithmetic. The reduction of oxygen in the air is proportionate to the altitude alright, but the effect on the human body is disproportionate—an exponential curve. People climb Denali [{{convert|20,320|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on|disp=or}}] or Aconcagua [{{convert|22,834|ft|m|order=flip|abbr=on|disp=or}}] and think, 'Heck, I feel great up here, I'm going to try Everest.' But it's not like that."<ref name=bass>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/2003/11/12/cz_jc_1112sport.html|title=The Adventurer: Dick Bass' Many Summits|author=James Clash|date=12 November 2003|website=Forbes|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-date=11 May 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040511035411/http://www.forbes.com/2003/11/12/cz_jc_1112sport.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Speed climbing ====

===== Altitude tents =====
{{Main article|Altitude tent}}
Some expedition teams have clients use altitude tents to pre-acclimatise prior to leaving for the mountain. Compared to traditional Everest expeditions that last 50 to 60 days, altitude tents can reduce the expedition time frame to 30 to 35 days.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-10 |title=Adrian Ballinger Leads Rapid Ascent™ Climb on Mount Everest |url=https://www.si.com/onsi/adventure/latest-news/adrian-ballinger-leads-rapid-ascent-climb-on-mount-everest |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Adventure On SI |language=en-US}}</ref>

===== Xenon gas =====
In 2025, an Everest expedition team planned to inhale [[Xenon|xenon gas]] 10 days before their expedition to allow for an ascent of the mountain within a week's time due to supposed [[erythropoietin]] production. The [[International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation]] (UIAA) criticised the decision, citing that there is no evidence that the inhalation of xenon improves performance in high elevation environments. Furthermore, the UIAA warned that as an [[anesthetic]], xenon gas could result in impaired brain function, respiratory compromise, and death if used in an unmonitored setting.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Woodyatt |first=Amy |date=2025-05-13 |title=They want to climb Everest in a week using an anesthetic gas. Critics warn it's dangerous |url=https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/13/travel/climb-everest-one-week-xenon-intl |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-29 |title=Can Mount Everest really be climbed in a week? |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250428-can-mount-everest-really-be-climbed-in-a-week |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==== Summiting with disabilities ====
Summiting Everest with disabilities such as amputations and diseases has become popular in the 21st century, with stories like that of [[Sudarshan Gautam]], a man with no arms who made it to the top in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |date=30 May 2013 |title=Canadian double-amputee summits Mount Everest |url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/canadian-double-amputee-summits-mount-everest-1.1322725 |access-date=31 May 2013 |work=[[CBC News]] |publisher=[[CBC/Radio-Canada]] |via=[[CBC.ca]]}}</ref> A teenager with [[Down syndrome]] made it to Base camp, which has become a substitute for more extreme record-breaking because it carries many of the same thrills including the trip to the Himalayas and rustic scenery.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 April 2013 |title=Teen with Down syndrome becomes first ever to reach Mt. Everest base camp |url=https://www.foxnews.com/health/teen-with-down-syndrome-becomes-first-ever-to-reach-mt-everest-base-camp/ |access-date=20 September 2015 |work=[[Fox News]] |publisher=[[Fox Corporation|FOX]]}}</ref> Danger lurks even at base camp though, which was the site where dozens were killed in the [[2015 Mount Everest avalanches]]. Others that have climbed Everest with amputations include [[Mark Inglis]] (no legs), [[Hari Budha Magar]] (no legs), Paul Hockey (one arm only), and [[Arunima Sinha]] (one leg only).

In 2001, [[Erik Weihenmayer]] became the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest while blind.<ref name=":7" />

===Routes===

[[File:STS058-101-12 2.JPG|thumb|Overview South Col route and North Col/Ridge route]]
Mount Everest has two main climbing routes, the Southeast Ridge from [[Nepal]] and the North Ridge from [[Tibet]], as well as many other less frequently climbed routes.<ref name=evhist>{{cite web|url=http://www.everesthistory.com/routes.htm |title=Ascent Routes on Everest |publisher=EverestHistory.com |access-date=21 January 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115161830/http://www.everesthistory.com/routes.htm |archive-date=15 January 2008}}</ref> Of the two main routes, the Southeast Ridge is technically easier and more frequently used. It was the route used by [[Edmund Hillary]] and [[Tenzing Norgay]] in 1953 and the first recognised of 15 routes to the top by 1996.<ref name=evhist/> This was, however, a route decision dictated more by politics than by design, as the Chinese border was closed to the western world in the 1950s, after [[Annexation of Tibet by the People's Republic of China]].<ref name=ngetl>{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/04/0401_030401_everesttimeline.html| title=Everest Time Line: 80 Years of Triumph and Tragedy|publisher=National Geographic Society|last=Thompson|first=Kalee|date=2 April 2003|access-date=28 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325032404/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/04/0401_030401_everesttimeline.html|archive-date=25 March 2009}}</ref>

Most attempts are made during May, before the summer [[monsoon]] season. As the monsoon season approaches, the [[jet stream]] shifts northward, thereby reducing the average wind speeds high on the mountain.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01EFDD1E38F93AA25756C0A961958260|title=Climbing Mount Everest|work=The New York Times|date=19 May 1997|access-date=24 October 2008|archive-date=6 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090206223111/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01EFDD1E38F93AA25756C0A961958260|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=te03>{{cite web|url=http://www.teameverest03.org/everest_info/index.html|title=Mt. Everest Information|author=Team Everest 03|access-date=24 October 2008|archive-date=11 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211140355/http://www.teameverest03.org/everest_info/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> While attempts are sometimes made in September and October, after the monsoons, when the jet stream is again temporarily pushed northward, the additional snow deposited by the monsoons and the less stable weather patterns at the monsoons' tail end makes climbing extremely difficult.

====Southeast Ridge====
The ascent via the Southeast Ridge begins with a trek to [[Everest Base Camp|Base Camp]] at {{convert|5380|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}} on the south side of Everest, in Nepal. Expeditions usually fly into [[Lukla]] (2,860&nbsp;m) from [[Kathmandu]] and pass through [[Namche Bazaar]]. Climbers then hike to Base Camp, which usually takes six to eight days, allowing for proper altitude acclimatisation in order to prevent [[altitude sickness]].<ref name=Acclimatization>{{cite journal |author1=Muza, SR |author2=Fulco, CS |author3=Cymerman, A |title=Altitude Acclimatization Guide |journal=US Army Research Inst. Of Environmental Medicine Thermal and Mountain Medicine Division Technical Report |issue=USARIEM–TN–04–05 |year=2004 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/7616 |access-date=5 March 2009 |archive-date=23 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423042451/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/7616 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> Climbing equipment and supplies are carried by [[yak]]s, [[dzo]]pkyos (yak-cow hybrids), and human [[porter (carrier)|porters]] to Base Camp on the [[Khumbu Glacier]]. When Hillary and Tenzing climbed Everest in 1953, the British expedition they were part of (comprising over 400 climbers, porters, and Sherpas at that point) started from the [[Kathmandu Valley]], as there were no roads further east at that time.

Climbers spend a couple of weeks in Base Camp, acclimatising to the altitude. During that time, [[Sherpa (people)|Sherpas]] and some expedition climbers set up ropes and ladders in the treacherous [[Khumbu Icefall]].

[[Serac]]s, [[crevasse]]s, and shifting blocks of ice make the icefall one of the most dangerous sections of the route. Many climbers and Sherpas have been killed in this section. To reduce the hazard, climbers usually begin their ascent well before dawn, when the freezing temperatures glue ice blocks in place.

Above the icefall is Camp I at {{convert|6065|m|ft|-1}}.
[[File:Inside Khumbu-Icefall.jpg|thumb|Climber traversing Khumbu Icefall]]
From Camp I, climbers make their way up the [[Western Cwm]] to the base of the [[Lhotse]] Face, where Camp II or Advanced Base Camp (ABC) is established at {{convert|6500|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}. The Western Cwm is a flat, gently rising glacial valley, marked by huge lateral crevasses in the centre, which prevent direct access to the upper reaches of the Cwm. Climbers are forced to cross on the far right, near the base of [[Nuptse]], to a small passageway known as the "Nuptse corner". The Western Cwm is also called the "Valley of Silence" as the topography of the area generally cuts off wind from the climbing route. The [[high altitude]] and a clear, windless day can make the Western Cwm unbearably hot for climbers.<ref name=nova-climb>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/climb/waytosummitsou.html|title=The Way to the Summit|publisher=Public Broadcasting Corporation|website=NOVA Online|year=2000|access-date=28 March 2008|archive-date=30 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930100116/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/climb/waytosummitsou.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

From Camp II, climbers ascend the Lhotse Face on [[fixed rope]]s, up to Camp III, located on a small ledge at {{convert|7470|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}. From there, it is another 500 metres to Camp IV on the [[South Col]] at {{convert|7920|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}.

From Camp III to Camp IV, climbers are faced with two additional challenges: the [[Geneva Spur]] and the [[Yellow Band]]. The Geneva Spur is an anvil-shaped rib of black rock named by the [[1952 Swiss Mount Everest Expedition|1952 Swiss expedition]]. Fixed ropes assist climbers in [[scrambling]] over this snow-covered rock band. The Yellow Band is a section of interlayered [[marble]], [[phyllite]], and [[schist|semischist]], which also requires about 100 metres of rope for traversing it.<ref name=nova-climb/>

On the [[South Col]], climbers enter the [[death zone]]. Climbers making summit bids typically can endure no more than two or three days at this altitude. If the weather is not clear with low winds during these short few days, climbers are forced to descend, many all the way back down to Base Camp.

From Camp IV, climbers begin their summit push around midnight, with hopes of reaching the summit (still another 1,000 metres above) within 10 to 12 hours. Climbers first reach "The Balcony" at {{convert|8400|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}, a small platform where they can rest and gaze at peaks to the south and east in the early light of dawn. Continuing up the ridge, climbers are then faced with a series of imposing rock steps which usually forces them to the east into the waist-deep snow, a serious [[avalanche]] hazard. At {{convert|8750|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}, a small table-sized dome of ice and snow marks the [[South Summit (Everest)|South Summit]].<ref name=nova-climb/>

From the South Summit, climbers follow the knife-edge Southeast Ridge along what is known as the "Cornice traverse", where snow clings to intermittent rock. This is the most exposed section of the climb, and a misstep to the left would send one {{convert|2400|m|ft|abbr=on}} down the Southwest Face, while to the immediate right is the {{convert|3050|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[Kangshung Face]]. At the end of this traverse is an imposing {{convert|12|m|ft|abbr=on}} rock wall, the [[Hillary Step]], at {{convert|8790|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJjIBFOMsQsC&q=hillary+step&pg=PT111|title=On Top of World: My Everest Adventure|last=Vajpai|first=Arjun|date=2010|publisher=Penguin UK|isbn=978-81-8475-304-2|access-date=10 November 2020|archive-date=5 October 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005161248/https://books.google.com/books?id=qJjIBFOMsQsC&q=hillary+step&pg=PT111#v=snippet&q=hillary%20step&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hillary and Tenzing were the first climbers to ascend this step, and they did so using primitive ice climbing equipment and ropes. Nowadays, climbers ascend this step using fixed ropes previously set up by Sherpas. Once above the step, it is a comparatively easy climb to the top on moderately angled snow slopes—though the [[exposure (heights)|exposure]] on the ridge is extreme, especially while traversing large cornices of snow. With increasing numbers of people climbing the mountain in recent{{When|date=May 2021}} years, the Step has frequently become a bottleneck, with climbers forced to wait significant amounts of time for their turn on the ropes, leading to problems in getting climbers efficiently up and down the mountain.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

After the Hillary Step, climbers also must traverse a loose and rocky section that has a large entanglement of fixed ropes that can be troublesome in bad weather. Climbers typically spend less than half an hour at the summit to allow time to descend to Camp IV before darkness sets in, to avoid serious problems with afternoon weather, or because supplemental oxygen tanks run out.

====North Ridge route====
{{see also|Three Steps}}
[[File:Mount Everest North Face.jpg|thumb|Mount Everest North Face from [[Rongbuk Monastery|Rongbuk]] in Tibet]]
The North Ridge route begins from the north side of Everest, in [[Tibet]]. Expeditions trek to the [[Rongbuk Glacier]], setting up base camp at {{convert|5180|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} on a gravel plain just below the glacier. To reach Camp II, climbers ascend the medial moraine of the east Rongbuk Glacier up to the base of [[Changtse]], at around {{convert|6100|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}. Camp III (ABC{{snd}}Advanced Base Camp) is situated below the [[North Col]] at {{convert|6500|m|ft|abbr=on}}. To reach Camp IV on the North Col, climbers ascend the glacier to the foot of the col where fixed ropes are used to reach the North Col at {{convert|7010|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}. From the North Col, climbers ascend the rocky North Ridge to set up Camp V at around {{convert|7775|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}. The route crosses the North Face in a diagonal climb to the base of the Yellow Band, reaching the site of Camp VI at {{convert|8230|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}. From Camp VI, climbers make their final summit push.

Climbers face a treacherous traverse from the base of the First Step: ascending from {{convert|8501|to|8534|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}}, to the crux of the climb, the Second Step, ascending from {{convert|8577|to|8626|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}}. (The Second Step includes a climbing aid called the "Chinese ladder", a metal ladder placed semi-permanently in 1975 by a party of Chinese climbers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.affimer.org/hemmleb7.html|publisher=Affirmer.org |title=Chinese ladder|access-date=16 January 2014|archive-date=16 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116101043/http://www.affimer.org/hemmleb7.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> It has been almost continuously in place since, and ladders have been used by virtually all climbers on the route.) Once above the Second Step the inconsequential Third Step is clambered over, ascending from {{convert|8690|to|8800|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}}. Once above these steps, the summit pyramid is climbed by a snow slope of 50 degrees, to the final summit ridge along which the top is reached.<ref name=NOVA_wtsn>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/climb/waytosummitnor.html|title=The Way to the Summit (North)|publisher=Public Broadcasting Corporation|website=NOVA Online|year=2000|access-date=28 March 2008|archive-date=20 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110920124802/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/climb/waytosummitnor.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Summit===
[[File:Amanecer desde la cima del Everest por Carlos Pauner.JPG|thumb|left|A view from the summit of Mount Everest in May 2013]]
The summit of Everest has been described as "the size of a dining room table".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local/9046854.Swindon_explorer_on_top_of_the_world/|title=Swindon explorer on top of the world|website=Swindon Advertiser|date=25 May 2011|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-date=28 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828221322/http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/local/9046854.Swindon_explorer_on_top_of_the_world/|url-status=live}}</ref> The summit is capped with snow over ice over rock, and the layer of snow varies from year to year.<ref name=sci>{{cite web|url=http://www.extremescience.com/everest.htm|title=Highest Mountain – Everest|website=extremescience.com|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907150557/http://www.extremescience.com/everest.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The rock summit is made of Ordovician [[limestone]] and is a low-grade metamorphic rock.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.montana.edu/everest/facts/morefacts/ff06.htm |title=Montana State University – Everest Education Expedition – Everest Facts |publisher=Montana.edu |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305013250/http://www.montana.edu/everest/facts/morefacts/ff06.htm |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> (See the [[#Surveys|Surveys]] section for more on its height and about the Everest rock summit.)

Below the summit, there is an area known as "rainbow valley", filled with dead bodies still wearing brightly coloured winter gear. Down to about {{convert|8000|m|ft|abbr=on}} is an area commonly called the "death zone", due to the high danger and low oxygen because of the low pressure.<ref name=dz/>

Below the summit the mountain slopes downward to the three main sides, or faces, of Mount Everest: the [[North Face (Everest)|North Face]], the Southwest Face, and the East/[[Kangshung Face]].<ref name="facts">{{cite web|url=http://www.everest1953.co.uk/Facts.php |title=Everest Facts |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150509045702/http://www.everest1953.co.uk/Facts.php |archive-date=9 May 2015}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=February 2021|reason=According to this website's 'About' page, this is a person website run by a fan of Everest expeditions and therefore does not constitute a reliable source.}}

===Death zone===
{{See also|Effects of high altitude on humans}}
[[File:Everest Peace Project - Everest summit.jpg|thumb|The summit of Mount Everest from the North side]]
[[File:Everest-fromKalarPatar.jpg|thumb|From [[Kala Patthar]], Nepal]]
At the higher regions of Mount Everest, climbers seeking the summit typically spend substantial time within the [[death zone]] (altitudes higher than    {{convert|8000|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}), and face significant challenges to survival. Temperatures can dip to very low levels, resulting in [[frostbite]] of any body part exposed to the air. Since temperatures are so low, snow is well-frozen in certain areas and death or injury by slipping and falling can occur. High winds at these altitudes on Everest are also a potential threat to climbers.

Another significant [[Breathing#Effects of ambient air pressure|threat to climbers is low atmospheric pressure]]. The atmospheric pressure at the top of Everest is about a third of sea level pressure or {{convert|0.333|atm|mbar}}, resulting in the availability of only about a third as much oxygen to breathe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.altitude.org/calculators/air_pressure.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120729214053/http://www.altitude.org/calculators/air_pressure.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 July 2012 |title=Online high altitude oxygen calculator |publisher=altitude.org |access-date=15 August 2007}}</ref>

Debilitating effects of the death zone are so great that it takes most climbers up to 12 hours to walk the distance of {{convert|1.72|km|mi}} from South Col to the summit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alanarnette.com/everest/everestsouthroutes.php|title=Mount Everest South Col Route Maps|publisher=alanarnette.com|access-date=15 August 2013|archive-date=19 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219105351/http://www.alanarnette.com/everest/everestsouthroutes.php|url-status=live}}</ref> Achieving even this level of performance requires prolonged altitude acclimatisation, which takes 40–60 days for a typical expedition. A sea-level dweller exposed to the atmospheric conditions at the altitude above {{convert|8500|m|abbr=on}} without acclimatisation would likely lose consciousness within two to three minutes.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.semae.es/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/climbers-on-mt-everest-.pdf|title=Arterial Blood Gases and Oxygen Content in Climbers on Mount Everest|journal=The New England Journal of Medicine|year=2009|first=Michael P.W.|last=Grocott|doi=10.1056/NEJMoa0801581|volume=360|issue=2|pages=140–9|pmid=19129527|display-authors=etal|access-date=29 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102433/http://www.semae.es/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/climbers-on-mt-everest-.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In May 2007, the Caudwell Xtreme Everest undertook a medical study of oxygen levels in human blood at extreme altitude. Over 200 volunteers climbed to Everest Base Camp where various medical tests were performed to examine blood oxygen levels. A small team also performed tests on the way to the summit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xtreme-everest.co.uk/news_detail.php?article=196|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080606065437/http://www.xtreme-everest.co.uk/news_detail.php?article=196|archive-date=6 June 2008|title=Everest 2007|publisher=Caudwell Xtreme Everest 2007}}</ref> Even at base camp, the low [[partial pressure]] of oxygen had direct effect on blood oxygen saturation levels. At sea level, [[Oxygen saturation (medicine)#Definition|blood oxygen saturation]] is generally 98 to 99 per cent. At base camp, blood saturation fell to between 85 and 87 per cent. Blood samples taken at the summit indicated very low oxygen levels in the blood. A side effect of low blood oxygen is a greatly increased breathing rate, often 80–90 breaths per minute as opposed to a more typical 20–30. Exhaustion can occur merely by attempting to breathe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.altitude.org/oxygen_levels.php |title=Altitude physiology |publisher=altitude.org |access-date=6 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616140234/http://www.altitude.org/oxygen_levels.php |archive-date=16 June 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Lack of oxygen, exhaustion, extreme cold, and climbing hazards all contribute to the death toll. An injured person who cannot walk is in serious trouble, since rescue by helicopter is generally impractical and carrying the person off the mountain is very risky. People who die during the climb are typically left behind. As of 2015, over 200 bodies remain on the mountain.<ref name="Nuwer"/>

{{Blockquote|Debilitating symptoms consistent with high altitude cerebral oedema commonly present during descent from the summit of Mount Everest. Profound fatigue and late times in reaching the summit are early features associated with subsequent death.|Mortality on Mount Everest, 1921–2006: descriptive study<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1136/bmj.a2654 |pmid=19074222 |pmc=2602730 |title=Mortality on Mount Everest, 1921-2006: Descriptive study |journal=BMJ |volume=337 |pages=a2654 |year=2008 |last1=Firth |first1=P.G |last2=Zheng |first2=H |last3=Windsor |first3=J. S |last4=Sutherland |first4=A.I |last5=Imray |first5=C.H |last6=Moore |first6=G W K |last7=Semple |first7=J.L |last8=Roach |first8=R.C |last9=Salisbury |first9=R.A|issue=dec11 1 }}</ref> }}

A 2008 study noted that the "death zone" is indeed where most Everest deaths occur, but also noted that most deaths occur during descent from the summit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.climbing.com/climber/climbing-everest-who-makes-it-to-the-top/|title=Climbing Everest: Who Makes It to the Top?|website=Climbing|date=23 November 2009|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-date=18 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218082432/http://www.climbing.com/climber/climbing-everest-who-makes-it-to-the-top/|url-status=live}}</ref> A 2014 article in ''[[The Atlantic]]'' about deaths on Everest noted that while falling is one of the greatest dangers the death zone presents for all 8000ers, avalanches are a more common cause of death at lower altitudes.<ref name=atlan>{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/04/mortality-on-mount-everest/360927/|title=Charting Deaths on Mount Everest|author=Svati Kirsten Narula|website=The Atlantic|access-date=20 September 2015|date=21 April 2014|archive-date=14 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514081833/https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/04/mortality-on-mount-everest/360927/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Despite this, Everest is safer for climbers than a number of peaks by some measurements, but it depends on the period.<ref name=safer>{{cite web|url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/30757/5-mountains-deadlier-everest |title=5 Mountains Deadlier Than Everest |website=Mental Floss |access-date=20 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923175946/http://mentalfloss.com/article/30757/5-mountains-deadlier-everest |archive-date=23 September 2015}}</ref> Some examples are [[Kangchenjunga]], [[K2]], [[Annapurna Massif|Annapurna]], [[Nanga Parbat]], and the [[Eiger]] (especially the ''<abbr title="north wall">nordwand</abbr>'').<ref name=safer/> Some factors that affect total mountain lethality include the level of popularity of the mountain, the skill of those climbing, and the difficulty of the climb.<ref name=killermountains>{{cite web|url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/everest-anniversary--world-s-five-deadliest-mountain-ranges-siula-grande-k2-mont-blanc-annapunna-155951170.html#9eTWTzo|title=Everest anniversary: World's five deadliest mountains|date=28 May 2013|website=Yahoo News UK|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-date=14 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220514072501/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/everest-anniversary--world-s-five-deadliest-mountain-ranges-siula-grande-k2-mont-blanc-annapunna-155951170.html#9eTWTzo|url-status=live}}</ref>

Another health hazard is [[retinal haemorrhage]]s, which can damage eyesight and cause blindness.<ref name=eyes>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/everest-team-forced-to-leave-sick-british-climber-to-die-1988979.html|title=Everest team forced to leave sick British climber to die|work=The Independent|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-date=19 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819162222/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/everest-team-forced-to-leave-sick-british-climber-to-die-1988979.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Up to a quarter of Everest climbers can experience retinal haemorrhages, and although they usually heal within weeks of returning to lower altitudes, in 2010 a climber went blind and died in the death zone.<ref name=eyes/>

{{Blockquote|At one o'clock in the afternoon, the British climber Peter Kinloch was on the roof of the world, in bright sunlight, taking photographs of the Himalayas below, "elated, cheery and bubbly". But Mount Everest is now his grave, because only minutes later, he suddenly went blind and had to be abandoned to die from the cold.|A. McSmith<ref name=eyes/>}}

The team made a huge effort for the next 12 hours to try to get him down the mountain, but to no avail, as they were unsuccessful in getting him through the difficult sections.<ref name="theweek1">{{cite web |author=Peter Gillman |url=http://www.theweek.co.uk/politics/14247/what-killed-peter-kinloch-%E2%80%98left-die%E2%80%99-everest |title=What killed Peter Kinloch, 'left to die' on Everest |work=The Week UK |date=2 June 2010 |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-date=2 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170402234654/http://www.theweek.co.uk/politics/14247/what-killed-peter-kinloch-%E2%80%98left-die%E2%80%99-everest |url-status=dead}}</ref> Even for the able, Everest's Northeast Ridge is recognised as a challenge. It is hard to rescue someone who has become incapacitated and it can be beyond the ability of rescuers to save ''anyone'' in such a difficult spot.<ref name="theweek1"/> One way around this situation was pioneered by two Nepali men in 2011, who had intended to paraglide off the summit. They had no choice and were forced to go through with their plan anyway, because they had run out of bottled oxygen and supplies.<ref name="abcnews1">{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/paragliding-everests-peak-kayaking-indian-ocean/story?id=21097292 |title=Paragliding From Everest's Peak, Then Kayaking to Indian Ocean |publisher=ABC News |date=5 December 2013 |access-date=17 June 2016 |archive-date=5 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005161214/https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/paragliding-everests-peak-kayaking-indian-ocean/story?id=21097292 |url-status=live }}</ref> They successfully launched off the summit and para-glided down to [[Namche Bazaar]] in just 42 minutes, without having to climb down the mountain.<ref name="abcnews1"/>

===Supplemental oxygen===
[[File:Iván Ernesto Gómez Carrasco en la cima del Monte Everest.jpg|thumb|upright|Climber at the summit wearing an oxygen mask]]
[[File:Everest Oxygen Graph.jpg|thumb|Available oxygen at Everest]]

Most expeditions use [[oxygen mask]]s and [[bottled oxygen|tanks]] above   {{convert|8000|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://classic.mountainzone.com/everest/98/climb5-21oxygen.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20000822075357/http://classic.mountainzone.com/everest/98/climb5-21oxygen.html|archive-date=22 August 2000|title=Chamber of Horrors: The Oxygen Mask|publisher=MountainZone.com|date=21 May 1998|access-date=1 April 2007}}</ref> Everest can be climbed without supplementary oxygen, but only by the most accomplished mountaineers and at increased risk. Humans' ability to think clearly is hindered with low oxygen, and the combination of extreme weather, low temperatures, and steep slopes often requires quick, accurate decisions. While about 95 per cent of climbers who reach the summit use [[bottled oxygen]] in order to reach the top, about five per cent of climbers have summited Everest without supplemental oxygen. The death rate is double for those who attempt to reach the summit without supplemental oxygen.<ref>{{cite news |title =Field Test on Everest: To Os or not to Os| work=National Geographic| date =18 May 2012| url =http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/everest/blog/2012-05-18/to-os-or-not-to-os| access-date = 11 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228111038/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com:80/everest/blog/2012-05-18/to-os-or-not-to-os|archive-date=28 December 2017}}</ref> Travelling above {{convert|8000|m|ft|abbr=on}} altitude is a factor in [[cerebral hypoxia]].<ref name=thom/> One study found that Mount Everest may be the highest an acclimatised human could go, but also found that climbers may suffer permanent neurological damage despite returning to lower altitudes.<ref name=thom/>

The use of bottled oxygen to ascend Mount Everest has been controversial. It was first used on the [[1922 British Mount Everest Expedition]] by [[George Finch (chemist)|George Finch]] and [[Geoffrey Bruce (mountaineer)|Geoffrey Bruce]] who climbed up to {{convert|7800|m|ft|abbr=on}} at a spectacular speed of {{convert|1000|ft/h|m/h|order=flip|adj=pre| vertical }}. Pinned down by a fierce storm, they escaped death by breathing oxygen from a jury-rigged set-up during the night. The next day they climbed to {{convert|8100|m|ft|abbr=on}} at {{convert|900|ft/h|m/h|order=flip|abbr=on}} – nearly three times as fast as non-oxygen users. Yet the use of oxygen was considered so unsportsmanlike that none of the rest of the Alpine world recognised this high ascent rate.{{Citation needed|date=June 2011}}

[[George Mallory]] described the use of such oxygen as unsportsmanlike, but he later concluded that it would be impossible for him to summit without it and consequently used it on his final attempt in 1924.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Tom Holzel|author2=Audrey Salkeld|title=The Mystery of Mallory & Irvine|year=1986}}</ref> When [[Tenzing Norgay|Tenzing]] and Hillary made the first successful summit in 1953, they also used [[Bottled oxygen (climbing)|open-circuit bottled oxygen sets]], with the expedition's physiologist [[Griffith Pugh]] referring to the oxygen debate as a "futile controversy", noting that oxygen "greatly increases subjective appreciation of the surroundings, which after all is one of the chief reasons for climbing."<ref>{{cite book|title=The Ascent of Everest|first=John|last=Hunt|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=1953|chapter=Appendix VII}}</ref> For the next twenty-five years, bottled oxygen was considered standard for any successful summit.

{{blockquote|...although an acclimatised lowlander can survive for a time on the summit of Everest without supplemental oxygen, one is so close to the limit that even a modicum of excess exertion may impair brain function.|Thomas F. Hornbein in ''The high-altitude brain''<ref name=thom>{{cite journal|url=http://jeb.biologists.org/content/204/18/3129.full|title=The high-altitude brain|issue=18|pages=3129–3132|journal=Journal of Experimental Biology|volume=204|access-date=20 September 2015|date=15 September 2001|last1=Hornbein|first1=Thomas F.|doi=10.1242/jeb.204.18.3129|pmid=11581326|doi-access=free|bibcode=2001JExpB.204.3129H }}</ref>}}

[[Reinhold Messner]] was the first climber to break the bottled oxygen tradition and in 1978, with [[Peter Habeler]], made the first successful climb without it. In 1980, Messner summited the mountain solo, without supplemental oxygen or any porters or climbing partners, on the more difficult northwest route. Once the climbing community was satisfied that the mountain could be climbed without supplemental oxygen, many purists then took the next logical step of insisting that is how it ''should'' be climbed.<ref name=Krakauer-1997>{{cite book|last1=Krakauer|first1=Jon|title=Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster|date=1997|publisher=Villard|location=New York|isbn=978-0-679-45752-7}}</ref>{{RP|154}}

The aftermath of the [[1996 Mount Everest disaster|1996 disaster]] further intensified the debate. [[Jon Krakauer]]'s ''[[Into Thin Air]]'' (1997) expressed the author's personal criticisms of the use of bottled oxygen. Krakauer wrote that the use of bottled oxygen allowed otherwise unqualified climbers to attempt to summit, leading to dangerous situations and more deaths. The disaster was partially caused by the sheer number of climbers (34 on that day) attempting to ascend, causing bottlenecks at the Hillary Step and delaying many climbers, most of whom summited after the usual 14:00 turnaround time. He proposed banning bottled oxygen except for emergency cases, arguing that this would both decrease the growing pollution on Everest—many bottles have accumulated on its slopes—and keep marginally qualified climbers off the mountain.

The 1996 disaster also introduced the issue of the guide's role in using bottled oxygen.<ref name="salon">{{cite web |url=http://www.salon.com/wlust/feature/1998/08/07featurea.html|title=Everest controversy continues| website=Salon|date=7 August 1998|access-date=17 June 2016|author=DeWalt, Weston|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514043017/http://www.salon.com/wlust/feature/1998/08/07featurea.html | archive-date=14 May 2011}}</ref>

Guide [[Anatoli Boukreev]]'s decision not to use bottled oxygen was sharply criticised by Jon Krakauer. Boukreev's supporters (who include G. Weston DeWalt, who co-wrote ''[[The Climb (book)|The Climb]]'') state that using bottled oxygen gives a false sense of security.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boukreev.org/The%20Oxygen%20Illusion.htm|title=The Oxygen Illusion|publisher=The Anatoli Boukreev Memorial Fund|access-date=24 June 2010|archive-date=30 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730093801/http://www.boukreev.org/The%20Oxygen%20Illusion.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Krakauer and his supporters point out that, without bottled oxygen, Boukreev could not directly help his clients descend.<ref name="salongarner">{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/wlust/feature/1998/08/cov_03feature3.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000303032319/http://www.salon.com/wlust/feature/1998/08/cov_03feature3.html|archive-date=3 March 2000|title=Coming Down|page=3|first=Dwight|last=Garner|work=Salon|date=August 1998}}</ref>

The low oxygen can cause a mental fog-like impairment of cognitive abilities described as "delayed and lethargic thought process, clinically defined as bradypsychia" even after returning to lower altitudes.<ref name=altitude>{{cite web|url=http://www.boulderweekly.com/article-8924-this-is-your-brain-this-is-your-brain-at-altitude.html|title=This is your brain. This is your brain at altitude|website=Boulder Weekly|access-date=20 September 2015|date=14 June 2012}}</ref> In severe cases, climbers can experience hallucinations. Some studies have found that high-altitude climbers, including Everest climbers, experience altered brain structure.<ref name=altitude/>

===Autumn climbing===
[[File:Mount Everest as seen from Drukair.jpg|thumb|Everest in September 2006]]

Although generally less popular than spring, Mount Everest has also been climbed in the autumn (also called the "post-monsoon season").<ref name="autumn" /><ref name=fall>{{cite web|url=http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/10/22/money/first-everest-ascent-in-autumn-in-10-yrs/214039/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721191741/http://www.ekantipur.com/the-kathmandu-post/2010/10/22/money/first-everest-ascent-in-autumn-in-10-yrs/214039/|archive-date=21 July 2015|title=The Kathmandu Post |website=ekantipur.com|access-date=20 September 2015}}</ref> For example, in 2010 Eric Larsen and five Nepali guides summited Everest in the autumn for the first time in ten years.<ref name=fall/> The autumn season, when the monsoon ends, is regarded as more dangerous because there is typically a lot of new snow which can be unstable.<ref name=wind/> However, this increased snow can make it more popular with certain winter sports like skiing and snowboarding.<ref name="autumn" /> Two Japanese climbers also summited in October 1973.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.everesthistory.com/everestsummits/japanese.htm|publisher=Everest History.com|title=Japanese summits|access-date=18 July 2015|archive-date=22 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722113220/http://www.everesthistory.com/everestsummits/japanese.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Chris Chandler and Bob Cormack summited Everest in October 1976 as part of the American Bicentennial Everest Expedition that year, the first Americans to make an autumn ascent of Mount Everest according to the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-27-mn-9683-story.html|title=U.S. Climber Chris Chandler Dies on Nepal Peak|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=20 September 2015|date=27 January 1985|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224123106/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-27-mn-9683-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By the 21st century, summer and autumn can be more popular with skiing and snowboard attempts on Mount Everest.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200440601/Asia-Nepal-Malahangur-Asia-Nepal-Khumbu-Everest-Summer-and-Autumn-Attempts-with-Ski-and-Snowboard|title=Asia, Nepal, Malahangur Asia, Nepal (Khumbu), Everest, Summer and Autumn Attempts with Ski and Snowboard|website=americanalpineclub.org|access-date=20 September 2015|archive-date=26 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326072919/http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200440601/Asia-Nepal-Malahangur-Asia-Nepal-Khumbu-Everest-Summer-and-Autumn-Attempts-with-Ski-and-Snowboard|url-status=live}}</ref> During the 1980s, climbing in autumn was actually more popular than in spring.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://faculty.washington.edu/hueyrb/pdfs/AAJEverest2003.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://faculty.washington.edu/hueyrb/pdfs/AAJEverest2003.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Success & death on Everest|first1=RB|last1=Huey|first2=R|last2=Salisbury|journal=American Alpine Journal|year=2003}}</ref> U.S. astronaut [[Karl Gordon Henize]] died in October 1993 on an autumn expedition, conducting an experiment on radiation. The amount of [[background radiation]] increases with higher altitudes.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1088/0952-4746/21/1/003 |bibcode=2001JRP....21....5T |title=Invited Editorial: Radiation exposures of aircrew in high altitude flight |journal=Journal of Radiological Protection |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=5–8 |last1=Townsend |first1=Lawrence W |year=2001 |pmid=11281530|s2cid=250794441 }}</ref>

The mountain has also been climbed in the winter, but that is not popular because of the combination of cold high winds and shorter days.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/environment-nepal-everest-fees-dc-idUSDEL6351120070822|title=Nepal to cut fees for off-season Everest climbers|newspaper=Reuters|access-date=20 September 2015|date=22 August 2007|archive-date=12 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212200321/https://www.reuters.com/article/environment-nepal-everest-fees-dc-idUSDEL6351120070822|url-status=live}}</ref> By January the peak is typically battered by {{convert|170|mph|km/h|abbr=on|order=flip}} winds and the average temperature of the summit is around {{cvt|−33|F|C}}.<ref name="autumn" />

===Thefts and crime===
Some climbers have reported life-threatening thefts from supply caches. In May 2006, [[Vitor Negrete]], the first Brazilian to climb Everest without oxygen and part of David Sharp's party, died during his descent, and theft of gear and food from his high-altitude camp may have contributed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Everest fatality silence mystery solved: British David Sharp left to die by 40 climbers|url=http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=2092|website=Explorersweb.com|access-date=18 April 2014|archive-date=16 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211216235000/https://explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=2092|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Brazilian Vitor Negrete lost on Everest after a no O2 summit|url=http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=2069|website=Explorersweb.com|access-date=18 April 2014|archive-date=28 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128083956/https://explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=2069|url-status=live}}</ref> In addition to theft, Michael Kodas describes in his book, ''High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed'' (2008):<ref>{{cite book|author=Kodas, Michael|title=High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed |date=2008|publisher=Hyperion|isbn= 978-1-4013-0273-3}}</ref> unethical guides and Sherpas, [[Prostitution in Tibet|prostitution]] and gambling at the Tibet Base Camp, fraud related to the sale of oxygen bottles, and climbers collecting donations under the pretense of removing trash from the mountain.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/arts/books/2008/02/go-sell-it-on-the-mountain.html|title=Go Sell It on the Mountain|website=Mother Jones|date=1 February 2008|access-date=5 July 2018|archive-date=14 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114072152/http://www.motherjones.com/arts/books/2008/02/go-sell-it-on-the-mountain.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Bristow|first=Michael|title=Everest base camp a 'wild-west town'|work=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6897591.stm|date=13 July 2007|access-date=31 March 2010|archive-date=13 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513154218/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6897591.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Chinese side of Everest in Tibet was described as "out of control" in 2007 after one Canadian had all his gear stolen and was abandoned by his Sherpa.<ref name=stolen>{{cite web|url=http://www.explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=15994|title=Manny Pizarro robbed and abandoned by Sherpa after summiting Everest – being helped down by DCXP's sirdar|website=Explorersweb.com|author=Chessell, Duncan|access-date=15 July 2015|archive-date=11 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211211200628/https://explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=15994|url-status=live}}</ref> Another Sherpa helped the victim get off the mountain safely and gave him some spare gear. Other climbers have also reported missing oxygen bottles, which can be worth hundreds of dollars each. Hundreds of climbers pass by people's tents, making it hard to safeguard against theft.<ref name=stolen/> In the late 2010s, the reports of theft of oxygen bottles from camps became more common.<ref name="nationalgeographic.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/everest/cory-richards-adrian-ballinger-climbers-mount-everest-unfiltered-expedition-2017/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170515222514/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/everest/cory-richards-adrian-ballinger-climbers-mount-everest-unfiltered-expedition-2017/|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 May 2017|title=Two Climbers Return to Everest to Snapchat the Summit|date=14 April 2017|website=nationalgeographic.com|access-date=11 June 2023}}</ref>

===Selected climbing records===

{{main|Timeline of climbing Mount Everest}}
[[File:KhumbuIcefall.jpg|thumb|The Khumbu Icefall in 2005]]
[[File:Western Cwm - 14th May 2011.jpg|thumb|The Western Cwm ("Coom"), with Everest on the left and [[Lhotse]] to the right]]<!--
[[File:Min Bahadur Sherchan.jpg|thumb|Min Bahadur Sherchan was nearly 77 years old when he reached the top on his first attempt]]
[[File:Apa Sherpa.jpg|thumb|Apa Sherpa has reached the summit 21 times]]-->

By the end of the 2010 climbing season, there had been 5,104 ascents to the summit by about 3,142 individuals.<ref name="8000ers">{{cite web|url=http://www.8000ers.com/cms/de/everest-general-info-185.html|title=Full list of all ascents of Everest up to and including 2010|publisher=8000ers.com|date=24 September 2011|access-date=28 September 2011}}</ref> Some notable "firsts" by climbers include:

* '''1922''': First climb to {{convert|8000|m|ft|0}}, by [[George Mallory]], [[Edward Felix Norton|Col. Felix Norton]], and [[Howard Somervell]]
* '''1952''': First climb to [[South Col]] by [[1952 Swiss Mount Everest expedition]]
* '''1953''': First ascent, by [[Tenzing Norgay]] and [[Edmund Hillary]] on [[1953 British Mount Everest expedition]]
* '''1960''': First reported ascent from the North Ridge by [[Wang Fuzhou]], [[Gongbu (mountaineer)|Gonpo]] and Qu Yinhua of China.<ref name=NorthRidge/>
* '''1975''': First female ascent, by [[Junko Tabei]] (16 May).<ref name="8000ers"/><ref name=JapanTimes/>
* '''1975''': First female ascent from the North Ridge, by [[Phanthog]], deputy head of the second Chinese Everest expedition that sent nine climbers to the summit (27 May).<ref name="Messner2014">{{cite book|author=Reinhold Messner|title=Everest: Expedition to the Ultimate|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5IVrBgAAQBAJ&pg=PT283|year=2014|publisher=Vertebrate Graphics Limited|isbn=978-1-910240-21-2|page=283}}</ref><ref name="West2013">{{cite book|author=John B West|title=High Life: A History of High-Altitude Physiology and Medicine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o0rhBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA487|year=2013|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-1-4614-7573-6|page=487}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://xz.people.com.cn/GB/139204/155208/ | title=Pāndēng zhū fēng chuánqí | newspaper=People's Daily | language=zh | trans-title=Everest Legend | script-title=zh:攀登珠峰传奇 | access-date=16 October 2015 | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042135/http://xz.people.com.cn/GB/139204/155208/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
* '''1978''': First ascent without supplemental oxygen by [[Reinhold Messner]] and [[Peter Habeler]]<ref name="NOVA_fwo">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/everest/history/firstwoo2.html|title=Everest – First without oxygen|publisher=PBS|website=NOVA Online|year=2000|access-date=28 March 2008}}</ref>
* '''1978''': First solo ascent, by [[Franz Oppurg]]<ref name="fröhlich">{{cite web |url=https://tirol.orf.at/v2/news/stories/2933228/ |first=Helena |last=Fröhlich |title=Der vergessene Everest-Solist |date=14 September 2018 |language=de |publisher=[[ORF (broadcaster)|ORF]] |accessdate=25 December 2021}}</ref> 
* '''1980''': First winter ascent, by Polish National Expedition Winter 1979/1980 ([[Leszek Cichy]] and [[Krzysztof Wielicki]]<ref name="Starr, Daniel">{{cite web|url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web11w/wfeature-polish-winter|title=Golden Decade: The Birth of 8000m Winter Climbing|website=Alpinist.com|date=18 March 2011|access-date=28 May 2013|author=Starr, Daniel}}</ref><ref name="Mt Everest History and facts">{{cite web|url=http://www.mnteverest.net/history.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19990508005314/http://www.mnteverest.net/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 May 1999 |title=Mt Everest History and facts |website=Mnteverest.net |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref>)
* '''1980''': Second solo ascent, and the first without supplemental oxygen, by Reinhold Messner<ref name="NOVA_fwo"/>
*'''1981''': Third solo ascent, by [[Peter Hackett (mountaineer)|Peter Hackett]]<ref>{{cite book |last=West |first=John B. |title=Everest: The Testing Place |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nmfxsroNQ70C&pg=PA184 |location=New York |publisher=McGraw-Hill |year=1985 |isbn=0070695024}}</ref>
* '''1988''': First "cross-over" climb by Chinese, Japanese and Nepali teams which ascended the peak simultaneously from both the North and South sides of the mountain and descended down the other side.<ref name=JapanTimes>{{cite news|url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2012/05/27/general/japans-everest-timeline/#.ViEy9fmqqkq|last=Victoria|first=James|title=Japan's Everest timeline|newspaper=Japan Times|date=27 May 2012}}</ref> The cross-over climb was also the first to be recorded on live broadcast television.
* '''1988''': First descent by paraglider, by [[Jean-Marc Boivin]]<ref name="A view from the top of the world"/>
* '''1988''': First female ascent without supplemental oxygen by [[Lydia Bradey]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.everesthistory.com/firsts.htm|title=Firsts|work=Everest History.com|access-date=8 February 2014}}</ref>
* '''1998''': Fastest to reach the summit via the Southeast Ridge (South Col), without supplemental oxygen, by Kazi Sherpa, in 20 hours and 24 minutes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://classic.mountainzone.com/news/everestspeed.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121116233333/http://classic.mountainzone.com/news/everestspeed.html|archive-date=16 November 2012|title=Sherpa Attempts Everest Speed Climbing Record|work=Classic.mountainzone.com|access-date=24 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.everestsummiteersassociation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=24&Itemid=27|title=New/Old Records Record|work=everestsummiteersassociation.org|access-date=30 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=1999 American Alpine Journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UhmT3_I_xU4C&q=everest,+south+col/southeast+ridge,+speed+ascent&pg=PA374|access-date=25 April 2015|publisher=American Alpine Club Press|isbn=978-1-933056-46-3|page=374}}</ref>
* '''2000''': First descent by ski by [[Davo Karničar]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/the-man-who-skied-down-everest-637610.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622111343/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/the-man-who-skied-down-everest-637610.html|archive-date=22 June 2013|title=The man who skied down Everest|newspaper=The Independent | location=London|first=Julia|last=Stuart|date=10 October 2000}}</ref>
* '''2001''': First ascent by a blind climber, [[Erik Weihenmayer]]<ref name=":7">{{cite news|last=Greenfeld|first=Karl|title=Adventure: Blind To Failure|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000120,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070505060841/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1000120,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2007|access-date=7 May 2013|newspaper=Time Magazine|date=18 June 2001}}</ref>
* '''2001''': [[Lhakpa Sherpa]] becomes first Nepali woman to summit Everest and survive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sawnet.org/whoswho/?Sherpa+Lhakpa|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050220231600/http://sawnet.org/whoswho/?Sherpa+Lhakpa|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2005|title=SAWNET: Who's Who: Lhakpa Sherpa}}</ref>
* '''2004''': Fastest to reach the summit via the Southeast Ridge (South Col), with supplemental oxygen, by [[Pemba Dorje]], in 8 hours and 10 minutes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3734931.stm|work=BBC News|title=Sherpa sets record Everest time|date=21 May 2004}}</ref>
* '''2006''': Lhakpa Sherpa summits for the 6th time, breaking her own record for most successful female Everest climber.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outsideonline.com/2078361/most-successful-female-everest-climber-all-time-housekeeper-hartford-connecticut|title=The Most Successful Female Everest Climber of All Time Is a Housekeeper in Hartford, Connecticut|author=Grayson Schaffer|website=Outside Online|date=10 May 2016}}</ref>
* '''2007''': Fastest to reach the summit via the Northeast Ridge, without supplemental oxygen, by [[Christian Stangl]], in 16 hours, 42 minutes.<ref name=sz2>{{cite news|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/leben/weltrekord-geglueckt-stunden-minuten-1.788421|title=58 Stunden, 45 Minuten|newspaper=[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]|date=10 December 2007|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bergsteigen.com/news/16-stunden-auf-den-mount-everest | title=In 16 Stunden auf den Mount Everest | publisher=bergsteigen.com | date=30 May 2006 | access-date=16 June 2016 | language=de | trans-title=In 16 hours to Mount Everest}}</ref>
* '''2010''': Youngest male to reach the summit, by [[Jordan Romero]] (13 years and 10 months old)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://explorersweb.com/everest_k2/news.php?id=19380|title=Everest K2 News Explorersweb – the pioneers checkpoint|publisher=Explorersweb.com|date=21 May 2010|access-date=22 August 2010}}</ref>
* '''2011''': Most times to reach the summit, [[Apa Sherpa]] (21 times; 10 May 1990&nbsp;– 11 May 2011)<ref>{{Cite web|date=27 October 2018|title=Weekend Warm-Up: Loved by All – The Story of Apa Sherpa|url=https://explorersweb.com/2018/10/27/weekend-warm-up-loved-by-all-the-story-of-apa-sherpa/|access-date=27 May 2021|website=Explorersweb}}</ref>
* '''2013''': Apa Sherpa tied for most times to reach the summit by [[Phurba Tashi]] (21 times; 1999–2013)
* '''2013''': Melissa Arnot, American, summits for the fifth time, breaking her own record for most successful summits by any non-Sherpa woman.<ref>{{cite web|last=O'Neil |first=Devon |url=https://www.espn.com/espnw/athletes-life/story/_/id/9966961/espnw-melissa-arnot-conquered-mount-everest-five-times-american-hailed-hero-playing-peacemaker-mountain-slopes |title=espnW – Melissa Arnot has conquered Mount Everest five times, but American is hailed as hero for playing peacemaker on mountain's slopes |publisher=Espn.go.com |date=14 November 2013 |access-date=17 June 2016}}</ref>
* '''2014''': Youngest female to reach the summit, by [[Malavath Purna]] (13 years and 11 months old)
* '''2017''': Kami Rita Sherpa of Alpine Ascents reaches 21 ascents to the summit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.india.com/news/agencies/nepals-kami-rita-becomes-third-person-to-scale-mt-everest-21-times-2176292/|title=Nepal's Kami Rita becomes third person to scale Mt. Everest 21 times|first=IANS|last=Feeds|date=27 May 2017|website=india.com|access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.deccanchronicle.com/lifestyle/viral-and-trending/270517/nepalese-creates-record-by-scaling-mount-everest-21-times.html|title=Nepalese creates record by scaling Mount Everest 21 times|date=27 May 2017|website=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|access-date=23 October 2017}}</ref>
* '''2019''': Kami Rita Sherpa reaches 24 ascents to the summit.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/21/nepali-kami-rita-sherpa-scales-everest-record-24-times-with-one-more-to-go|title=Nepalese climber scales Everest record 24 times – with one more to go|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=24 May 2019|date=21 May 2019}}</ref>
* '''2021''': Kami Rita Sherpa reaches 25 ascents to the summit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2423782/kami-rita-sherpa-just-broke-his-own-everest-record|title=Kami Rita Sherpa Just Broke His Own Everest Record|website=Outside Online|author=Alan Arnette|date=12 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | website=AP News | date=7 May 2021 | title=Sherpa guide scales Mount Everest for record 25th time | url=https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-7c4c68078db4b0dd16c19a5abbb9e209 | access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>
* '''2022''': Kami Rita Sherpa reaches 26 ascents to the summit,<ref name="26th">{{cite news|url=https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=Nepal%26%2339%3Bs-Kami-Rita-Sherpa-climbs-Mount-Everest-for-26th-time-to-set-new-world-record&id=440522 |title=Nepal's Kami Rita Sherpa climbs Mount Everest for 26th time to set new world record |publisher=newsonair.gov.in |date=8 May 2022 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref> and Pasang Dawa Sherpa reaches 25 ascents to the summit.<ref name="NepalNews2">{{cite web |url=https://nepalnews.com/s/travel-and-tourism/nepali-climber-who-climbed-everest-25-times |title=Nepali climber who climbed Everest 25 times |author=Raju Silwal |publisher=nepalnews.com |date=22 May 2022 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="Desnivel">{{cite web |url=https://www.desnivel.com/expediciones/pasang-dawa-sherpa-y-ngima-nuru-sherpa-acechan-el-record-de-cimas-en-el-everest/ |title=Pasang Dawa Sherpa y Ngima Nuru Sherpa acechan el récord de cimas en el Everest |author= Isaac Fernández |work=desnivel.com |language=es|date=27 May 2022 |access-date=4 July 2022}}</ref>
* '''2023''': Kami Rita Sherpa reaches 28 ascents to the summit.<ref name="28thclimb">{{Cite news |first=Binaj |last=Gurubacharya |url=https://apnews.com/article/everest-record-climber-sherpa-guide-kami-rita-be5fff33229553bac11f34598e56a1d1 |title=Sherpa guide Kami Rita scales Mount Everest for a record 28th time |date=May 23, 2023 |publisher=[[AP News]] |access-date=May 23, 2023}}</ref>
* '''2024''': Kami Rita Sherpa reaches 30 ascents to the summit.<ref name="30thclimb">{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240522-nepali-reaches-summit-of-everest-for-record-30th-time |title=Nepal's 'Everest Man' claims record 30th summit |publisher=france24.com |date=22 May 2024 |access-date=22 May 2024}}</ref><ref name="30thclimb_2">{{cite news|title=Kami Rita Sherpa scales Mt Everest for 30th time breaking own record|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/ampArticle/1027140 |date=22 May 2024 |access-date=22 May 2024|work=The Himalayan Times}}</ref>