Mount Everest is unusual in having an Advanced Base Camp (ABC) in between Base Camp and Camp 1. It’s on the less-visited northern, Tibetan side of the mountain. It’s also probably the world’s highest walk, as you don’t need ropes, axes or crampons to get there. In 2011 I trekked the 14 miles up to … Read more
Over three hundred climbers have died on Mount Everest, and in my nine expeditions to the mountain, I saw many dead bodies. What is surprising is the variety of ways in which they died. Analysing how they died is a valuable way of avoiding the same fate. 1. Avalanches and falling ice The most common … Read more
Whenever Mount Everest is in the news you’ll see images of dead bodies, or hear about tragic deaths. But how many people have died on the mountain so far? Around 310 people have died so far on Mount Everest. Most deaths have been accurately recorded since the first Everest expeditions in the 1920s. People dying … Read more
Perched on the summit of Mount Everest that morning in October 1993 I struggled to pull a glove off to take a photograph of the astounding view. A lenticular cloud bent over our heads, showing that we were standing in the jet stream. A huge flag of frozen spindrift tore downwind off the summit for … Read more
Whenever Mount Everest appears in the news the story eventually seems to come round to the subject of dead bodies on the mountain. There are now over 250 dead bodies on Mount Everest. There have been over three hundred deaths on the mountain, and many dead climbers are still there because few dead bodies get … Read more
When I climbed Mount Everest in 1993 I saw five dead bodies in the snow along the route. And on my descent, a fellow climber fell to his death. Dead bodies on the mountain are sadly nothing new. But whose was the oldest body on Everest? Norbu Sherpa was the first climber to be killed … Read more
I was rescued by helicopter from Mount Everest in 2007 but only after I had downclimbed to Base Camp at an altitude of 5,364m on the South side. I asked the Russian pilot, Sergei later if a helicopter could take me to the summit. His answer was “Yes – in theory.” In theory? Let’s look … Read more
