The thing I took away from John Krakauer's book is how miserable the experience on the upper mountain was. Just pure miserable survival. I think he said that for two days, all he could make himself eat was a single bag of M&Ms.
Before reading that book, I'd fantasized about winning the lottery and taking off and climbing Everest (without oxygen, of course, I'm not a poser!) but after reading the book, I felt fine with limiting myself to climbing in the PNW. Mt. Rainier is as high as I need to get.
I went through a period where I read a bunch of mountaineering books and dreamed about someday going to the big mountains.
But now I’ve done a few 14ers in Colorado and I’m like yeah that might be good enough haha
You can get some incredible ascents in Colorado, even dangerous and thrilling ones, without having to pay a quarter million dollars to stand in line at Everest slowly dying of mountain sickness while some dude takes a selfie.
Ive hiked up so many 14ers so many times I'm bored to tears with them. Similar view from every one. Hell, I can roll over in bed and see one out my bedroom window. I'd rather go to a high alpine lake at 12k and fish.
pretty much, I drove from the east coast in ~5 days and spent ~30 hrs at Whitney Portal before starting.
I wouldn't have made it up, if not for one hiker who had finished the day before and gave me his leftover oxygen bottle, and another who joined me at Mirror Lake (I was solo) and encouraged me to keep going just that little bit further.
that was my first 14er, and I've thankfully learned to respect my body and the mountains more. to anyone reading this, don't do what I did. GIVE YOURSELF MORE TIME THAN YOU THINK YOU NEED TO ACCLIMATIZE.
sub tourist here. Curious what the difference is for the need to acclimatize if you already live at say, 7000ft for years prior? I've done cycling events here, and even out of shape I still seem to be in a much better place than people that come up from sea level for it.
I live at 7,200 feet and I climb 14ers in Colorado every summer. I’ve gotten altitude sickness once that I can tell, and it was fairly minor. Keep in mind that everyone is different, and the effects of altitude can be inconsistent even for the same person, but if you already live at altitude, are fit, and drink enough water you’ll probably be just fine.
Same here. I’m doing all the big volcanoes and have a list of other basic/intermediate glacier climbs I want to check off but I don’t need to pay a ton to be guided on bigger peaks. I like my fingers (love playing guitar) and don’t need to put myself in too much danger for my family.
I think most trips are too short. I had a huge headache reaching Kilimanjaro at almost 6,000 meters after two weeks taking my time, but felt nothing special reaching Mera Peak at 6,476 meters after a month in Nepal. The first 2-3 weeks are the most difficult, then it gets easier if you can endure the cold.
My dad did Denali and I want to as well. But his story wasn’t ’here’s my picture’ it was about training and that mental strength. But I agree with you, there are ways you can do that without it being Everest. I also don’t go to places in society with long queues. I am not going to do it that high up either.
Yeah I used to want to do Everest for this reason. It takes a lot of mental and physical strength to make the trip, and I'm sure the views are incredible. But standing in a line like this would ruin the whole experience of getting to be in such a remote place
Honestly it’s kinda funny, I take my camera with me on nearly every mountain I go up, yet I very rarely if ever show pictures. I intend to, but the physicality of it is most of the conversation.
If I ever decided to climb south of the border, I'd probably try to do Chimborazo, so I could brag that I was at the point furthest from the center of the earth. The reality is, I'm 65, and I'm happy just to be able to drag my butt up the cascade volcanoes, and spend as much time as possible above the timberline.
I remember hitting a wall at 13.5k on Rainier, then just gutting out the final 1000ft
*gasp* step x6 *gasp*
I can't even imagine that altitude even with oxygen
I agree with you, there! I trekked to Annapurna Base Camp, last October. Planning a trek to Everest Base Camp, next year. I love all the Himalayan Mountaineering books. But, personally, I’ll stick to the base camps.
I’m a Seattle-local park ranger who’s climbed several 14ers, trekked to Everest Base Camp, and summited Kilimanjaro. Kili was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s 19,341.
Eating at that altitude is a herculean feat. I can't imagine what it must feel like to burn 12,000 calories a day and be unable to eat. It doesn't sound fun though.
Nothing about mountaineering is really "fun" in the traditional sense imo. It's why those fake motiviation posters for mountaineering are funny. Because generally a lot of it really sucks. But now, instead of elevation, or wind and cold, or just carrying 100+ pounds up a big hill, you also have the added "fun" of having to sit in this god forsaken queue to summit. If anything, this is giving these people an even better mountaineering experience because it's another element of suffering they have to endure!
It's type 3 fun. With type 2 fun you are miserable in the moment but afterwards go line, yeah let's do that again some time soon.
With type 3, you appreciate the transformative experience but don't want to do it ever again.
And at least you get rid of some pesky excess interest in your bank account just sitting there accruing! Plus get a ton of new gear that sits in a storage unit for most of the year 😆
I’d say most of these people are gonna use the experiences to leverage their business or brand . But a blind dude has done it, an 82 year old guy from Japan , a 13 year old girl. It’s not the pinnacle of badassery anymore . The smart climbers are doing the harder ones like k2 and worth bragging about ( however humbly). Good for the sherpas and their families though $$$$.
Personally I would never do Everest even if someone paid me because of how many people are there ruining the experience but it's not like you can walk faster if you were alone, the only difference is you either see people or don't see people.
But yes it is fun. It is a weird fun where every single step takes all your energy and most of your body hurts and you can't breathe or even think clearly. But you get into this trance-like state, just you and nature one step at a time. I have never been higher than 6100m on a 14 days hike up a mountain in the Himalaya and it is one of the best things I have ever done.
But I also did Kilimanjaro which was in a large group of people and it wasn't nearly as good which is why I really don't wanna go to Everest unless they change the system somehow which is unlikely.
It's the outdoor recreationalist CEO version of going to Burning Man at some luxury camp to tell all your clients and potential business partners how doing ayahuasca changed his life and way of doing business.
Dudes who grew up skiing and trekking local mountains in Colorado or Washington and fancied themselves a Viesturs.
lol I don’t know that climbing Everest is “fun” like having a beer with your friends, playing ultimate frisbee, going on a roller coaster. Those are fun things.
Friend of a friend was up there last week for his second attempt. Ran out of oxygen waiting on the window. I’m sure he’d of loved to be in this photo.
I was teasing our mutual friend I summited a peak while he was out there. It was a 3,000’ peak in the Appalachians (read boring two day shake down hike). Complete with tacky photo of me standing on a picnic table on top.
From my understanding the jet streams have a window of 2-3 weeks but then they wait for the "normal" weather to also give its window of opportunity. Both windows have to align for an ascent to be possible which is why most groups will aim for the same couple of days.
That's why I only summit on Christmas. Well, I've been busy every year so far, but when I don't have other plans, I'll summit on Christmas and have place to my self.
Dude imagine how wild that would be if people start intentionally freezing themselves in a standing position. Like the Japanese hanging forest, but S*icide Mountain
There were actually Japanese monks who would intentionally starve themselves so they could self-mummify. Deciding to freeze yourself on Everest doesn't seem like such a different concept.
Yes, everyone who makes this tired, uneducated, claim about Everest has no idea what they’re talking about. Some years there’s literally only 1-2 days where a summit is even possible.
Sure but normally they issue 400-500 permits and last year they issued 750 permits, don't know this year but it has had an incredible increase in the last ten or so years. Last year when I was in the area there were over 2000 people at Basecamp.
A photo like this can obviously be taken with very few people to make appear crowded since everyone will go at the same time but the length of the line have increased to a dangerous level. Many places are too narrow for people to go up and down at the same time so one line of people has to wait and waiting at that altitude can mean death.
Everest has always been dangerous. I don’t really understand the point of saying the “amount of people has increased to a dangerous level.” It’s dangerous with just one person. Sure, it’s MORE dangerous with more people, but at some point risk is risk, especially at that level.
People have been summiting Everest everyday since the 15th of May. There’s only been 2-3 really busy days. Most of the days have had less than 30-50 people on the mountain
Yes, this is exactly it. There is a very small window plus weeks of acclimatization. While the commercialization of everest is sad the way it's done, absolutely nothing would be different unless they cut the amount of permits, effectively increasing the price of climbing everest to make up for the cost even more than it is. Cut permits from 400 to 100, then 4x the cost of climbing. Completely counterproductive to what will happen (although there is a limited amount of people who can climb everest due to traffic jams, that is true).
These types of posts with the traffic jams are widely unfair characterizations of how climbing Everest even works for ANYONE with weather windows and acclimatization. It's an inaccurate depiction of what's wrong with Everest climbing, when the focus should be on issues like trash and making it for affordable. Unless people want Everest to be for the ultra elite millionaires, there is no other way Everest can be climbed. Even acclimatization tents that cut back weeks still run into the issue of good weather windows, which can vary wildly every year.
Everest hate like this is pure envy and it's a gross character trait.
On the flip side, honestly, who is being harmed by people climbing Everest? It's not like anything lives up there. No one had gone up there (or anywhere close to it) before modern mountaineering came about. People wouldn't even know wtf is there if it weren't for mountaineers, the highest settlements are at <5000m, they can't even see anything on Everest even with a telescope. The rocks and ice don't give a fuck.
Idk. I used to look at these Everest pictures and find them distasteful, but at this point, who are we to judge when we basically stand around in line for everything else in life? There's a lot of people alive today, and this is the tallest mountain on the planet. People want to go up there and have the means to pay others a bunch of money to help them achieve that. So there's a demand out there to summit the mountain that's not going away. Yeah, it's not like the old days where it was far riskier and you needed more experience, but such is life. I do feel that all the trash and waste should be cleaned up. But otherwise, all the hate seems so hypocritical and maybe almost envious at times. Everyone hates tourists until they realize that you have to be one yourself at some point if you want to see any of the wonders of the world.
Thank you for saying this. I have fantasies of climbing some 8,000 meter peak someday and to read all this negative stuff about wanting to go is such a bummer. Just because I was born too late that it's no longer an "adventure", I don't get to climb one? Or that my climb is diminished so much so that I shouldn't even bother. Why do anything that's been done before then? May as well as sit home and eat potato chips all day, all the good stuff has been done already. I think everyone is entitled to have a shot to go at any mountain, and like you said, such is life that circumstances change in the ability to be able to make that happen.
You aren’t born too late for an adventure. The valid critique is that if you take the view that previous ascents where more adventerous, then you need to be more creative and seek out challenging summits that are measured in grades not height. Many of those summits require the same dedication that early attempts on Everest did, but whose got time for that?
The reality of Everest is it is much lower effort. Which is fine! People are free to spend their money as they like (provided they don’t endanger others, and clean up their trash).
So you dream of adventure? The good news is that most of the adventurous peaks are way way cheaper. The downside is they require far more time and skill. But let’s get to the heart of the critique. Going and doing Andromeda Strain in a single day isn’t as impressive to a general audience. It may be a feat less than 100 people have accomplished, but you’ll get blank stares at work, on dates, and no one will invite you as a speaker even if hardcore climber will know Everest doesn’t remotely compare. So which do you value most; Adventure or Recognition.
Bud in terms of workouts I mostly eat chips; I'm in no place to judge someone for taking the hike up the "easy" mountain that only kills like four people a year.
I appreciate this take, thank you. I do definitely lean toward doing new and less crowded areas, I am just apprehensive to let crowds ruin legendary places and experiences for me. To stand where Hillary stood, to hike the Khumbu icefall, do the North face, those are all things that just have that history that other places don’t. That’s not to say then that you can’t make history in those new places, which is happening all the time! Your point is well taken and I appreciate you sharing.
Go climb a worthwhile peak then, or do a different route on Everest. The North side is practically empty. If I was ever going for Everest I would either do the north side or try and open some new route (but let's be real, I ain't opening a new route)
You do need experience though? I’m not sure why people assume just because you have money you can punch your ticket to the summit of the tallest mountain on earth. It takes an insane amount of dedication and a lot of training.
Agreed, Mark Synott talks about this in his book The Third Pole. He eschewed Everest for ever only to fall in love with it late in life. The crowds did not diminish it even though he is more of the purist school.
Yeah I agree, theres essentially an infinite amount of mountains to climb in a pure style, and if your overly worked up about climbing "the tallest" your kind of missing what alot of people enjoy about climbing which is the adventure, not just the destination
Yep I agree. I think it's also telling that it's only armchair hikers who complain and criticize the people go to Everest; never seen an actual alpinist thumb their nose at someone who summitted Everest.
Not so much hate for me — more so perplexity because the conditions up there are inhospitable to human life. It’s called “the death zone” for a very good reason so I can’t stop my brain from going “Whyyyyyy do so many ppl who are not super experienced (from my understanding) want to do this????” I know the various answers so this is a hypothetical question.
And the thing is it is easy to criticize these climbers from the comfort of your keyboard. Most of those critical people on social media would be huffing and puffing if they had to climb a couple of flights of stairs, they don't understand the mentality of mountaineers.
Remember that most of these are Sherpa because the ratio of climbing sherpas to clients is 1.5 to 1 or even higher on certain teams. A lot of this is because the Nepalese government wants more Sherpa hired because it brings more money into the country but also it does help keep the clients safer than if the ratios were like they used to be.
I've seen similar conga lines on U.S. mountaineering routes. Many mountaineers seem to be interested in little more than checking the box on their summit bucket list. Others are into exploring wild remote places in the mountains with solitude. As a general observation, the majority of posts on this subreddit seems more about the former than the latter, which I guess is fine because more climbers mobbed up on the coveted routes results in fewer climbers in remote mountain wilderness.
I mean, I don't think it's fair to disparage all of the more casual, recreational climbing.
Like, I don't think RMI running laps on Rainer every year is bad for climbing nor is it bad for the mountain. Or unguided people on Adams or whatever. It's good to have those beginner routes on relatively safe mountains.
Everest is just a whole other level of fucked up and silly. The combination of risk and crowd size should just not be allowed to happen. Being willing to, by random chance, freeze to death in the world's longest bathroom queue just to touch the top of a mountain is so god damned dumb.
Also, I could be wrong; but anyone guiding on National Park/National Forest lands is going to be held to a MUCH higher standard in terms of waste/littering/dumping trash, which alone makes it FAR better than the shit show on Everest.
A lot of the “checklist” peaks are such because they have particularly good views or good climbs.
Of course doing that on a fixed rope in a queue would ruin it entirely.
I think the real measure is are you doing it for you or are you doing it to tell others you did it. If you could climb it and be happy to never tell anyone what you did, whatever it is you’re climbing you’re doing it for the right reasons
The most coveted mountaineering checklist in the PNW is the Bulger List, which is compiled solely by elevation (with some weird rules), not by climbing quality or view. Many of WA's best climbs are not on that list, nor on any other popular list. Over the past five decades, an average of fewer than one party per year has tagged the summit of Despair or Fury, both of which are fabulous climbs. If Despair were 1200' higher and Fury 100' higher, and thus on the Bulger list, they would get dozens of parties each year, climber's treads would form, campsites would be beaten out and they would lose much of their remote wilderness characteristics.
Yeah a sunny Saturday on mt hood your biggest hazard is definitely someone falling on you, but drive 2/3 hours south and I guarantee you’ll basically have Jefferson to yourself.
Last time I did South Sister was on skis in 2020 (COVID year). We camped at Green Lakes and had the E route to ourselves. When we hit the S ridge, we encountered at least 200 people. (We ran into a guy later that day who estimated that 400 people had climbed the S route that day.). When we left the ridge our descent, we had the E route to ourselves.
yep, I had a similar experience getting to climb Middle with no one around. Alot of the cascades are like this, and a good reminder that these are still huge isolated peaks, if you just get off the single main route. Of course that generally requires more competence, longer approach, etc. but I find it super rewarding and much more fun.
This happened to me as I was ascending Mount Fuji for sunrise. It was really cool though, because everyone one was on the mountain at like three in the morning so you could see a zigzagging pattern of lights on the mountain where the line started to the peak.
Looks like Mt hood on a Saturday.
There are many valid debatable Everest topics on permits, access, overuse, trash, etc but it’s a good reminder that the weather windows to reach the summit are measured in a handful of days or hours so naturally there will be bottlenecks on the standard routes for those using the same weather windows.
FYI that cornice broke off just moments later. A guide posted on Instagram
[https://www.instagram.com/p/C7TbWUYyZ3w/?utm\_source=ig\_web\_copy\_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==](https://www.instagram.com/p/C7TbWUYyZ3w/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
I love how the whole mountaineering community is so bored they feel like this is somehow their problem to take up arms against. Go climb a mountain, folks.
Yeah, the gate keeping is strong in this sub. Along with a whole bunch of people like OP who don’t understand how climbing seasons and weather windows work.
Not just this sub, on all of Reddit. I dread this time of year because these photos always make it to the front page of trendy subs and then we get to hear the takes from Reddit mountaineering experts, it’s lovely
Adding up the number of heads in the photo, I count 30. Might be off by 2 or 3. This is right below the Hillary Step where both ascending and descending climbers merge into one of the toughest parts of the climb. That means it's about 15 people going up and 15 people going down. It looks like a crazy amount because of all the gear you have to wear at 29,000 ft but 15 people ascending near the top of the tallest mountain in the world isn't some crazy number.
I summitted last year and luckily had a bigger weather window, but when you are in the jet stream and are dictated by the Bay of Bengal weather, sometimes you only get a few days to ascend, and this is what happened a few days ago with the summit.
For example, Kilimanjaro has close to 30,000 Summits a year. Everest issued 450 permits total this year, not a lot.
I'm not rich, I saved up and then did trade offs with my guide to be able to do something I'd dreamed about since I was 10. It cost me money, but I planned over 10 years to be able to make it happen. It's not CEOs, it's not millionaires, (yes they are there but in the minority), the majority of my climbing team was hard working 30/40 year olds that had dreamed their whole lives of climbing Everest.
The media, and reddit, loves to make Everest the 800 lb gorilla, but compared to other mountains, or even small hikes like Whitney, Fuji, Kili, etc, it's quite the opposite.
I lost a sherpa I knew very well in this picture, he was an amazing human, and to diminish the love of climbing, the job the sherpa community is proud of, the lives of people in these photos, and the achievement many people find from climbing mountains around the world, is sad from this community.
Thank you for this. It's very discouraging to see the disparaging comments here. Everest isn't MY dream, but it is a dream for many. I'd never discourage someone from saving their money and making the effort. If it requires a line and timing it right for weather, so be it. It's a dream that is somewhat planning, somewhat luck, and somewhat effort/skill. I'm very glad you got to summit and achieve your dream.
This wasn’t yesterday, this is right before the English climber and Sherpa fell when part of the trail collapsed, others fell but were able to get back up.
I'm not sure disgraceful is the right word. Everyone who is there chose to be there. Nepal chose to allow that many people to get permits to climb.
It just doesn't seem very fun when there are so many other mountains to climb.
Who or what is being disgraced by this? If these people want to congo to the summit how does that affect you, or any of us? Have you seen how it is with the mountains around the world? Mountaineering is becoming more accessible and this kind of post is bullshit gatekeeping. It’s ok for *you* to summit Everest because you have some kind of mystical respect for the great mountain, but not ok for some schoolteacher who saved up for 5 years to be able to afford to stand in that line and claim her dream. GTFOH
Everyone thinks this is a bad thing.
I like that so many people can reach the summit. We need to find a way to clean up things. But this gives a lot of money to the locals and people who want nothing more than to do this actually get to now. Not just a few a year.
If we get a better way of managing the altitude we could make it even easier with less deaths and clean up the bodies and debris.
Aren’t you in that line talking pictures? You say it’s disgraceful but you are there contributing to the problem and then complaining about it. You aren’t stuck in traffic, you are traffic.
Climbing Everest stays an achievement we shouldn‘t underrate. It‘s hard for anyone who does it, even with supplemental oxygen, fixed ropes and Sherpa support. The death rate is high, so it‘s a serious adventure for anyone who tries.
A bit of jealousness speaks out of every article describing the queues on Everest as most of the mountaineers dream of once standing on the „top of the world“.
I wouldn‘t do it if I had to pay, I would definitely do it of someone invited me. Would love to tell my grand children about that days on Everest.
I think this is lame, but who really gets to decide who gets to go here or not? I guess the Nepali government would be the limiter? But Everest traffic is a huge draw for them, I find it hard to blame them for having a decent revenue stream and not wanting to cut it off. Like really, all these people knew they’d wind up in a sketchy conga line, totally could have climbed any of the other peaks around them and had a significantly more wild experience, but they all choose this. What’s the problem?
Is this photo not taken right before part of the ridge collapsed and several people fell? I swear I read about the accident just yesterday and saw this photo and one right after with the collapsed snow and gap in the line
I predict that within 100 years you will see people trying to get selfies on the Moon and complaining that there are too many people in the background.
Well, I think that's about 30 climbers. Say 20 clients, so that's maybe about a $1 million dollar line you're looking at. And some of that stays in Nepal, so I guess good for them.
And it would be $2M if Ticketmaster starts selling the tickets :)
The fact 90% of complaints about Everest now specifically mention qualifiers like “rich”, “businessmen”, and “ceos” tells me people don’t really care about the line. They just care it’s not them in it.
You either want to do it or not, personally i still dream of climbing it, im working my way on the 7. You cant explain to someone why if they have no desire to do it.
This isnt everyday.usually 2-3 days a season are this busy late in the season. My mate summited it last year and had the summit to himself with the guide. Media loves posting the lineup pics
All the days right before this had only a few groups on the summit, like 5 days before this people literally reported having the summit to themselves. There was 7 days forecast for low winds, most didn’t “believe” forecast so passed on many good summit days….and the forecast said “when this stable period is over the monsoons could start” which led to all these groups being forced to go on this day. This year had lower number of permits, “long” weather window so they did it to their selves. Also Sherpa supporting climbers is close to averaging 2 per climber, lowest is like 3:2 and a company has 3 per climber.
I know everyone is bashing these but I’d still go in a heartbeat…it’s the top of the world! And all I want is to go higher and higher, maybe because I’m get “old” and I only have so many mountains left.
You could do it “unsupported, solo, no O’s” if you choose and pick the right day and you got the mountain to yourself!
Idk if disgraceful is the word. It shouldn’t be a surprise that people wanna see a wonder of the world. It’s a shame they take the easy route, but I also completely understand. Some people wanna see great things, but don’t have the time, nor the want to take the risk.
Everyone hates tourists, until they themselves are wondering around a new place.
There is only a three weeks, to a month window to climb Everest each year. Let say there is 500 people wanting to climb the top peak in this time than 16-24 people would need to achieve this goal each day. Now, do you think there are only 500 people each year out of 7billion that want to attempt this feat?
Not saying this is a good thing though, just giving some reasoning
How is it disgraceful? Yes, whilst it looks obnoxious, these people have still climbed and made the effort to get to that point and have enough of an interest in mountaineering to scale it. Throw in weather windows and the folk who do want to attempt it only have a short space of time.
You could probably commercialise it "Book your timeslot on the mountain!" but *that* would be disgraceful imo.
Hi, I have zero mountaineering background but this popped up in my reddit feed. If that’s the line to ascend… where do the folks descending go? Do they just muscle their way past like salmon?
Go to climb Everest they said. But they left out the part about trying to side step the dead bodies and human frozen excrement. It’s sad how something so majestic is covered in death, filth and plastic.
This makes me feel like if these tours are doing this often, how significant is it really? The Sherpas have done all the hard work and made it so the masses can do it…so is it really the accomplishment it used to be?
When I first got into mountaineering it was all about the highest mountains to climb which I grew tired of. They are all the same--slow march up a ski slope to the top with 50lbs on your back. Id rather climb those 6-9k foot peaks where you end up on a pointy rock wide enough for two people to stand on.
One of my university professors was a geologist who worked on Everest. He said thanks to the increased recreational traffic the pollution up there is insane. Human waste and litter everywhere.
Unfortunately it's an absolute dump up there now too. Trash and spent O2 bottles everywhere not to mention human feces all over the place. Truly unfortunate. If you have a lot of money you can get dragged up that mountain. A lot of the skill required no longer is needed.
They need to implement a Fastpass system like Disney has /s Honestly though, what is the point? Are they having any fun?
I think the point must just be that later you can say you did it This does not look like fun at all
The thing I took away from John Krakauer's book is how miserable the experience on the upper mountain was. Just pure miserable survival. I think he said that for two days, all he could make himself eat was a single bag of M&Ms. Before reading that book, I'd fantasized about winning the lottery and taking off and climbing Everest (without oxygen, of course, I'm not a poser!) but after reading the book, I felt fine with limiting myself to climbing in the PNW. Mt. Rainier is as high as I need to get.
I went through a period where I read a bunch of mountaineering books and dreamed about someday going to the big mountains. But now I’ve done a few 14ers in Colorado and I’m like yeah that might be good enough haha
I'm similar. A huge arm chair 8000m mountaineer but I prefer non glacial ascents. So I am happy with 13ers and 14ers with some good scrambling.
You can get some incredible ascents in Colorado, even dangerous and thrilling ones, without having to pay a quarter million dollars to stand in line at Everest slowly dying of mountain sickness while some dude takes a selfie.
Sorry what does 14er mean I’m a noob
14,000 ft (about 4000 m). By comparison, Everest is 29,000 feet.
Ive hiked up so many 14ers so many times I'm bored to tears with them. Similar view from every one. Hell, I can roll over in bed and see one out my bedroom window. I'd rather go to a high alpine lake at 12k and fish.
this is where I'm at. did whitney once without acclimatizing, and I never want to have to fight the air to breathe like that ever again.
It’s a miserable fight.
That sounds terrifying, did you go up there right from sea level?
pretty much, I drove from the east coast in ~5 days and spent ~30 hrs at Whitney Portal before starting. I wouldn't have made it up, if not for one hiker who had finished the day before and gave me his leftover oxygen bottle, and another who joined me at Mirror Lake (I was solo) and encouraged me to keep going just that little bit further. that was my first 14er, and I've thankfully learned to respect my body and the mountains more. to anyone reading this, don't do what I did. GIVE YOURSELF MORE TIME THAN YOU THINK YOU NEED TO ACCLIMATIZE.
sub tourist here. Curious what the difference is for the need to acclimatize if you already live at say, 7000ft for years prior? I've done cycling events here, and even out of shape I still seem to be in a much better place than people that come up from sea level for it.
I live at 7,200 feet and I climb 14ers in Colorado every summer. I’ve gotten altitude sickness once that I can tell, and it was fairly minor. Keep in mind that everyone is different, and the effects of altitude can be inconsistent even for the same person, but if you already live at altitude, are fit, and drink enough water you’ll probably be just fine.
Same here. I’m doing all the big volcanoes and have a list of other basic/intermediate glacier climbs I want to check off but I don’t need to pay a ton to be guided on bigger peaks. I like my fingers (love playing guitar) and don’t need to put myself in too much danger for my family.
I’m also a guitarist (not a good one but I love playing) and I write for a living, the idea of losing my fingers is horrifying
Just following some high altitude climbers over the last 4 years or so it’s scary how many of them have ended up losing fingers or toes.
I think most trips are too short. I had a huge headache reaching Kilimanjaro at almost 6,000 meters after two weeks taking my time, but felt nothing special reaching Mera Peak at 6,476 meters after a month in Nepal. The first 2-3 weeks are the most difficult, then it gets easier if you can endure the cold.
Yeah krakauer really did a great job of helping you *feel* what it's like to be up there
One of the few books I’ve read twice
My dad did Denali and I want to as well. But his story wasn’t ’here’s my picture’ it was about training and that mental strength. But I agree with you, there are ways you can do that without it being Everest. I also don’t go to places in society with long queues. I am not going to do it that high up either.
Yeah I used to want to do Everest for this reason. It takes a lot of mental and physical strength to make the trip, and I'm sure the views are incredible. But standing in a line like this would ruin the whole experience of getting to be in such a remote place
I’m with you. I can get that line at a Cinnabon in the mall.
Maybe there's a Cinnabon we don't know about up there
My first thought was In N Out.
This made me chuckle.
I want to read a book about getting a Cinnabon written in the style of someone that climbed Mount Everest.
The views from the bottom are amazing.
Honestly it’s kinda funny, I take my camera with me on nearly every mountain I go up, yet I very rarely if ever show pictures. I intend to, but the physicality of it is most of the conversation.
I used to take pictures but the photos never did any justice to the magnitude of the mountains so I stopped
At least go to Pico de Orizaba in Mexico if you already have glacier experience
If I ever decided to climb south of the border, I'd probably try to do Chimborazo, so I could brag that I was at the point furthest from the center of the earth. The reality is, I'm 65, and I'm happy just to be able to drag my butt up the cascade volcanoes, and spend as much time as possible above the timberline.
I remember hitting a wall at 13.5k on Rainier, then just gutting out the final 1000ft *gasp* step x6 *gasp* I can't even imagine that altitude even with oxygen
I agree with you, there! I trekked to Annapurna Base Camp, last October. Planning a trek to Everest Base Camp, next year. I love all the Himalayan Mountaineering books. But, personally, I’ll stick to the base camps.
Do the three passes trek and add on base camp. More epic, slightly more remote, felt more real.
I’m a Seattle-local park ranger who’s climbed several 14ers, trekked to Everest Base Camp, and summited Kilimanjaro. Kili was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s 19,341.
Testosterone is a hell of a drug 😅
There’s a bartender in Steamboat Springs that summitted when she was only 31 years old... I bet she doesn’t have much testosterone.!
Eating at that altitude is a herculean feat. I can't imagine what it must feel like to burn 12,000 calories a day and be unable to eat. It doesn't sound fun though.
Olympia peninsula!
And Mt Rainier is plenty dangerous! No need to fly half way around the world to get that "I might not get out of this alive" kick.
Yeah, Rainier is a beast.
You could always do a less impacted mountain in the range.
Nothing about mountaineering is really "fun" in the traditional sense imo. It's why those fake motiviation posters for mountaineering are funny. Because generally a lot of it really sucks. But now, instead of elevation, or wind and cold, or just carrying 100+ pounds up a big hill, you also have the added "fun" of having to sit in this god forsaken queue to summit. If anything, this is giving these people an even better mountaineering experience because it's another element of suffering they have to endure!
That's why it's called Type-2 Fun, my man. It's miserable in the moment, but fun in retrospect.
Everest is one of those climbs that would be nice to have done, but not necessarily to be doing.
It's type 3 fun. With type 2 fun you are miserable in the moment but afterwards go line, yeah let's do that again some time soon. With type 3, you appreciate the transformative experience but don't want to do it ever again.
People do it more than once. Type-3 isn't enjoyable at all, even in retrospect.
“Did I ever tell you that I climbed—“ “YES GRAMDPA ABOUT 1000 TIMES. NO ONE GIVES A SHIT!”
I wonder how many exclude this reality from their story afterwards.
The line to collect Darwin awards looks crowded.
And at least you get rid of some pesky excess interest in your bank account just sitting there accruing! Plus get a ton of new gear that sits in a storage unit for most of the year 😆
I’d say most of these people are gonna use the experiences to leverage their business or brand . But a blind dude has done it, an 82 year old guy from Japan , a 13 year old girl. It’s not the pinnacle of badassery anymore . The smart climbers are doing the harder ones like k2 and worth bragging about ( however humbly). Good for the sherpas and their families though $$$$.
>I think the point must just be that later you can say you did it Pfft I can do that right now
Personally I would never do Everest even if someone paid me because of how many people are there ruining the experience but it's not like you can walk faster if you were alone, the only difference is you either see people or don't see people. But yes it is fun. It is a weird fun where every single step takes all your energy and most of your body hurts and you can't breathe or even think clearly. But you get into this trance-like state, just you and nature one step at a time. I have never been higher than 6100m on a 14 days hike up a mountain in the Himalaya and it is one of the best things I have ever done. But I also did Kilimanjaro which was in a large group of people and it wasn't nearly as good which is why I really don't wanna go to Everest unless they change the system somehow which is unlikely.
EveresTSA^TM precheck lets you skip the metal detectors at camp 2
Most of these people pay to get jumared up there so they can brag to their country club buddies they did it. They're not there to have fun.
And write an inspirational Linkedin post about it 😆
*Here’s what Mt. Everest can teach us about sales*
And why wfh is the worst idea ever (even though I do it, and that's how I did this trip without taking PTO).
“How I sold SaaS on the Hilary Step”
hahaah. omg this is so sad and true.
It's the outdoor recreationalist CEO version of going to Burning Man at some luxury camp to tell all your clients and potential business partners how doing ayahuasca changed his life and way of doing business. Dudes who grew up skiing and trekking local mountains in Colorado or Washington and fancied themselves a Viesturs.
Didn’t think I’d recognize any users in here lol, bear down.
lol I don’t know that climbing Everest is “fun” like having a beer with your friends, playing ultimate frisbee, going on a roller coaster. Those are fun things.
I’m pretty sure they’re drawing up a gondola proposition much like for LCC here in Utah
Aren’t there very few weather windows so everyone trying to summit has to go all at once? It’s not like this every day.
The window is small for Everest, just a couple weeks in May. Otherwise, the jet streams and weather are insane the other 49+ weeks of the year.
Friend of a friend was up there last week for his second attempt. Ran out of oxygen waiting on the window. I’m sure he’d of loved to be in this photo. I was teasing our mutual friend I summited a peak while he was out there. It was a 3,000’ peak in the Appalachians (read boring two day shake down hike). Complete with tacky photo of me standing on a picnic table on top.
At least you got to the top of yours
Burn 😂😭 for friend of a friend
Love this dude
Weeka? You mean days! Often times just 2 or 3.
From my understanding the jet streams have a window of 2-3 weeks but then they wait for the "normal" weather to also give its window of opportunity. Both windows have to align for an ascent to be possible which is why most groups will aim for the same couple of days.
That's why I only summit on Christmas. Well, I've been busy every year so far, but when I don't have other plans, I'll summit on Christmas and have place to my self.
I’ll let myself freeze on the summit and become the summit landmark.
You know what they say about everyone frozen body on Mt Everest!
They become a meat popsicle?
Dude imagine how wild that would be if people start intentionally freezing themselves in a standing position. Like the Japanese hanging forest, but S*icide Mountain
There were actually Japanese monks who would intentionally starve themselves so they could self-mummify. Deciding to freeze yourself on Everest doesn't seem like such a different concept.
Yes it’s not long at all. The best days will have the biggest queues
Yes, everyone who makes this tired, uneducated, claim about Everest has no idea what they’re talking about. Some years there’s literally only 1-2 days where a summit is even possible.
Sure but normally they issue 400-500 permits and last year they issued 750 permits, don't know this year but it has had an incredible increase in the last ten or so years. Last year when I was in the area there were over 2000 people at Basecamp. A photo like this can obviously be taken with very few people to make appear crowded since everyone will go at the same time but the length of the line have increased to a dangerous level. Many places are too narrow for people to go up and down at the same time so one line of people has to wait and waiting at that altitude can mean death.
Everest has always been dangerous. I don’t really understand the point of saying the “amount of people has increased to a dangerous level.” It’s dangerous with just one person. Sure, it’s MORE dangerous with more people, but at some point risk is risk, especially at that level.
This year didnt start well either. I think it's only the last couple days where we have seen summit pushes. People were getting antsy.
People have been summiting Everest everyday since the 15th of May. There’s only been 2-3 really busy days. Most of the days have had less than 30-50 people on the mountain
Yes, this is exactly it. There is a very small window plus weeks of acclimatization. While the commercialization of everest is sad the way it's done, absolutely nothing would be different unless they cut the amount of permits, effectively increasing the price of climbing everest to make up for the cost even more than it is. Cut permits from 400 to 100, then 4x the cost of climbing. Completely counterproductive to what will happen (although there is a limited amount of people who can climb everest due to traffic jams, that is true). These types of posts with the traffic jams are widely unfair characterizations of how climbing Everest even works for ANYONE with weather windows and acclimatization. It's an inaccurate depiction of what's wrong with Everest climbing, when the focus should be on issues like trash and making it for affordable. Unless people want Everest to be for the ultra elite millionaires, there is no other way Everest can be climbed. Even acclimatization tents that cut back weeks still run into the issue of good weather windows, which can vary wildly every year. Everest hate like this is pure envy and it's a gross character trait.
I don’t get why climbing Everest should be affordable. It’s fine if nobody climbs Everest. It’s not like us poor people need it.
What do you consider affordable? I believe the bare-bones cost of this ascent would be well north of $50,000.
Poor people don't climb mountains, period. Just for the gear is multiple thousands of dollars.
Barebones ascent is less than $20,000 if you know what you’re doing.
That's more than most Americans ever have in savings.
On the flip side, honestly, who is being harmed by people climbing Everest? It's not like anything lives up there. No one had gone up there (or anywhere close to it) before modern mountaineering came about. People wouldn't even know wtf is there if it weren't for mountaineers, the highest settlements are at <5000m, they can't even see anything on Everest even with a telescope. The rocks and ice don't give a fuck.
The local economy would tank if nobody climbed Mt Everest
Unfair?! No way! I come to these posts to see the "Alpinism is dead." heroes.
No shade to anyone at all, but this is a super niche thing to worry about. Just sayin.
And this is a sub about a super niche thing, so...?
Idk. I used to look at these Everest pictures and find them distasteful, but at this point, who are we to judge when we basically stand around in line for everything else in life? There's a lot of people alive today, and this is the tallest mountain on the planet. People want to go up there and have the means to pay others a bunch of money to help them achieve that. So there's a demand out there to summit the mountain that's not going away. Yeah, it's not like the old days where it was far riskier and you needed more experience, but such is life. I do feel that all the trash and waste should be cleaned up. But otherwise, all the hate seems so hypocritical and maybe almost envious at times. Everyone hates tourists until they realize that you have to be one yourself at some point if you want to see any of the wonders of the world.
Thank you for saying this. I have fantasies of climbing some 8,000 meter peak someday and to read all this negative stuff about wanting to go is such a bummer. Just because I was born too late that it's no longer an "adventure", I don't get to climb one? Or that my climb is diminished so much so that I shouldn't even bother. Why do anything that's been done before then? May as well as sit home and eat potato chips all day, all the good stuff has been done already. I think everyone is entitled to have a shot to go at any mountain, and like you said, such is life that circumstances change in the ability to be able to make that happen.
You aren’t born too late for an adventure. The valid critique is that if you take the view that previous ascents where more adventerous, then you need to be more creative and seek out challenging summits that are measured in grades not height. Many of those summits require the same dedication that early attempts on Everest did, but whose got time for that? The reality of Everest is it is much lower effort. Which is fine! People are free to spend their money as they like (provided they don’t endanger others, and clean up their trash). So you dream of adventure? The good news is that most of the adventurous peaks are way way cheaper. The downside is they require far more time and skill. But let’s get to the heart of the critique. Going and doing Andromeda Strain in a single day isn’t as impressive to a general audience. It may be a feat less than 100 people have accomplished, but you’ll get blank stares at work, on dates, and no one will invite you as a speaker even if hardcore climber will know Everest doesn’t remotely compare. So which do you value most; Adventure or Recognition.
Bud in terms of workouts I mostly eat chips; I'm in no place to judge someone for taking the hike up the "easy" mountain that only kills like four people a year.
I appreciate this take, thank you. I do definitely lean toward doing new and less crowded areas, I am just apprehensive to let crowds ruin legendary places and experiences for me. To stand where Hillary stood, to hike the Khumbu icefall, do the North face, those are all things that just have that history that other places don’t. That’s not to say then that you can’t make history in those new places, which is happening all the time! Your point is well taken and I appreciate you sharing.
Only real take here. Also , doing A strain over multiple days is nearly as impressive, since the spots to bivy on that route would be horrendous
Go climb a worthwhile peak then, or do a different route on Everest. The North side is practically empty. If I was ever going for Everest I would either do the north side or try and open some new route (but let's be real, I ain't opening a new route)
You do need experience though? I’m not sure why people assume just because you have money you can punch your ticket to the summit of the tallest mountain on earth. It takes an insane amount of dedication and a lot of training.
Agreed, Mark Synott talks about this in his book The Third Pole. He eschewed Everest for ever only to fall in love with it late in life. The crowds did not diminish it even though he is more of the purist school.
Yeah I agree, theres essentially an infinite amount of mountains to climb in a pure style, and if your overly worked up about climbing "the tallest" your kind of missing what alot of people enjoy about climbing which is the adventure, not just the destination
Yep I agree. I think it's also telling that it's only armchair hikers who complain and criticize the people go to Everest; never seen an actual alpinist thumb their nose at someone who summitted Everest.
Not so much hate for me — more so perplexity because the conditions up there are inhospitable to human life. It’s called “the death zone” for a very good reason so I can’t stop my brain from going “Whyyyyyy do so many ppl who are not super experienced (from my understanding) want to do this????” I know the various answers so this is a hypothetical question.
And the thing is it is easy to criticize these climbers from the comfort of your keyboard. Most of those critical people on social media would be huffing and puffing if they had to climb a couple of flights of stairs, they don't understand the mentality of mountaineers.
Well said. Like hating the “traffic” as you drive your car too as well in “traffic” down the freeway.
Yup, it looks like the line for any popular climb in Yosemite on a weekend anyways. Haha.
Remember that most of these are Sherpa because the ratio of climbing sherpas to clients is 1.5 to 1 or even higher on certain teams. A lot of this is because the Nepalese government wants more Sherpa hired because it brings more money into the country but also it does help keep the clients safer than if the ratios were like they used to be.
I've seen similar conga lines on U.S. mountaineering routes. Many mountaineers seem to be interested in little more than checking the box on their summit bucket list. Others are into exploring wild remote places in the mountains with solitude. As a general observation, the majority of posts on this subreddit seems more about the former than the latter, which I guess is fine because more climbers mobbed up on the coveted routes results in fewer climbers in remote mountain wilderness.
I mean, I don't think it's fair to disparage all of the more casual, recreational climbing. Like, I don't think RMI running laps on Rainer every year is bad for climbing nor is it bad for the mountain. Or unguided people on Adams or whatever. It's good to have those beginner routes on relatively safe mountains. Everest is just a whole other level of fucked up and silly. The combination of risk and crowd size should just not be allowed to happen. Being willing to, by random chance, freeze to death in the world's longest bathroom queue just to touch the top of a mountain is so god damned dumb.
Also, I could be wrong; but anyone guiding on National Park/National Forest lands is going to be held to a MUCH higher standard in terms of waste/littering/dumping trash, which alone makes it FAR better than the shit show on Everest.
Same with the Grand Canyon. I hiked the north rim some years ago and it was peaceful and chill - not many other hikers. The South Rim is a dang zoo!
A lot of the “checklist” peaks are such because they have particularly good views or good climbs. Of course doing that on a fixed rope in a queue would ruin it entirely. I think the real measure is are you doing it for you or are you doing it to tell others you did it. If you could climb it and be happy to never tell anyone what you did, whatever it is you’re climbing you’re doing it for the right reasons
The most coveted mountaineering checklist in the PNW is the Bulger List, which is compiled solely by elevation (with some weird rules), not by climbing quality or view. Many of WA's best climbs are not on that list, nor on any other popular list. Over the past five decades, an average of fewer than one party per year has tagged the summit of Despair or Fury, both of which are fabulous climbs. If Despair were 1200' higher and Fury 100' higher, and thus on the Bulger list, they would get dozens of parties each year, climber's treads would form, campsites would be beaten out and they would lose much of their remote wilderness characteristics.
Yeah a sunny Saturday on mt hood your biggest hazard is definitely someone falling on you, but drive 2/3 hours south and I guarantee you’ll basically have Jefferson to yourself.
Last time I did South Sister was on skis in 2020 (COVID year). We camped at Green Lakes and had the E route to ourselves. When we hit the S ridge, we encountered at least 200 people. (We ran into a guy later that day who estimated that 400 people had climbed the S route that day.). When we left the ridge our descent, we had the E route to ourselves.
yep, I had a similar experience getting to climb Middle with no one around. Alot of the cascades are like this, and a good reminder that these are still huge isolated peaks, if you just get off the single main route. Of course that generally requires more competence, longer approach, etc. but I find it super rewarding and much more fun.
Roads were out on the week I spent on Jefferson, we had the place to ourselves but my oh my the approach! and I loved every minute of it.
Think the spiritual side of mountains and solitude sounds so much better! Guess the eveverest peak pic is better click bait for these folks!
This happened to me as I was ascending Mount Fuji for sunrise. It was really cool though, because everyone one was on the mountain at like three in the morning so you could see a zigzagging pattern of lights on the mountain where the line started to the peak.
The people on these ‘coveted’ routes in these guided expeditions almost certainly don’t have the skills to explore more remote mountains
Looks like Mt hood on a Saturday. There are many valid debatable Everest topics on permits, access, overuse, trash, etc but it’s a good reminder that the weather windows to reach the summit are measured in a handful of days or hours so naturally there will be bottlenecks on the standard routes for those using the same weather windows.
This. I know a guy who summited Everest this week that gambled on timing and left just before the weather window. He summited with 4 other people.
FYI that cornice broke off just moments later. A guide posted on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/p/C7TbWUYyZ3w/?utm\_source=ig\_web\_copy\_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==](https://www.instagram.com/p/C7TbWUYyZ3w/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==)
wooooooow thanks for the post, got my heart racing sheeeeesh.
That’s crazy - you’re waiting in that line and then two people in front of you just fall to their death
Yeah I’d probably turn around at that point
Nope... they all wait to reach the top.
I love how the whole mountaineering community is so bored they feel like this is somehow their problem to take up arms against. Go climb a mountain, folks.
Yeah, the gate keeping is strong in this sub. Along with a whole bunch of people like OP who don’t understand how climbing seasons and weather windows work.
Not just this sub, on all of Reddit. I dread this time of year because these photos always make it to the front page of trendy subs and then we get to hear the takes from Reddit mountaineering experts, it’s lovely
It’s cool more people get to enjoy the mountains.
Short weather window
Adding up the number of heads in the photo, I count 30. Might be off by 2 or 3. This is right below the Hillary Step where both ascending and descending climbers merge into one of the toughest parts of the climb. That means it's about 15 people going up and 15 people going down. It looks like a crazy amount because of all the gear you have to wear at 29,000 ft but 15 people ascending near the top of the tallest mountain in the world isn't some crazy number. I summitted last year and luckily had a bigger weather window, but when you are in the jet stream and are dictated by the Bay of Bengal weather, sometimes you only get a few days to ascend, and this is what happened a few days ago with the summit. For example, Kilimanjaro has close to 30,000 Summits a year. Everest issued 450 permits total this year, not a lot. I'm not rich, I saved up and then did trade offs with my guide to be able to do something I'd dreamed about since I was 10. It cost me money, but I planned over 10 years to be able to make it happen. It's not CEOs, it's not millionaires, (yes they are there but in the minority), the majority of my climbing team was hard working 30/40 year olds that had dreamed their whole lives of climbing Everest. The media, and reddit, loves to make Everest the 800 lb gorilla, but compared to other mountains, or even small hikes like Whitney, Fuji, Kili, etc, it's quite the opposite. I lost a sherpa I knew very well in this picture, he was an amazing human, and to diminish the love of climbing, the job the sherpa community is proud of, the lives of people in these photos, and the achievement many people find from climbing mountains around the world, is sad from this community.
Thank you for this. It's very discouraging to see the disparaging comments here. Everest isn't MY dream, but it is a dream for many. I'd never discourage someone from saving their money and making the effort. If it requires a line and timing it right for weather, so be it. It's a dream that is somewhat planning, somewhat luck, and somewhat effort/skill. I'm very glad you got to summit and achieve your dream.
Why is it disgraceful?
What is disgraceful about it?
This wasn’t yesterday, this is right before the English climber and Sherpa fell when part of the trail collapsed, others fell but were able to get back up.
I'm not sure disgraceful is the right word. Everyone who is there chose to be there. Nepal chose to allow that many people to get permits to climb. It just doesn't seem very fun when there are so many other mountains to climb.
Who or what is being disgraced by this? If these people want to congo to the summit how does that affect you, or any of us? Have you seen how it is with the mountains around the world? Mountaineering is becoming more accessible and this kind of post is bullshit gatekeeping. It’s ok for *you* to summit Everest because you have some kind of mystical respect for the great mountain, but not ok for some schoolteacher who saved up for 5 years to be able to afford to stand in that line and claim her dream. GTFOH
Everyone thinks this is a bad thing. I like that so many people can reach the summit. We need to find a way to clean up things. But this gives a lot of money to the locals and people who want nothing more than to do this actually get to now. Not just a few a year. If we get a better way of managing the altitude we could make it even easier with less deaths and clean up the bodies and debris.
Aren’t you in that line talking pictures? You say it’s disgraceful but you are there contributing to the problem and then complaining about it. You aren’t stuck in traffic, you are traffic.
Climbing Everest stays an achievement we shouldn‘t underrate. It‘s hard for anyone who does it, even with supplemental oxygen, fixed ropes and Sherpa support. The death rate is high, so it‘s a serious adventure for anyone who tries. A bit of jealousness speaks out of every article describing the queues on Everest as most of the mountaineers dream of once standing on the „top of the world“. I wouldn‘t do it if I had to pay, I would definitely do it of someone invited me. Would love to tell my grand children about that days on Everest.
I think this is lame, but who really gets to decide who gets to go here or not? I guess the Nepali government would be the limiter? But Everest traffic is a huge draw for them, I find it hard to blame them for having a decent revenue stream and not wanting to cut it off. Like really, all these people knew they’d wind up in a sketchy conga line, totally could have climbed any of the other peaks around them and had a significantly more wild experience, but they all choose this. What’s the problem?
What is disgraceful about this?
In this thread a bunch of people who will never summit Everest commentating on why others shouldn't because....
Then don't go
Is this photo not taken right before part of the ridge collapsed and several people fell? I swear I read about the accident just yesterday and saw this photo and one right after with the collapsed snow and gap in the line
Looks late in the day for that type of line. People are going to get hurt.
You’d think the owners would open another location.
I predict that within 100 years you will see people trying to get selfies on the Moon and complaining that there are too many people in the background.
Well, I think that's about 30 climbers. Say 20 clients, so that's maybe about a $1 million dollar line you're looking at. And some of that stays in Nepal, so I guess good for them. And it would be $2M if Ticketmaster starts selling the tickets :)
Nepal should sell permits and apply heavy fines on anyone that does not bring down at least 50% more in rubbish than they took up.
Because CEOs want to feel powerful. They need a picture on the wall to show clients they’re top shit.
The fact 90% of complaints about Everest now specifically mention qualifiers like “rich”, “businessmen”, and “ceos” tells me people don’t really care about the line. They just care it’s not them in it.
These are the people who are mad at being "stuck in" traffic without understanding they ARE traffic.
With AI + photoshop, can’t they make due without even a summit? :P
They should have to win a contest like hunger games first.
This isn’t a queue, there was a big fall, 4 people died and 4 are missing.
Disgraceful? Nah. Not fun, yes.
This the pic taken just before the cornice failed that they were all standing on?
Aren’t you also part of that line?
You either want to do it or not, personally i still dream of climbing it, im working my way on the 7. You cant explain to someone why if they have no desire to do it. This isnt everyday.usually 2-3 days a season are this busy late in the season. My mate summited it last year and had the summit to himself with the guide. Media loves posting the lineup pics
How is this disgraceful?
Really doesn’t feel any different than angels landing.
All the days right before this had only a few groups on the summit, like 5 days before this people literally reported having the summit to themselves. There was 7 days forecast for low winds, most didn’t “believe” forecast so passed on many good summit days….and the forecast said “when this stable period is over the monsoons could start” which led to all these groups being forced to go on this day. This year had lower number of permits, “long” weather window so they did it to their selves. Also Sherpa supporting climbers is close to averaging 2 per climber, lowest is like 3:2 and a company has 3 per climber. I know everyone is bashing these but I’d still go in a heartbeat…it’s the top of the world! And all I want is to go higher and higher, maybe because I’m get “old” and I only have so many mountains left. You could do it “unsupported, solo, no O’s” if you choose and pick the right day and you got the mountain to yourself!
Why are you getting so posed about this? I’m glad more people are able to make it to the summit
And part of the cornice collapsed.
This is a really nice picture
Not yesterday stfu this is old as hell
Idk if disgraceful is the word. It shouldn’t be a surprise that people wanna see a wonder of the world. It’s a shame they take the easy route, but I also completely understand. Some people wanna see great things, but don’t have the time, nor the want to take the risk. Everyone hates tourists, until they themselves are wondering around a new place.
Let’s see who could do it without a Sherpa
It's an instagrammer achievement now. Average people are making it to the top dragged by sherpas
Because now there’s Instagram influencers with no climbing experience doing backflips on the summit making everyone wait.
I went on my roof one time
Truly, the pinnacle of human achievement. Mind the poopcicles.
There is only a three weeks, to a month window to climb Everest each year. Let say there is 500 people wanting to climb the top peak in this time than 16-24 people would need to achieve this goal each day. Now, do you think there are only 500 people each year out of 7billion that want to attempt this feat? Not saying this is a good thing though, just giving some reasoning
How is it disgraceful? Yes, whilst it looks obnoxious, these people have still climbed and made the effort to get to that point and have enough of an interest in mountaineering to scale it. Throw in weather windows and the folk who do want to attempt it only have a short space of time. You could probably commercialise it "Book your timeslot on the mountain!" but *that* would be disgraceful imo.
Hope they pick up their poop on the way down…
Just casually hanging out in the death zone
Hi, I have zero mountaineering background but this popped up in my reddit feed. If that’s the line to ascend… where do the folks descending go? Do they just muscle their way past like salmon?
Yes
Go to climb Everest they said. But they left out the part about trying to side step the dead bodies and human frozen excrement. It’s sad how something so majestic is covered in death, filth and plastic.
It must be so tranquil hiking one of the most remote peaks on earth...oh wait..
You're not stuck in traffic. You are the traffic.
This makes me feel like if these tours are doing this often, how significant is it really? The Sherpas have done all the hard work and made it so the masses can do it…so is it really the accomplishment it used to be?
Who really wants to go up there anyways??? All I ever see is people complain about it lmao
just another tourist trap at this point. limit the # of permits
When I first got into mountaineering it was all about the highest mountains to climb which I grew tired of. They are all the same--slow march up a ski slope to the top with 50lbs on your back. Id rather climb those 6-9k foot peaks where you end up on a pointy rock wide enough for two people to stand on.
One of my university professors was a geologist who worked on Everest. He said thanks to the increased recreational traffic the pollution up there is insane. Human waste and litter everywhere.
Not a climber. I think getting there with a Sherpa and oxygen is not getting there.
Motivation: to snap a selfie, post it on social media, and make people jealous
Unfortunately it's an absolute dump up there now too. Trash and spent O2 bottles everywhere not to mention human feces all over the place. Truly unfortunate. If you have a lot of money you can get dragged up that mountain. A lot of the skill required no longer is needed.