Running head: LITERATURE REVIEW 2 1

Literature Review 2: Dangers of Climbing

Maximus Cortes

NUAMES
LITERATURE REVIEW 2: DANGERS OF CLIMBING 2

Literature Review 2: Dangers of Climbing

Introduction

Mountaineering is the sport of climbing a mountain; everyone who attempts to climb a

mountain is aiming to get as far up as possible before deciding that they need to go back down.

However, people will sometimes forget their limits if they become too focused on the peak, and

that causes them to become too tired to continue down the mountain. These problems can make

mountaineering one of the more dangerous sports because of the constant inconsistencies that

occur on the path people take to climb the mountain. Mount Everest is no different from these

other mountains, except that it is much taller and much more dangerous than any of the other

mountains most people first climb. Everest is a final goal for many climbers and an experience

that many won’t, but it also leads to many deaths of unprepared people.

Many people write about the reasons others decide to climb Mount Everest, and about the

experience that they want to get out of looking at the view from the top. Some lessons are

learned from those who make mistakes during the climb and so to reduce the mistakes, and

people will pay Sherpas to take them up. Even with experienced individuals helping the climbers

up the peak, there are still multiple deaths occurring during the many expeditions up the

mountain in recent years. Articles of different kinds have been arguing on what the reasons for

the deaths could be. Some say it is because of the increase of people climbing, causing more

obstacles in the form of lines, while others argue it is because of the inexperience some of the

climbers who do not know what they are doing. Some questions answering before there is a

decision:

1. Why is climbing through landmarks so popular?

LITERATURE REVIEW 2: DANGERS OF CLIMBING 3

2. Why are more people climbing recently?

3. Why are people failing to climb down the mountain?

Why is climbing through landmarks so popular?

Climbing or hiking through some of the world’s greatest wonders has always been a

popular thing to do for those who were daring enough to try. In recent years it has become easier

to go through some of these areas with the finding or making of more accessible paths and the

hiring of people with plenty of experience to help others. However, not all landmarks had

become more relaxed and can be just as dangerous as they were when they were first discovered

or climbed. Many people decide to hike or climb their way through landmarks without the

necessary tools because of their inexperience. This problem can lead to an increase in injuries,

and some of the more dangerous areas, it can lead to death.

Nate Carlisle (2018), a reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune since 2005, showed data about

the rise in people needing rescue in the many Utah national parks, a rise of 68% since the 2014

collection of data. The number of searches and rescues in Utah national parks went up from 193

to 324 in about three years. Carlisle also shows the increase in popularity of these national parks

by writing “(In the past year) Zion shot up from 3.1 million visitors to 4.5 million” (2018). This

information shows the increase of people going through the landmarks, and with the increase of

injuries, it can be inferred that this increase in people carries those that are inexperienced.

Aylin Woodward (2019), a science and environment reporter for Business Insider, wrote

about some experiences and stories from those that climbed Mount Everest, which could show

why people would want to climb the mountain, to be able to tell stories like these. However,

although some might find it interesting to think about the stories that they could tell if they
LITERATURE REVIEW 2: DANGERS OF CLIMBING 4

climbed Mount Everest, it is even dangerous to try and arrive at the correct location. Woodward

told the story of an airport that is known as the world’s scariest airport because of the cramped

space. She says that wrote about a misjudged landing that caused “The plane burst into flames,

killing everyone on board except the pilot, who was the only one able to escape from the

fireball” (Woodward, 2019).

Pradeep Bashyal (2019), a reporter for the BBC, wrote an article that dove into the people

who lead the expeditions up Mount Everest, the Sherpa. Sherpa is locals that live near Mount

Everest, and many have climbed the mountain multiple times in their life to lead people up the

mountain to get paid. There is a quote in the article that summarizes their work on these

expeditions, “Without a Sherpa, there is no expedition” (Bashyal, 2019). Though the Sherpa has

noticed an increase in tourists that are inexperienced in climbing, trying to make their way up the

tallest peak in the world. Showing the increase is also something experts have noticed.

Why are more people climbing recently?

Having explained the increase of popularity and the increase of those inexperienced

individuals trying to climb, there is still the fact of why these inexperienced people are trying to

climb a mountain like Mount Everest. Bashayal also manages to explain this question with the

information provided by the Sherpa that he interviewed. He wrote that the Sherpa “blames some

tour companies for underestimating the risks to novice climbers” (Bashayal, 2019). These

companies do not care too much for the people that they send to Mount Everest and only want to

make money from the inexperienced climber who thinks they can take on the mountain because

of the lies the company can feed them.

LITERATURE REVIEW 2: DANGERS OF CLIMBING 5

Áine Cain and Allana Akhtar (2019), both reporters for the Business Insider, wrote about

companies and the inexperienced climbers also, slightly agreeing with what Bashayal had said

about the companies wanting to make money. They gave information about exactly how much

money the companies are getting from these climbers — saying that “the commercial climbing

operators who spoke to Business Insider charged between $45,000 and $100,000” (Cain &

Akhtar, 2019). They also spoke of some companies that offer a “Luxury Expedition” that is

around $130,000, which does not include the $11,000 that Nepal charges for the climbing

permits for those who want to take on Mount Everest. These companies could make much

money from only one person that needs help in climbing if they had multiple inexperienced

people; they could be making much more.

Abigail Clukey (2019), a writer for the NPR with and with multiple articles, wrote about

what some expert climbers experience on their trip up Mount Everest. Climbers who have made

it to the top and have seen the view have lead expeditions up the mountain with groups of their

own. These groups have led to a slight increase in people trying to climb the mountain, but it is

not as big as the companies who are trying to make money off of inexperienced people.

However, these experienced people are helping others climb to try and reduce the number of

people who are dying when they climb the mountain. With a person whom Clukey interviewed

saying, “The summit is never the goal. Ever. The number one goal is always to come back alive”

(2019). These climbers are trying to reduce deaths that happen on Mount Everest while also

contributing to the number of people who climb.

Why are people failing to climb down the mountain?

LITERATURE REVIEW 2: DANGERS OF CLIMBING 6

Hilary Brueck (2019), a senior health and science reporter at Business Insider, wrote

about what some Sherpa believe is the reason that many climbers aren’t able to make it down the

mountain and die. Although most people would agree that what kills people is the “death zone”

of Everest, some Sherpa believes that it is not the climb up that is killing them. They believe it is

the climb going down because some misjudged the energy they have, a Sherpa saying “If you

haven’t judged how much gas you have left in the tank, then you can’t make it down” (Brueck,

2019). This information disagrees with what was in Clukey’s article; not everyone is putting

their lives above making it to the summit of the mountain. Some want to see the view from the

top above everything else, and that leads to multiple deaths of people who are making their way

down Mount Everest.

Karen Zraick and Derrick Bryson Taylor (2019), who write for the New York Times and

an editor on the Express desk, wrote about some reasons as to why people are dying when they

try and climb Mount Everest. They give a brief explanation about the overcrowding that could be

leading to some of the deaths because of how much time these lines could be wasting, which

could cause some climbers to run out of oxygen. Zraick and Taylor also wrote about 11 deaths

that occurred last year on the mountain, with one death agreeing with what was in Brueck’s

article — stating that one of the deaths was because of “‘energy loss’ on her way back to Camp

4” (Zraick & Taylor, 2019). Although they might agree on the fact that energy loss is a problem

when climbing the mountain, the Sherpa from Brueck’s article says, “cramped conditions are not

to blame for the 11 deaths” (Brueck, 2019).

Danielle Preiss (2018), a freelance print and radio journalist who has appeared on many

websites, gave information about Mount Everest deaths that none of the previous articles
LITERATURE REVIEW 2: DANGERS OF CLIMBING 7

mentioned. She writes about the deaths on the mountain that weren’t the tourists but instead

those who risk their lives to try and help people reach the summit. Stating that around one-third

of the deaths on Mount Everest were of Sherpa, she begins to write about why they are climbing

the mountain with almost no reason. The reason is that Sherpa does not have much choice

because of the low amounts of jobs in their area. Leading expeditions is always going to be an

option for them. One Sherpa who didn’t like climbing stated that “I’m doing for my family

because I don’t have education” (Preiss, 2018).

Conclusion

There are multiple reasons why people are climbing Mount Everest and why people are

dying when they try. None of the experts can state just one reason as to why the deaths are

happening; multiple factors have to do with the deaths of people. Most sherpas agree that some

reasons include the inexperience of those that are trying to climb the mountain, the misjudgment

of the number of energy people have, and natural disasters. However, most Sherpa in the articles

agreed that the crowds of people who are climbing the mountain are not the issue that is causing

the deaths.

Although most agree that there has been a more considerable amount of people who are

attempting the climb, the lines have not reached the point in which they are different from

before. The Sherpa always states lines have always been there, that this is not anything new and

that people are worried about a picture that was posted only a few years ago. There is not any

reason to worry about the amount of people who are beginning to climb Mount Everest; it is time

to worry about the amount of experience people should have before they try.
LITERATURE REVIEW 2: DANGERS OF CLIMBING 8

References

Woodward, A. (2019). What it's really like to climb Everest, according to 10 people who've done

it. ​Business Insider.​ Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-

stories-from-climbers-2019-6.

Zraick, K. & Taylor, D. (2019). These are the victims of a deadly climbing season on Mount

Everest. ​The New York Times​. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/29/

world/asia/everest-deaths.html.

Clukey, A. (2019). ‘The summit is never the goal’: why climbers pursue the 7 summits. ​NPR​.

Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2019/06/05/728761498/the-summit-is-never-the-

goal-why-climbers-pursue-the-7-summits.

Sengupta, S. (2019). 95 years ago, everest was just as deadly but much less crowded. ​The New

York Times​. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/04/world/asia/mount-

everest-deaths-history-photos.html.

Brueck, H. (2019). A Mount Everest record-holder says summit 'traffic jams' aren’t the problem

— it’s the trek down that kills people. Business Insider. Retrieved from

https://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-record-holder-trek-down-deaths-2019-5

Cain, Á. & Akhtar, A. (2019). Mount Everest is clogged with inexperienced climbers, but there's

too much money at stake for anyone to do anything about it. Business Insider. Retrieved

from https://www.businessinsider.com/mount-everest-expeditions-climbing-companies-

6-2019

Bashyal, P. (2019). Everest through the eyes of a Sherpa: ‘Climbers need to wake up’. ​BBC​.

Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48464030

LITERATURE REVIEW 2: DANGERS OF CLIMBING 9

Preiss, D. (2018). One-third of Everest deaths are Sherpa climbers. ​NPR.​ Retrieved from

https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2018/04/14/599417489/one-third-of-everest-death

s-are-sherpa-climbers.

Carlisle, N. (2018). Rescues are up 68 percent in Utah’s national parks — and men in their 20s

are the ones most likely to need help. ​The Salt Lake Tribune​. Retrieved from

https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/06/19/rescues-are-up-68-percent-in-utahs-nati

onal-parks-and-men-in-their-20s-are-the-ones-most-likely-to-need-help/