At least 12 climbers died on Mount Everest this year, and altitude sickness is partially to blame
2023 is shaping up to be one of the deadliest years in Mount Everest climbing history.
At least 12 people have died, with five more still missing.
There are many factors at play in the deaths, including altitude sickness and overcrowding.
The decision to climb Mount Everest is inherently risky. More than 300 people have died attempting to reach the summit of the mountain since the early 1900s, but this year's spring climbing season was deadlier than most.
By the end of May, when the climbing season was unofficially finished, 12 climbers were dead and five more were missing, according to Outside. That makes 2023 one of the deadliest years for climbers in Everest history, with only three other years having more fatalities. The most perilous year so far, 2014, had 16 deaths. If the five missing people turn out to be dead, 2023 will become the deadliest year ever.
Altitude sickness was at least partially to blame for many of the deaths that occurred this year, including that of two sherpas, who accompany climbers on their journeys, according to Outside.
Located between Nepal and Tibet, Mount Everest is the world's tallest peak, sitting at 29,029 feet above sea level. Oxygen is so scarce at the top that it's known as the "death zone." It's a place where climbers' bodies are "breaking down and essentially dying," Shaunna Burke, a climber who summited Everest in 2005, previously told Insider.
This year, a Hungarian mountaineer, Suhajda Szilard, was found unresponsive at the Everest summit after climbing without a sherpa or supplemental oxygen. Another climber who is still missing, Shrinivas Sainis Dattatraya of Singapore, reportedly texted his wife to let her know he had high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE) — a life-threatening condition that occurs at high altitudes and causes brain-swelling as well as effects like confusion, memory loss, and hallucinations.
Multiple factors are making the mountain more perilous
There is no one single reason that explains why this has been such a dangerous spring; as in other recent deadly seasons, multiple factors were at play, including inexperienced climbers and guides and the vast number of climbers on the mountain in general. In addition to being an especially deadly year, 2023 also holds the distinction of being the busiest year on Everest, with a record 478 permits issued.
Overcrowding is dangerous for all climbers. In addition to contending with masses of people who may not have much climbing experience, trekkers have to deal with pushing, shoving, and traffic jams on the way up a challenging mountain that has little leeway for mistakes.
"Weakest clients with less experienced operators is part of the problem," Guy Cotter, an experienced Everest guide from New Zealand, told Reuters.
The issue of overcrowding is not likely to let up anytime soon.
"There seems to be a disaster mystique around Everest that seems to only serve to heighten the allure of the place," filmmaker and director Jennifer Peedom, who has climbed Everest four times, previously told Insider. "It is extremely overcrowded now and just getting more and more every year."
The vast number of people trekking up Everest has also created a littering problem. The mountain is filled with plastic garbage at the end of every season, local guides told The Guardian. Dead bodies are also common — a result of the recent uptick in deaths, but also due to the high cost of removing bodies from the mountain.
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