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Everest - South Col Route

Everest is still the ultimate summit for any mountaineer. The accomplishment of standing on its apex is not diminished by recent popularity. No one can climb Everest for you. Despite what some believe, terms such as "short-roping" do not apply. This is a mountaineer's climb, demanding skill and self-awareness. Our team will take on this challenge in a competent and focused manner, using the collective experience of elite Sherpa high-altitude mountaineers under Wally Berg's leadership. We will approach the climb with all the dedication, humility and organization necessary to succeed on the highest summit on Earth.

Each of our team members will benefit from the same level of support and equipment, and each will have the goal of standing on the top of Everest. We do not believe in the "tiered" pricing for various categories of team membership that has become the hallmark of the strictly commercial expeditions to Everest in recent years.

Berg Adventures is the only company to readily offer fall expeditions. The notion that Everest cannot be climbed in the fall is a relatively recent one. Wally Berg noted that when he first climbed Everest in October 1992 there were 7 different expeditions on the mountain and 36 people reached the summit between Sept. 25 and October 15! In the past few years when we have gone in the fall we have had the mountain to ourselves. See our archived dispatches, including the exciting account of Kit Deslaurier's ski descent of Everest in October 2006.

Making Your Everest Dream a Reality

Proper preparation and organization are the keys to success on Everest. We have the time and expertise to make your Everest dream come true and we are readily available to help you navigate along your road to the top of the world.

If you are serious about climbing Mount Everest, contact the BAI office to discuss a strategy that will get your training and plans headed in the right direction. If Everest is something that you've always dreamed of, but you don't know if it is for you, we would love to discuss your options. We can help you answer the questions you may have: Is Everest right for me? What relevant experience do I have? What should be my next step?

Qualifications and Training

At over 29,000ft/8,840m, Everest requires climbers to have a very high level of fitness. Begin training for the expedition as early as possible before departure to ensure that you are in top condition.

Overall fitness, with a focus on increasing endurance, is important to your success. Running, fast walking, swimming, cycling, soccer, basketball, and other sports can be ideal for aerobic training. You will want to practice hiking with a weighted pack (approximately 40lbs), going uphill as much as possible. Weight your pack with jugs of water during training ascents. By dumping out the water before coming down, you can reduce the strain on your knees.

Conditions

Everest is extreme, but it can be a surprisingly pleasant place to camp and live during the spring and fall seasons when we will be there. Life at base camp is simple, but you will be well cared for by the best cooks and support staff around. That said, weather conditions are highly variable on Everest - from warm, sunny days to cold, windy and snowy ones. Experience camping at high altitudes and in low temperatures is necessary before you go because it teaches you how to adjust your gear and manage your body temperature. Selection of the proper equipment for climbing and camping on Everest is imperative. We are happy to help you find the gear that will best protect you from the elements and will help you manage your clothing and gear for the expedition. Everest is uncompromising, but if you are well prepared you will surely appreciate how spectacular it is.

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Climb Mt. Everest with Berg Adventures: Trip Description

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Trip description for Berg Adventures International expedition to climb Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak. Led by 4 time Everest summitter Wally Berg, founder of Berg Adventures International

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Hindustan Times: 5-year-old Indian Boy Reaches Everest Base Camp

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Hindustan Times: 5-year-old Indian Boy Reaches Everest Base Camp

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As snowstorms lashed Nepal's Himalayan region few days ago, a five-year-old boy from New Delhi and his father stayed indoors at a small lodge in Pheriche, a village in the Everest region located 4371 meters above sea level.

They were worried that the mission that they had set out to accomplish could get jeopardized midway. But the weather cleared two days later and they set out again towards their goal.

Five-year-old Harshit Saumitra waves the Indian flag at the Everest Base Camp. HT Photo
On Friday, Harshit Saumitra, a Class 1 student of GD Goenka School in New Delhi, reached the Everest Base Camp (5364 m), becoming arguably the youngest person to complete the difficult trek.

It took the child 10 days to cover the distance of 62km trek, many sections of which were covered by 5-7 inch of snow from the snowstorm caused by the tail-end of cyclone Hudhud.

"I felt very good. I unfurled the tricolor at the Everest Base Camp," said Harshit at a press meet here after his return from the trek. He also climbed the Kalapathar (5550 m) peak located near the EBC.With this feat the child overtakes the record set by Aaryan Balaji, a seven-year old Indian boy who had reached EBC and Kalapathar peak in May 2012.

"We were worried that Harshit might experience altitude sickness. But he didn't face any problem," said the child's father Rajeev Saumitra, a mountaineer who had reached the peak of Mount Everest (8848 m) last year.

The family plans to register the feat in record books like the Guinness World Records and the Limca Book of World Records by submitting the necessary proofs.

Harshit who climbed Rohtang Pass (3930 m) before attempting EBC has his eyes set on climbing Mount Kilimanjaro (5895 m) in Africa next and plans to attempt Mount Everest (8848 m) in a few years.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Utpal is an assistant editor based in Guwahati. He covers all eight states of North-East and was previously based in Kathmandu, Dehradun and Delhi with Hindustan Times .

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Five-year-old Indian boy reaches Everest Base Camp, claims world record

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As snowstorms lashed Nepal's Himalayan region few days ago, a five-year-old boy from New Delhi and his father stayed indoors at a small lodge in Pheriche, a village in the Everest region located 4371 meters above sea level. They were worried that the mission that they had set out to accomplish could get jeopardized midway.

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How Stuff Works: How Has Mt. Everest Tourism Affected Nepal?

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How Stuff Works: How Has Mt. Everest Tourism Affected Nepal?

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The easiest way to get a grip on how much money Nepal takes in from tourism is to take a close look at what the Everest tourist spends. You might be surprised how quickly the numbers climb.

If you're one of the 25,000 annual Everest tourists, getting into Nepal for more than a three-day stay will only run you $30 [source: Nepal Tourism Board]. But that's just the beginning of the tab. If you want to climb one of the major Himalayan mountains, you need a government-issued climbing permit. Although you can hike more than a hundred of the smaller peaks for free, who wants to play in the sandbox when the beach is next door?

Mountains taller than 21,300 feet (6,501 meters) are premium property. That base height costs $1,000 and increases $500 for every 1,640 feet (500 meters). Since Mount Everest stands at a staggering 29,029 feet (8,848 meters), the permit will run around $3350.

Now that you've got your permit, you're ready to start climbing, right? Not quite. If you want to take the most common route to the top of Everest, you'll owe the Nepal government a $25,000 royalty fee for yourself or up to $70,000 for a seven-person expedition crew [source: Nepal Mountain News].

Can't afford it? Wait until the off-season. To increase Everest tourism during the colder months of the year, the Nepalese government announced in 2007 that it was trying to cut royalty fees for people interested in climbing Everest during fall and winter. If the proposed plan goes into effect, a September through November climb will be 50 percent off the regular price and one from December to February will be 75 percent lower. If you're lured into the sales price, Nepal winds up raking in off-season tourism money.

Once you get to the Khumbu region, there are other expenses as well, such as lodging, food and any additional supplies that aren't covered in your expedition fees. In addition to trekking businesses, more than 300 hotels and lodges have sprung up from the tourism, many of which are owned by the local Sherpa people [source: Reid and Kendrick]. Some people turn their homes into tea houses, or overnight lodging, for tourists who want a more "authentic" Himalayan experience. Hundreds of Nepalese men from other areas swarm into Khumbu as well, hoping to get work as porters on expeditions, hauling trekking equipment up Everest slopes on their backs. Even the high-altitude Buddhist monasteries draw income from passing tourists.

However, tourism carries its own price as well in the form of environmental destruction. Read on to learn about the environmental repercussions of Mount Everest tourism.

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How has Mount Everest tourism affected Nepal?

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The easiest way to get a grip on how much money Nepal takes in from tourism is to take a close look at what the Everest tourist spends. You might be surprised how quickly the numbers climb.

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Life: Hillary and Tenzing After the First Ascent of Everest

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Life: Hillary and Tenzing After the First Ascent of Everest

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History

View Gallery

Written By: Ben Cosgrove

It's been more than 60 years since Edmund Hillary (later Sir Edmund, of course) and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to summit Mount Everest, and all these decades later their feat still resonates as one of the 20th century's signature moments. Here, LIFE.com looks back at that remarkable time with some rare photos from the celebrations after the climb, as well as page spreads from the cover story that ran in LIFE a few months later chronicling the accomplishment and the bitter controversy that swirled around the entire event.

As LIFE noted in its July 13, 1953, issue, the historic ascent was hardly greeted with unalloyed goodwill and enthusiasm from all corners of the globe. In fact, international politics and racial pride were quickly thrust into the conversation about Hillary's and Tenzing's astonishing feat.

"Everest's Conqueror's Come Back," LIFE roared in one headline in that special issue, then immediately blunted the celebratory tone with a caveat: "They bring thrilling stories of a great deed, but little men besmirch their riotous welcome."

Thus in a sad foreshadowing of the often contentious debate that had dogged so many attempts on Everest throughout the years (Is it worth the risk of life and limb? What does the local community get out of it?) the very first successful climb to the top of the world's highest peak sparked some often quite ugly jockeying for credit and supremacy. Jockeying, it should be noted, that both Hillary and Tenzing, who were fast friends, readily denounced.

(Also, while LIFE makes more than one mention of "British climbers" in its reporting, Edmund Hillary was in fact a proud, born-and-raised New Zealander. He died in 2008, at the age of 88, in Auckland. Tenzing died two years before Hillary, at age 71, in India.)

"The climbers who conquered Everest," LIFE wrote, "came down to a world eager to see them, honor them and hear their full story. . . . They came down to such a welcome such surging excitement and hero worship as had never before stirred the steamy lowlands of Nepal."

The first official welcomers met the mountaineers outside of Banepa [the article continues], 20 miles from Nepal's capital Katmandu. In the lead was British embassy party, bearing beer and sandwiches; then came the Nepalese to garland the heroes with flowers and sprinkle them with kumkum, a vermilion powder of rejoicing. Devil dancers met that at Bhadgaon, still 15 miles out. The wife of Sir John Hunt, the expedition's leader, came out to meet him. Tenzing's wife and their two teenage daughters flew from Darjeeling, India. . . .

To the distress and the half-resentful bewilderment of Colonel Hunt and his British climbers, however, these first wild welcomings carried a clear implication that, in Asia, the real hero of Everest was Tenzing alone. The conquest of Everest, a product of selfless teamwork between Asian and European, was being twisted into an ugly tool of Asian nationalism, inflamed further by the normal British habit of treating the hired Tenzing like a hired man. . . .

Today, as men and women continue to test their own mettle on the peaks of the Himalayas and on the heights of other, equally lethal mountain ranges around the globe, the pictures in this gallery are a reminder that for some people, the risks have always, unquestionably, been worth the rewards.
Liz Ronk edited this gallery for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.

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Mount Everest: Photos of Edmund Hillary and Tenzig Norgay, May 1953

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History View Gallery Written By: Ben Cosgrove It's been more than 60 years since Edmund Hillary (later Sir Edmund, of course) and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to summit Mount Everest, and all these decades later their feat still resonates as one of the 20th century's signature moments.

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CSMonitor: Jordan Romero, 13, Summits Everest: How Young is Too Young?

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CSMonitor: Jordan Romero, 13, Summits Everest: How Young is Too Young?

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Thirteen-year-old Jordan Romero is now the youngest climber to reach the top of the world, Mount Everest.

On Saturday, Jordan reached the summit with his dad, a paramedic, his dad's girlfriend, and three Nepalese sherpas. The young Californian has now climbed the tallest mountains on six of the world's seven continents. He summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at age 9.

When he got to the top of Everest, Romero called his mom.

"He says, 'Mom, I'm calling you from the top of the world,'" a giddy Leigh Anne Drake told The Associated Press from California, where she had been watching her son's progress minute by minute on his blog, which showed his ascent on map that displayed a GPS tracker

Jordan's feat is sure to fuel a debate about teenagers pushing the limits of achievement.

The Nepalese government would not give the family permission to climb Everest from Nepal, citing Jordan's age. To make the ascent, Jordan's team went from the Chinese side, a more difficult approach, but where there is no age restriction.

The issue of age arose on May 16, too, when Australian Jessica Watson, at 16, became the youngest person to sail around the world solo, non-stop and unassisted. She spent seven months at sea alone.

Jessica was the latest of several teens making solo circumnavigations of the globe. It's reached the point where the World Speed Sailing Record Council has abolished its "youngest" category, in an effort to discourage such attempts.

Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old Californian, is currently five months into her own solo sail around the world. She landed in Cape Town, South Africa on May 21. Her teenage brother, Zac, completed an around the world solo sail, last year.

"I wouldn't let her go at 13, or at 14 or at 15," Laurence Sunderland told the Los Angeles Times last year. "There's a strength factor and they need to be mentally grounded in what this entails. It's not a frivolous thing. The ocean is terrifying and you have to be prepared for all the adversities that it throws at you."

A Dutch judge stopped a 13-year-old girl from trying to sail around the world last year. The Dutch Child Protection Agency had asked that Laura be placed under state custody, calling her plan to spend about two years circumnavigating the world aboard a 26-foot boat "irresponsible."

Arguably, the risks associated with sailing alone in the open ocean are not the same as climbing with a team up Everest.

Nonetheless, the risks of climbing Everest were underscored by the challenges faced by 22-year-old Bonita Norris. This past week, she became the youngest Briton to reach the summit. Following the feat, however, she stumbled on the way down in an area known as a "dead zone" where climbers shouldn't stay more than a few hours. She lost the use of both legs and her feet were frozen. She was rescued by a team and carried part way down.

"I do everything in my power to make sure people come back safe, but there is no such thing as a risk-free climb," Kenton Cool, the 36-year-old professional mountaineer whose climbing company helped rescue Norris and to achieve her dream, told the Guardian.

Jordan Romero's blog says that he's "flat on his belly" at a camp at 25,000 feet, recovering from his ascent. "The effort he put out in this last ... 48 hours is, you're not going to believe the story when you see it and read about it," wrote one of the members of his team.

In December, Jordan plans to finish his quest to climb the highest peak on every continent. The last summit is in Antarctica.

RELATED:

[ Editor's note: In the original headline and summary Jordan Romero's first name was misspelled.]

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Jordan Romero, 13, summits Everest: How young is too young?

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Thirteen-year-old Jordan Romero is now the youngest climber to reach the top of the world, Mount Everest. On Saturday, Jordan reached the summit with his dad, a paramedic, his dad's girlfriend, and three Nepalese sherpas. The young Californian has now climbed the tallest mountains on six of the world's seven continents.

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Newsela: Helping People Climb Mt. Everest is a Dangerous Job

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Newsela: Helping People Climb Mt. Everest is a Dangerous Job

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Helping People Climb Mt. Everest is a Dangerous Job.pdf

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Newsela: Sherpa Guides Leave Mt. Everest After Deadly Avalanche

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Newsela: Sherpa Guides Leave Mt. Everest After Deadly Avalanche

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Newsela: Want to Climb Mt. Everest? Better Bring Some Trash Bags

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Newsela: Want to Climb Mt. Everest? Better Bring Some Trash Bags

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Want to Climb Mt. Everest? Better Bring Some Trash Bags.pdf

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NYDailyNews: Has the Summit of Mt. Everest Become an Overcrowded Tourist Trap?

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NYDailyNews: Has the Summit of Mt. Everest Become an Overcrowded Tourist Trap?

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The route to the top of the world has become too crowded.

The first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest was James Whittaker, who accomplished that towering feat in 1963. As he stood at the summit, accompanied his Sherpa guide, both men were very much alone.

Fast forward to 2013, when a team from National Geographic Magazine trekked up the mountain to mark the anniversary of Whittaker's quest; they found that in 2013, the challenge isn't nearly as....challenging.

A crowd of climbers slog up the Lhotse Face, heading toward Camp IV, last stop before the summit. Loose regulations and a boom in commercial guiding over the past two decades have made Everest far more accessible to experts and novices alike.

According to an article in the current National Geographic Magazine, about nine out of ten who reach the summit now are guided "clients," people who pay up to $120,000 for this "tour." Not that climbing Everest is easy, even under those conditions: Ten deaths were reported in 2012, including three Sherpa guides. But today-as if the altitude, the winds, the lack of oxygen wasn't enough to deter them-climbers walk up trails that are polluted, with garbage leaking out of the glaciers and pyramids of human excrement befouling the high camps.

In more than a few places, climbers face a more gruesome encounter: corpses of the dead who didn't make it to the top.

The cover of the June 2013 issue of National Geographic magazine.

"When I arrived at the apex ..., it was so crowded I couldn't find a place to stand," writes author Mark Jenkins in the June issue of the National Geographic. "Meanwhile, down below at the Hillary Step the lines were so long that some people going up waited more than two hours, shivering, growing weak-this even though the weather was excellent. If these throngs of climbers had been caught in a storm, as others were in 1996, the death toll could have been staggering.

"Clearly the world's highest peak is broke," he writes. "But if you talk to the people who know it best, they'll tell you it's not beyond repair."

Headlamps trace a path to the summit a few hours before dawn. Says one guide, "The most dangerous thing about Everest is everyone else who's trying to climb it."

There are about 35,000 visitors to the Everest region annually, and the money they spend for guides and permits is crucial to Nepal's economy, where the average national wage is less than $900. It has become, in the words of one climber, "a commercial mountain."

The crowding has led to altercations, and worse, on the mount. In 1996, eight climbers were killed and several others stranded in a sudden blizzard near the summit. The tragedy was documented by Jon Krakauer, a journalist and climber on that expedition, in his 1997 best-selling book, "Into Thin Air."

Crowded, yes, but still risky: Team member Hilaree O'Neill steps across a bridge of aluminum ladders lashed together above a crevasse in the Khumbu Icefall, considered one of the most unpredictable hazards on Everest.

There are still memorable moments at Everest. Earlier this month, Arunima Sinha, 26, a trainee police officer from India, became the first female amputee to reach the top. Just two days later, an 80-year-old Japanese mountaineer became the oldest man to scale Everest; while in 2010, Jordan Romero, a 13-year-old American boy, was became the youngest to trek to the top.

As the Everest climb becomes more of an "extreme sport" and less of a unique, life-changing event, the crowds and queues are likely to increase. In his piece, Jenkins lays out some way to improve the climbing environment, including issuing fewer permits to climbers, restricting the size of the climber teams to lessen congestion, and to require all climbers to remove all their waste and garbage from the mountain.

One crucial element is to ensure that climbers have the experience necessary; without the training, some just don't recognize that at some point, it might be time to turn around and go back.

"Only half the people here have the experience to climb this mountain," a Sherpa told the magazine. "The half without experience are the most likely to die."

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Has the summit of Mount Everest become an overcrowded tourist trap?

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The route to the top of the world has become too crowded. The first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest was James Whittaker, who accomplished that towering feat in 1963. As he stood at the summit, accompanied his Sherpa guide, both men were ver

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Scholastic: Interview with Sir Edmund Hillary

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Scholastic: Interview with Sir Edmund Hillary

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Scholastic Teaching Tools | Resources for Teachers

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Explore Scholastic Teaching Tools for teaching resources, printables, book lists, and more. Enhance your classroom experience with expert advice!

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Seeker: Mt. Everest: Why Do People Keep Climbing It?

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Seeker: Mt. Everest: Why Do People Keep Climbing It?

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Each spring, amidst stories of successful firsts, come tales of overcrowding, fighting and tragedy on Mt. Everest, including last week's avalanche that killed at least 13 Sherpas who were setting ropes on the mountain's most popular climbing route.

Nevertheless, hundreds of people from dozens of countries are at Base Camp right now, and many are planning to make a bid for the summit of the world's tallest peak in the next few weeks, though those bids may be complicated by news that Sherpas have decided to vacate the mountain for the season. Why does Everest continue to be so alluring, despite the costs, the crowds and the risks?

The answer likely differs for each climber, and studies suggest that people who take risks tend to perceive them differently from people who avoid the same behaviors. But for adventurers who are drawn to Everest, the mountain's top is a lifelong dream that inspires intense preparation and a deep sense of reverence.

"I can wax poetically for hours about this, but I thoroughly love the mountain," said Alan Arnette, a mountaineer and respected Everest blogger based in Fort Collins, Colo. "It represents the ultimate, the pinnacle for many people.

"I think Everest is a magical mountain with magnetic qualities," he added. "It's like a light to bugs that attracts people once they hear about it."

The modern urge to climb Everest began more than 150 years ago when British surveyors determined that the 8,848-meter peak was the tallest in the world. Everest soon became a "third Pole" as explorers raced to become the first to stand on top of it.

"From the moment it was identified as the highest mountain, it became an object of fascination," said Maurice Isserman, a historian at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and author of "Fallen Giants: A History of Himalayan Mountaineering from the Age of Empire to the Age of Extremes."

"There are more interesting mountains to climb. There are more beautiful mountains. There are more challenging mountains that are a better experience. But it's a trophy. It's the biggest."

When asked by The New York Times why he wanted to climb Everest, British mountaineer George Mallory, who died on the mountain during his third expedition there in 1924, famously answered, "Because it's there."

Not everybody wants to climb Everest, though, and those who do likely have a strong internal drive to seek out thrills that may be at least partially programmed by genetics, said Andreas Wilke, a psychologist at Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y. Decision-making studies show that some people are more likely to pursue or avoid risk than others.

But the spectrum of risk-taking behavior is broad and more complex than psychologists once thought. In his studies of people who engage in extreme recreational activities like bungee jumping and SCUBA diving, Wilke has met skydiving wallflowers and chain-smokers who buy extensive car insurance. People who pursue risks in some parts of their lives, in other words, don't necessarily live on the edge in every way.

Instead, when Wilke has asked people to evaluate their behaviors, he finds that they often don't consider what they do to be as risky as it might seem to others, either because they have a skill set that gives them confidence or because in their minds, the benefits outweigh any fear involved. That balance of risks and rewards differs from person to person.

"I would not climb Everest. I have other things to do, but in plain English, I'm also too scared to do it," Wilke said. "But I would do things some mountain climbers would not do, like lecture to 500 undergraduates."

From an evolutionary perspective, Wilke said, risk-taking behavior can be advantageous, particularly in men, because it signals strength and fitness to members of the opposite sex. In line with that theory, a successful Everest climb can convey status and prestige.

"If you said you went to Everest, you by definition climbed the highest mountain available to mankind," he said. "That's a very clear, non-fakable hierarchy. We can be very competitive in nature."

For many people who have topped Everest, though, it's about much more than hubris. Surpassing the "death zone" above 8,000 meters, standing on top of the world and returning home safely is an experience unlike any other.

"It brings into focus what's important to you," said Arnette, who summited Everest on his fourth attempt in 2011. "There are a thousand reasons to turn around and only one to keep going. You really have to focus on the one reason that's most important and unique to you.

"It forces you to look deep inside yourself and figure out if you really have the physical, as well as mental, toughness to push when you want to stop," he added. "When you come home, you realize you are able to face a wall and overcome that wall."

After leaving Base Camp, climbers have to cross the ice falls, some with the help of rope and ladder. The ice falls are where 13 sherpas lost their lives last week.

The world's 14 "eight-thousanders" -- mountains taller than 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) -- are all located in Asia. On one hand, they really beautify a horizon, but on the other they present a fierce, at times fatal, challenge to mountain climbers. Beauty can, indeed, be deadly. Here's the "baby" of the bunch, Shishapangma in Tibet, peaking at 8,027 meters (26,335 feet).

This is Gasherbrum II (we'll have another Gasherbrum coming up shortly), on the border of Pakistan and China. It's 8,035 meters up in the sky (26,361 feet) and is sometimes known as K4. These mountaineers are near the summit.

On the left side of this picture we see the sheer mass of Broad Peak, the 12th highest mountain on the planet at 8,047 meters or 26,394 feet above sea level.

As promised, here's another Gasherbrum: Gasherbrum I. (Gasherbrum, translated from the Tibetan language Balti, means "beautiful mountain.") It also goes by the name of K5, lives along the China-Pakistan border and is 8,080 meters (26,444 ft) high.

The Himalayan mountain range Annapurna, in Nepal, is seen here from Pkhara, about 124 miles (200 kilometers) west of Kathmandu. Annapurna is considered one of the most dangerous for climbers; first crested in 1950, it has since been climbed by more than 100 people but taken 53 lives along the way.

This somewhat unsettling photo was taken in 1931 by mountaineers at a base camp on Pakistan's Nanga Parbat, the ninth-tallest eight-thousander at 8,126 meters (26,660 feet). The area captured in the picture is known as the Nanga Wall.

Eighth-tallest of the eight-thousanders is Nepal's Manaslu, at 8,163 meters (26,781 feet).

The Dhaulagiri mountain range in the Himalayas sports a rather volcanic look in this picture, with the sun brushing its top. But Nepal's 8,167-meter (26,795-foot) monster is of course quite chilly on top. Dhaulagiri's south face is considered by mountaineers to be a next-to-impossible climb, and no one has ever topped the mountain from that side.

Clouds hover over snow-covered Cho Oyu mountain in Tibet. The sixth-tallest mountain stands 8,201 meters tall (26,906 feet), and the "Mountain Goddess" (in Tibetan translation) is considered one of less-challenging climbs among the eight-thousanders (if you don't consider climbing ANY mountain a challenge, that is!).

Next in the eight-thousander club is Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain in the world, looming on the border between Nepal and China. It's 8,463 meters (27,766 feet) tall and is another tough climb, with 22 deaths tallied against its 206 successful climbs.

Standing 8,516 meters tall (27,940 feet), Lhotse, fourth-tallest, rests on the border of Nepal and Tibet. It was first climbed in 1956.

Kangchenjunga, in Nepal, is the world's third-tallest mountain, edging Lhotse by just 71 meters, standing 8,587 meters tall (28,169 feet). It's a prominent mark on the horizon in Darjeeling, the tea-growing region.

K2, the second-tallest mountain on the planet, is 8,611 meters up in the clouds (28,251 feet) along the China-Pakistan border. Climbers know it for its incredibly difficult ascent routes; in 2008, an ice fall on the treacherous slopes took the lives of 11 climbers.

And now we reach the Big Daddy in the worldwide mountains club. That, of course, would be Mount Everest. Its name alone is synonymous with challenging feats, as climbing it continues to this day to be a dicey endeavor, though it draws people year after year to attempt the ascent. And what a climb: Mount Everest stands 8,848 meters tall (29,029 feet). It was famously crested for the first time in 1953 by New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay.

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Mt. Everest: Why Do People Keep Climbing It?

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Despite tales of overcrowding, fighting and tragedy, hundreds of people continue to try to summit Everest every year. What's the appeal?

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Visual.ly Infographic: Deaths of Mount Everest

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Visual.ly Infographic: Deaths of Mount Everest

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Deaths on Mount Everest

DEATHS ON MOUNT EVEREST

Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world at 29,035 (8,850 meters), is also the highest graveyard on planet earth. Many climbers have died on Mount Everest since 1921 and over 200 of them are still on the mountain. Some are buried in crevasses. Some fell down remote parts of the mountain. Some are buried in snow and ice. Some lie in the open. And some side beside the popular routes up Everest. There is no firm count of the exact number of climbers that have died on Mount Everest, but as of 2012 it is about 235 people. Below, are the top ten in deaths.

Cerebral oedema 5

Exhaustion 7

Altitude Sickness 9

Unknown 22

Fall 48

Avalanche 51

Exposure 25

Disappeared 15

Heart Attack 8

Fall Into a Crevasse

Most Die While Descending

Most climbers die while descending the upper slopes of Mount Everest, often after having reached the summit, in the area above 8,000 meters called the "Death Zone." The high elevation and corresponding lack of oxygen coupled with extreme temperatures and weather conspired to create a greater risk of death than on the mountain's lower slopes.

Death Rate Increased

Since the 1980s, when more climbers began ascending above 8,000 meters than previously, the date rate for climbers who died descending the mountain jumped. On the South Col Route on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest, 2.5 percent of descending climbers died, while on the Northeast Ridge Route in Tibet the number of descending deaths is 3.4 percent.

Death of David Sharp

There are many tragic stories like that of British climbers David Sharp, who sat down under the overhang 1,500 feet below the summit on May 15, 2006 after successfully climbing Mount Everest. He was extremely tired after a long summit day and began freezing in place as he sat there. As many as 40 climbers trudged past him, believing already dead or not wanting to rescue him, on one of the coldest nights that spring. A party passed him at 1 in the morning, saw he was breathing still, but continued on to the summit since they didn't feel they could evacuate him. Sharp continued freezing through the night and the next morning. He had no gloves on. He was undoubtedly hypoxic from lack of oxygen and probably had no idea where he was nor felt any pain.

High-Altitude Cerebral Edema

Along with extreme fatigue, many Everest climbers who die develop symptoms like loss of coordination, confusion, lack of judgement, and they may even slip into unconscious-all symptoms of high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE). HACE often occurs at high elevations when the brain swells from the leakage of cerebral blood vessels. Most Die While Descending Most climbers die while descending the upper slopes of Mount Everest, often after having reached the summit, in the area above 8,000 meters called the "Death Zone." The DEATHS ON MOUNT EVEREST Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world at 29,035 feet (8,850 meters), is also the highest graveyard on planet earth. Many climbers have died on Mount Everest since 1921 and over 200 of them are still on the mountain. Some are buried in crevass- es. Some fell down remote parts of the mountain. Some are buried in snow and ice. Some lie in the open. And some sit beside the popular routes up Everest. There is no firm count of the exact number of climbers that have died on Mount Everest, but as of 2012 it is about 235 people. Below, are the top ten in deaths. high elevation and corresponding lack of oxygen coupled with extreme temperatures and weather conspire to create a greater risk of death than on the mountain's lower slopes. 51 Death Rate Increased 48 Since the 1980s, when more climbers began ascending above 8,000 meters than previously, the death rate for climbers who died descending the mountain jumped. On the South Col Route on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest, 2.5 percent of descending climbers died, while on the North- east Ridge Route in Tibet the number of descending deaths is 3.4 percent. Death of David Sharp There are many tragic stories like that of British climber David Sharp, who sat down under an overhang 1,500 feet below the summit on May 15, 2006 after successfully climbing Mount Everest. He was extremely tired after a long summit day and began freezing in place as he sat there. As many as 40 climbers trudged past him, believing him al- ready dead or not wanting to rescue him, on one of the coldest nights that spring. A party passed him at 1 in the morning, saw he was breath- ing still, but continued on to the summit since they didn't feel they could evacuate him. Sharp continued freezing through the night and the next morning. He had no gloves on. He was undoubtedly hypoxic from lack of oxygen and probably had no idea where he was nor felt any pain. 22 15 5 High-Altitude Cerebral Edema Along with extreme fatigue, many Everest climbers who die develop symptoms like loss of coordination, confusion, lack of judgment, and they may even slip into uncon- scious-all symptoms of high-altitude cerebral edema (HACE). HACE often occurs at high elevations when the brain swells from the leakage of cere- bral blood vessels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_died_climbing_Mount_Everest http://climbing.about.com/od/mountainclimbing/a/Death-On-Mount-Everest.htm © Copyright 2013 Heriberto Ed Hernandez. All rights reserved. Scriptron.com Cerebral oedema Exhaustion Altitude Sickness Unknown Fall Avalanche Exposure 25 Disappeared Heart Attack Fall Into a Crevasse

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DEATHS ON MOUNT EVEREST Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world at 29,035 (8,850 meters), is also the highest graveyard on planet earth. Many climbers have died on Mount Everest since 1921 and over 200 of them are still on the mountain. Some are buried in crevasses.

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ABCNews: Mt. Everest Tragedy: At Least 12 Dead

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ABCNews: Mt. Everest Tragedy: At Least 12 Dead

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YouTube: Disney Channel: The Time I Climbed Mt. Everest

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YouTube: Disney Channel: The Time I Climbed Mt. Everest