There is a lot of hype in the mainstream news about overcrowding and dangerously inexperienced climbers on Everest this season. There is some truth to these narratives and the recent deaths are an undeniable tragedy, but there is also more to the story. The recent post by Adrian {below} addresses some of the current issues and solutions on Everest.

“As I and my teammates sit for interview after interview about the supposed crowds on Everest, I keep remembering moments like this from this season. Alone, high above the world, responsible for myself and my teammates, and they responsible for me.”

“We should not demonize the climbers who realized a life dream to climb Mt. Everest. Nor should we demean the place. Are there problems as the mountain grows in popularity? Absolutely. Now is the time to aggressively address those problems. They are solvable. The mountain is not overcrowded. But regulations on commercial operators are desperately needed to require experience of clients, Sherpa, mountain guides and expedition leaders.” 

“Even in a difficult season like this one, with few possible summit days, the herd mentality thinking that led to hundreds climbing on the same day and to multi-hour waits on the South Side, is completely unnecessary. Teams could have chosen slightly less ideal weather conditions to avoid crowds. They could have backed off and held at a camp an extra night when they saw the potential traffic jams. They could have utilized climbing techniques to leave the fixed ropes and move around bottlenecks. And they could have chosen alternative routes from the easiest (but busiest) South Side route (for reference, the route from Tibet (North Side) had 1/3 the number of climbers this year as compared to the South Side from Nepal).”

“We don’t need fewer people to dream of climbing to the roof of the world. We need competent and courageous companies led by highly experienced mountain guides, willing to make hard decisions for safety regardless of their impact on the bottom line.”

At Alpenglow, creating competent climbers is part of our ethos. We are committed to building teams of experienced and strong climbers who are prepared for their chosen objective. It takes a serious time commitment to gain the technical skills and high altitude experience necessary for a realistic attempt at Everest. Over the course of many years, a climber develops their resume – each climb becoming a crucial building block towards their goal.

To learn more about what it takes to climb Everest, follow along with our #RoadToEverest series on Instagram over the next few days. We’ll walk through a step-by-step series of expeditions where climbers gain the altitude experience and develop the technical skills to necessary climb Everest.

MOUNT EVEREST NORTH SIDE RAPID ASCENT EXPEDITION

For more information on our Everest Expeditions or any of our other international expeditions check out our website. For any questions call our office at 877-873-5376 or send us an email info@alpenglowexpeditions.com.