A memorial stone to Russian climbers who did not return from the top of Everest stands near the village of Dougla

In the 30 years after the first conquest of Everest by our compatriots on May 4, 1981, more than 50 people died on its slopes. Some of them, unburied, still lie on top.

We must hurry, soon a snowstorm, ”Prem warned.

We succeed. What is the point of sticking out in a frozen hut heated by dung of a yak?

After a couple of minutes, a snowstorm covered us from behind with a prickly snow hood.

In the gray-grained haze, Natasha filmed Ksyusha in the spirit of Norshtein: "A hedgehog is looking for a Bear cub in the fog." We had fun, Prem was nervous and urged. Soon, the Hedgehog could not be seen at all in the lens, and Prem lost the road, but said nothing and went forward.

We followed in his footsteps. The path was covered with snow, we walked along the wet snow at the edge of a cliff, like a rope. There was an abyss below, but I did not see it: the earth and sky mixed up, as in a mixer, and it was difficult to understand where one ends and the other begins, where to put your foot and stick a stick so as not to fly into this damn abyss. Hell has begun. I remembered relatives and friends who must be sitting now at the cottage by the fire, barbecue and drink wine, and here you are, like a complete fool, hanging on one leg over the abyss. And then no one will call your death “smart,” because she trampled on her own, but you were warned ...
I sobbed, rather even burst into tears from the hopelessness of the situation, but quickly braked so as not to waste energy on nonsense. An ingenious thought occurred to stop and wait for the blizzard to pass.
But then Prem turned and went in the opposite direction. Together we went upstairs, visibility got better. In the distance, they noticed a stone on which the wind rattled multi-colored Buddhist flags with mantras. Obviously, some person hung them there, and, therefore, we are not alone in this silent space. Prem went ahead and waved his hands joyfully at us

Come here! I found the way!

The blizzard is over. White fangs of mountains emerged from the gray clouds, the abyss yawned.

It’s good that we didn’t see this when we walked, ”said Oksana, looking into the very mouth. - But the worst thing is still suspension bridges.

No, the worst thing is to go down the stones that roll under your feet, ”Natasha objected.

I did not say anything because I love suspension bridges and descents. But I will never forget this monstrous road over the precipice in a blizzard.

We were all wrong. Our “hellish" fears actually seemed to us a slight fright when the next day we got to base camp Everest (5364 m), spread out on the Khumbu glacier.

PART 2

Abnormal

Don’t go there, there’s nothing to do, ”said our guys, who were returning from a base camp inspection for an overnight stay in Gorak Shep (5170 m), the highest mountainous settlement on the planet. - Better come with us, we will celebrate our ascent.

Have you already climbed to the top?

No, are we crazy?

In the season (March - the end of May and August-October) about 200 "abnormal" from all over the world gather in the BC, who are preparing to conquer the highest point on Earth. This year, due to the large influx of climbers, the government of Nepal even threatened to limit the flow of tourists so that there wouldn’t be any on the rise to Everest - just think about it! - congestion.

The route to Everest in Nepal is now the most popular among tourists - this is true. From Lukla itself there are numerous groups of experienced climbers and such as us, teapots to Namche, from where they already scatter to different heights. There are so many people here that traffic jams form on narrow mountain paths - you have to miss entire delegations or overtake where the road allows. Add the accompanying Sherpas here and localsthat rush through the mountains with their trunks on their heads, like mountain goats. I’m not even talking about all kinds of shepherds who walk their donkeys, cows, yaks and jupi here (Russian tourists simply have “assholes”). Prem said that jupi is a hybrid of cows that do not rise above 3000 meters, and yaks that do not go below 5000. How they were brought out is a mystery. And when these hairy “assholes” with horns meet you, you have to imprint yourself in the mountain, squeezing everything you can squeeze into yourself, and depict a rock bas-relief until they pass by.

Many wealthy people, especially from Russia, prefer not to hustle and hinder others from climbing, prefer to conquer the base camp by helicopter. It costs 6 thousand dollars. Here they take pictures in costumes of ice-climbers, breathe rarefied mountain air and, full of impressions, fly back to Lukla or Kathmandu.

But here is to imagine that climbers, standing in an oxygen mask at an altitude of 8 thousand meters on the edge of the crevice, ask each other: “Who is the last on Everest? I am yours ”- I can’t. I also can’t imagine that the government of Nepal will voluntarily abandon the several million dollars that it brings them to climb Sagarmatha (the Nepalese name for Everest). Otherwise, climbers will carry their money to the Chinese and will climb the Jomolungma (Tibetan name of Everest) through the Northern Saddle - it’s even cheaper.

Here are some prices:

The right to climb a group of Everest of 20 people from Tibetastoit is 5.5 thousand dollars.

The right to climb from Nepal costs 50 thousand dollars for 7 team members. The team can be increased by 5 people at a price of 10 thousand dollars for each additional tourist. For the right to pass the classic route through the South Saddle, you must pay an additional 20 thousand (a total of 70 thousand dollars).

For the final throw to the top, you need to stock up on two cylinders of oxygen (10-12 hours of operation), which cost more than a thousand dollars and weigh 10 kg, together with a mask and a reducer. Another one or two spare cylinders usually put off pro-stock for descent halfway to the top. Climbers who have reached Everest claimed that without oxygen the speed decreases 3-4 times.

So those who wish can already take their turn in the fall.

Despite the scrap prices, many climbers choose the climb from the Nepalese side, believing that it is lighter, warmer and less blowing. Climbing to the top itself starts from the South saddle between the mountains Everest and Lkhodze from a height of 7900 meters. They usually leave at midnight. Climbing is much faster than in the north.

To the base of the North side to the base camp (5000 m) they drive in jeeps. And then - on yaks to the advanced base camp (6400 m). From the Rongbuk glacier, the climb goes to the Northern saddle (Chang-La pass) and from there it leads to the top along a long northern ridge. The most dangerous place here is the "Second Step". At an altitude of 8790 meters, a cliff of rocks several meters high. The situation is aggravated by a hurricane wind blowing in gusts of up to 200 km / h.
Base camp
From far away, like a clap of thunder, the growing sound of a descending avalanche has reached us. We looked around and at the foot of a nearby mountain we saw a cloud of snow dust rising like a nuclear mushroom.

This glacier has come down, ”Prem said admiringly, and took a“ soap box ”out of his pocket. “It's good that we didn't go downstairs.”

A few kilometers from the collapse, like yellow pimples in the rough tongue of the Khumbu glacier, the tents of climbers swayed in the wind.

Where's the party? we asked, looking at the deserted camp. In addition to two morons from New Zealand who were photographed by a “talking stone” with their pants down, and a handful of curious tourists who, like us, came to see the heroes of Everest, there was nobody. Foreigners immediately awarded me with three cameras and asked: "Photo, pliz!"

Are you on Everest? - we asked them.

Know-know, - the foreigners shook their heads and went to take pictures to the tents.

Like the three heroes standing at the "talking stone", we tried to find his answer: where should we go next?

The answer came down to us from somewhere under the clouds and waved friendly tracking poles. It was a 33-year-old Nepalese Shriya from Canada, with whom we had tea in Lobuch last night.

We threw herself into her arms, as if we had not seen each other for a hundred years.

Strange, the Nepalese in the Himalayas measure hours: to the monastery - two hours, to the village - four and a half, and to Everest - seven days. And time here seems to be measured in kilometers. You walked today 17 km, and 12 km ago you met Russian tourists, 5 km back you drank tea, and after 3 km you go to bed. But if you freeze on the spot, time is running out somewhere without you.

In the mountains, in order to climb, you must go down, ”explained Sriya to the subtleties of mountain climbing. First down - for acclimatization and breathe oxygen, then up - put up a tent, throw a ladder through the gorge and again down - for the night.

When I climbed to the second camp (6600 m), in front of me was a sherp who had conquered Mount Everest six times. He did not attach the safety rope to the railing and fell into the crevice, splashing the ice with blood.

After this incident, an elderly German woman refused to climb. She silently sat next to us in Lobuch and mechanically drank tea, staring at one point. Her ascent, for which she had been preparing for more than one year, ended at an altitude of 6600 meters.

Tomorrow I go there, ”she said, and pointed to the road along which climbers go to the sky.

In New Zealand, Sir Edmund Hillary, the man who accomplished the impossible for his time, was gone - he first conquered the highest mountain peak in the world of Everest (Chomolungma).

The legendary climber became the most famous New Zealander ever lived, not only thanks to his ascent, but also to charitable activities. For many years, Hillary has devoted himself to improving the conditions in which Nepalese Sherpas live, who often serve as porters in climbing groups.

An honorary citizen of New Zealand and Nepal, Edmund Hillary passed away at the age of 88. His health has seriously deteriorated in the last six months after he unsuccessfully fell while in Nepal.

Climber was born in 1919 in New Zealand Auckland. During the Second World War, Hillary served as a military pilot, and then engaged in mountaineering.

The famous climb to Mount Everest was completed by Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953, together with the Nepalese Sherpa Tencin Norgay, who lives in southern Nepal.

On that day, they climbed the 8848-meter peak of the Himalayan peak on the border of Nepal and India, hoisting the flags of Great Britain, Nepal, India and the UN on the top.

The news of this appeared on June 2, 1953, on the day of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, who honored Hillary with a knighthood. Sherp Tengin Norgay received a medal from the Queen.

Edmund Hillary worked with Sherpas in Nepal for many years: with the money of his foundation, hospitals and clinics, bridges, a small airfield and about 30 schools were built. In 2003, when the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the conquest of Everest, the New Zealander was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of Nepal.

The first Soviet conquerors of Everest

A lot has been written and said about the history of the conquest of Everest. For the first time, Soviet climbers, Vladimir Balyberdin and Eduard Myslovsky, climbed the highest peak in the world on May 4, 1982.

Within five days, nine more climbers climbed Mount Everest: Sergey Bershov and Mikhail Turkevich, Vyacheslav Ivanov and Sergey Efimov, Kazbek Valiev and Valery Khrishchaty. The last to reach the top were Valery Khomutov, Vladimir Puchkov and Yuri Golodov. It happened on May 9th.

The success of this expedition was able to repeat Krasnoyarsk climbers only fifteen years later. And in 1998, Vladimir Lysenko made a single rafting on the Rong Chu River on the Tibetan side of Everest.

In the entire history of ascents to the highest mountain peak in the world, dozens of people died without reaching their goal.

According to statistics, until 1973, 28 people climbed to the top, and 29 died on the way to it. Among the dead and rock climber George Mallory, who three decades before Hillary went to storm the summit and went missing. Some mountaineering historians still attribute the primacy in conquering Mount Everest to Mallory.

Now climbing Everest is a popular tourist route that almost anyone can go. This is not surprising when you take into account the entire currently existing arsenal of aids and technical devices, including artificial oxygen cylinders.

The most unusual ascents to Everest

Meanwhile, now climbers do not cease to amaze with their risky ascents. So, in 1999, a resident of Nepal, Sherp Babu Shiri, spent 21 hours at the summit, and despite the fact that already at an altitude of 7,925 km a dead zone begins, where only one third of the oxygen that is present at sea level is concentrated.

The record holder for visiting the summit of Everest is Sherp Ang Rita, who in 1996 visited here 10 times without oxygen tanks. Four years later, his record was broken by another resident of Nepal - Sherpa Apa, who reached the summit for the 11th time.

In 2001, the blind feat of climbing Mount Everest was accomplished by the blind American Eric Weichenmeier. By that time, he had already conquered all the highest mountain peaks on all seven continents.

"Climbing the seven highest mountains of seven continents, I was hoping to show people that goals that may seem unattainable are actually achievable," Weichenmeier said in a statement.

At present, the success of the expedition depends on the weather and equipment of travelers. Nevertheless, climbing the highest mountain of the world should be considered a great test for everyone, regardless of the degree of his preparation. After all, getting to a height of 8,848 meters is still half the battle, you still have to overcome the hardest descent, for example, on a snowboard, as Stefan Gatt did in 2001.

The material was prepared by the online edition of www.rian.ru based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The idea to conquer the highest mountain, for the first time, occurred to man most likely in the most ancient times, long before any civilization appeared, but only on May 29, 1953 at 11.30 a.m. New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became the first people, which Everest submitted to, a mountain - the height of which is 8850 meters.

This news became known to the whole world on June 2, the day of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, which the British hailed as a good omen for the future of their country.

Everest - the majestic Chomolungma, located on top of the Great Himalayas in Asia on the border between Nepal and Tibet. In Tibetan, this peak is called Chomolungma, which means "Mother Earth Goddess", the English name is given in honor of Sir George Everest, a 19th-century British geographer in India. The summit of Everest is two-thirds of the thickness of the entire air atmosphere of the Earth. This is almost the maximum cruising altitude of jet airliners. The oxygen content there is extremely low, and the temperature is very low, the weather is completely unpredictable and very dangerous.

The first recorded attempt to conquer Everest was made in 1921 by a British expedition, which overcame more than 400 miles of a difficult path along the Tibetan plateau to get to the foot of this great mountain. A severe storm forced them to interrupt their ascent, but members of the expedition, among whom was George Lee Mallory, then famous, determined a possible route to the peak from the north. To the journalist’s question, “Why do you want to climb this mountain?”, Mallory joked: “Because it exists.”

During the second British expedition in 1922, climbers George Finch and Jeffrey Bruce reached an altitude of 8230 meters. In Mallory's next attempt that same year, seven porters Sherpas died in an avalanche. The tribe of Sherpas, who have long lived in the highland province of Khumbu, from the first attempts to conquer Everest, assisted in expeditions because of their ability to easily tolerate large heights.

In 1924, on the third English expedition to Everest, Edward Norton reached an altitude of 8500 meters without the use of oxygen devices. After him, the malling peaks of Mallory and Andrew Irwin climbed about the same height, but after that no one else saw them alive. In 1999, Mallory's body was found on the slope of Everest. Whether they reached the summit with Irwin or not, remains a mystery.

Several of the same attempts to reach the summit from the north from Tibet were unsuccessful. After World War II, Tibet was closed to foreigners. In 1949, Nepal opened its doors to the outside world, and in 1950 and 1951 several British expeditions undertook exploratory expeditions along the southern route.

In 1952, Raymond Lambert, a member of the Swiss expedition, and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached an altitude of 8600 meters, but were forced to turn back due to a gale and severe cooling. Learning about the movements of the Swiss, the British in 1953 organized a large expedition under the command of Colonel John Hunt. In addition to the best British climbers, the expedition included New Zealanders George Lowe, Edmund Hillary and experienced sherpa Tenzing Norgay. By the way, they write that Edmund Hillary was not a professional climber, but an ordinary beekeeper.

In April and May, a route was laid through the Khumbu glacier and through Lhotse along the southern slope. Having prepared several intermediate camps, the expedition began the ascent. Members of the expedition were equipped with special insulated boots and clothing, as well as had a walkie-talkie and oxygen devices.

May 26, Charles Evans and Tom Bourdillon went on the first assault to the summit, but they had to turn back, the summit of Everest remained untouched, due to the breakdown of one of the oxygen cylinders, it did not reach only 300 feet.

May 28, Hillary and Norgay tried again. With the help of an escort, they equipped a high-altitude camp at 27,900 feet. After spending some night there, in the morning they set off. At 9 a.m. they reached the southern peak. Then they spent more than an hour to overcome the cliff that stood in the way.

After that, having passed the last snowdrifts, about 11 hours and 30 minutes climbers were at the top of the peak. We stayed at the top for about 15 minutes. Hillary took a picture of Tenzing on top, he refused to be photographed. Then they started the return descent.

In the upper camp, they were met by attendants. After their descent to the base camp, John Hunt sent a runner with a message to Namche Bazar from where the encoded message was sent to London.

On June 1, on the eve of her coronation, Queen Elizabeth II found out about this achievement. And the next day, the news spread all over the world. In the same year, Hillary and Hunt were knighted by the queen. Tenzing was unable to obtain a knighthood for political reasons, but in return received the reward of St. George. So Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay entered the history of the world by people who conquered the highest mountain in the world.

In 1960, the Chinese expedition was the first to climb the Chomolungma from Tibet, and in 1963, James Whittaker became the first American to climb Mount Everest. In 1975, Tabei Janko from Japan became the first woman to reach the top. Three years later, Messner from Italy and Peter Habeler from Austria achieved what was previously considered impossible, they conquered the summit, without oxygen devices.

For all the time, almost two hundred climbers died trying to conquer the mountain. The biggest tragedy occurred in 1996, when eight climbers from different countries died during a severe storm. But despite all these dangers, Everest and now attracts many climbers from all over the world who want to visit the roof of the world. The flow of those going for an assault does not decrease.

Video: Who was the first to conquer Everest?

Who first conquered Everest?

The message, which circled the world in early May 1999, did not leave any of the climbers indifferent. According to ITAR-TASS, the body of Mallory, the leader of the English expedition of 1924, was found 70 meters from the summit of Everest. According to this information, the Russian press, based on comments from experts, including mine, unequivocally concluded that Mallory reached the top. And therefore, it is necessary to rewrite the history of the conquest of the highest mountain of the Earth. (Until now, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Norgay Tenzing, who climbed Mount Everest on May 29, 1953, were considered to be pioneers.)

The message, which circled the world in early May 1999, did not leave any of the climbers indifferent. According to ITAR-TASS, the body of Mallory, the leader of the English expedition of 1924, was found 70 meters from the summit of Everest. According to this information, the Russian press, based on comments from experts, including mine, unequivocally concluded that Mallory reached the top. And therefore, it is necessary to rewrite the history of the conquest of the highest mountain of the Earth. (Until now, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Norgay Tenzing, who climbed Mount Everest on May 29, 1953, were considered to be pioneers.)

However, as it turned out later, the body was found much lower - at an altitude of 8230 m; it is not clear where ITAR-TASS received other information from.

After reading the article “The Mystery of Everest Unraveled” in the Izvestia newspaper, on May 5 I received a call from V. Simonenko from Kiev, who daily talks on a satellite phone with Art. the coach of the Ukrainian expedition M. Gorbenko, who is in the base camp near Everest. Mstislav said: “The top from the north, from the side of Tibet, 12 expeditions stormed this spring. All but Ukrainian use oxygen and have Sherpas in their composition. There is also a large (45 people) expedition of the Americans, whose task (besides climbing) is to find the missing in 1924 Mallory and Irwin. On the evening of April 29, Ukrainian climbers climbed to a height of 8230 m and erected a tent, and in the morning found that it was actually placed on the body of the deceased climber. The tent was moved higher up the slope by 20 m. On May 1, an American went up to the same place, accompanied by two Sherpas. Only 15 minutes was enough for them to determine by clothing that this was one of the participants in the 1924 expedition. No one above 8230 m from the north. ”

On the jacket of the deceased there was a label of the manufacturer of clothes. The back was bare. A tag with the name Mallory was found on the clothes. An oxygen cylinder of the 1924 expedition was also found. With the consent of relatives, a skin sample was taken from the body to accurately confirm the identity of the deceased by biopsy.

The climbers of Uzbekistan (led by R. Rajapov) went to the same place a year ago on the night of May 16-17, they also set up a tent, and in the morning, seeing that they had a body under them, they moved it. 5 m from them was a tent of the Russian expedition (headed by B. Sedusov).

In the distant 1924, almost a calm morning on June 8, two went from camp 6 (8170 m) to the summit along the northeast ridge: an associate professor from Cambridge, an experienced high-altitude man George Mallory and a student who first arrived in the Himalayas, Andrew Irwin (22 of the year). They had with them the oxygen apparatus with two cylinders and the most necessary things. From the highest point of the mountain they were separated by a height difference of only 678 m. Their friend, professor of geology N. Odell, followed both of camp 6 (where he went lightly from camp 5 that day) with field binoculars. They moved along the ridge to the so-called second stage. At 12:55, Mallory and Irwin disappeared from view in the clouds. They were not destined to return.

Odell waited a long time for them at Camp 6, and at 5 p.m. he set off downstairs. At 19 o’clock he was already at Camp 3, where, along with other observers, he began to expect the return of climbers who had left for the assault. The night was unusually cold. Odell, for example, could not fall asleep, although he immediately wrapped himself in two sleeping bags.

On June 9, Odell with two porters climbed to Camp 5 (7600 m), and on June 10 came alone to Camp 6 (porters refused to go above 7600 m). Everything in the tent there remained in the same form as it was two days ago. No new traces of people staying were noticeable. Odell climbed above the camp and many times looked intensely all the way from the top to the rib and back.

The conquest of Everest was the purpose of Mallory's life. He gained world fame even before his disappearance in the mountains. when, to the question of the American reporter, why is he going to climb Mount Everest, he answered: "Because he is." Mallory wrote: “The spirit of adventure must not die. And if you have to pay for his salvation with life, then of that? It would be a sacrifice for a good purpose ... "

Returning home, Odell initially announced that he had seen climbers above the Second Step (8685 m) against the sky. But later he changed his mind and said that Mallory and Irwin must have overcome only the lower First Step (8550 m).

R. Messner also believes that the two climbers were able to overcome only the First stage, since the route up the Second stage passed along the inner corner and was not visible from the place where Odell was. The observation was conducted in the afternoon, so there was too little time for Mallory and Irwin to climb the Second Step, reach the summit and return to darkness. Messner, who alone stormed Everest from the north, discussed this issue in London with expedition veterans D. Noel and Odell. But together they could not solve the riddle - were there at the top of Mallory and Irwin.

Shi-Zhangchun, president of the China Mountaineering Federation, speaking in Los Angeles in December 1981, said that the 1960 Chinese expedition saw much evidence of the British staying on the northern wall of Everest even before World War II. He said a piece of Manila rope and a short wooden pole were discovered above the Second Step. This evidence would have to prove that Mallory and Irwin did indeed overcome this stumbling block. If so, then the achievement of the double top becomes real. ( From the second stage to the top, walk about 2 hours. - V.Sh.) Two oxygen tanks were found below. However, when Shi indicated the location of the finds in the photograph, it turned out that all of them were below the First Step or at the site of Camp 6.

Chis later met Chris Bonington and asked about the finds. Shi again showed the place in the photographs - below the First Step. The Chinese also found the oxygen system in good condition, there were 20 atmospheres of gas in the cylinder. But it also does not belong to Mallory and Irwin, but was abandoned by the Englishman Peter Lloyd during the descent from 8325 m on June 8, 1938.

Shi does not explain why he hid the findings of their expedition for 21 years. Information about the pole, rope and oxygen tanks was not included in Shea reports published shortly after the ascent. It was the first successful expedition to Everest from the north.

The Chinese, of course, are very sensitive about prestige. Perhaps the find was kept a secret because they were afraid to give priority to reaching the summit of Mallory and Irwin, whose achievement would diminish the achievement of the Chinese. After all, in 1960, three Chinese climbed to the top at night, so they could not show any photos from the top, nor rock samples, etc. For a long time, climbers (mostly English and Americans) did not recognize the Chinese ascent.

On May 30, 1933, Harris and Weiger discovered one piece of equipment that belonged to the missing members of the 1924 expedition. It was an Irvine ice ax. The name of the blacksmith Willisch and the place of production were engraved on the stainless steel point. The ice ax lay among brown-brown stones 299 m east of the First step and 18 m under the ridge leading to the summit.

During one of the expeditions, fate brought the Japanese climber Hasegawa with the Chinese porter Wang Hongbyao, who participated in a major Chinese expedition to Everest in 1975. Wang told the Japanese that he had stumbled upon two corpses at altitudes of 6508 and 8100 m. Hasegawa from the very beginning it was clear whose corpse lay below. It was Maurice Wilson, an eccentric native of Yorkshire, obsessed with the idea of \u200b\u200bconquering Everest. Death overtook him in 1934 when, after repeated unsuccessful attempts to storm the Northern saddle, the exhausted Englishman died in his tent.

But who was the second dead? Wang believed that this was another “ingenzhen”, as the English are called in Chinese. “I could not be mistaken,” Hasegawa assures. Wang also told him that some of the clothes of the deceased were destroyed by touch, “danced in the air,” and carried away by the wind. Hasegawa was not able to ask Van in more detail - the next day, the Chinese, along with two other porters, died under an avalanche. Hasegawa was the lead in the four-member team and also turned out to be captured by an avalanche, but he was lucky enough to get off with five broken ribs.

It can be assumed that on May 1, 1999, Mallory's body was found. It was just 60 meters from the tent, from which Mallory and Irwin left June 8th. Perhaps on June 9, Mallory had a few steps to cover. And Odell again returned to a tent only on May 10 at an altitude of 8170 m and rose above the camp. How much? Why didn't he notice anything? Not far from this place, an Irvine ice ax was found earlier, and perhaps his body is somewhere nearby. However, it is unlikely that any of them reached the summit of Mount Everest on June 8, 1924.

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For those who love Everest and are interested in history and the real ascent to it, the new numbers that have conquered the summit will always be a significant event.

On December 4, 2017, the database of the Himalayan ascents was updated, including information on climbing Mount Everest in its entire history.

More broadly, the Himalayan Database includes the fixation of ascents to almost all of the Himalayan peaks open for ascension on the territory of Nepal and Tibet, from 1905 to the present.
This base is maintained by a small group of enthusiasts, led by many decades. During this time she became an unofficial chronicler of mountaineering in the Himalayas. Her database of historical ascents and achievements has been accepted by all climbers of the world.

And today, despite her advanced age, Elizabeth Hawley remains an active participant in the annalistic history of Everest, she personally interviews the expeditions, both before their ascent and after completion.

Everest in numbers from Elizabeth Howley

As of December 4, 2017, the final score of climbers who climbed Everest in the 2017 season is 648 people. In percentage terms, about 61% of all climbers who left the base camp reached the summit of Everest in the 2017 season.
Of these, 440 people rose from the southern, Nepalese side, 202 people from the northern (Tibetan-Chinese) side.
17 climbers tried to climb to the top without using oxygen tanks and 11 of them succeeded!

During the 2017 season, 6 climbers died on the slope of Everest: five deaths on the south side and one on the north.

Number of climbers conquering Everest:

The number of climbers who climbed Everest as of December 2018

Statistics from Nepal:

By seasons:

Statistics from Tibet:

By seasons:

In the entire history of the conquest of Everest:

• Total climbers climbing Mount Everest since the beginning of its history: 9044 people, excluding repeated ascents.
• from its southern (Nepalese) side, it climbed 5817 times to the top,
• while from the north (the Tibetan-Chinese side) 3227 times climbed to the top.

Of the 9044 ascents, approximately 211 were completed without the use of oxygen tanks. This is 2.33%. It would seem a small value. But, if you look at other statistics: of the 274 dead on Everest, 159 were among those who did not use additional oxygen!

A remarkable fact is that out of 9044 people in the entire history of Everest, only 265 climbers (197 foreigners and 68 Sherpas) climbed the top of the mountain on non-standard routes.

Countries with the highest number of climbs on non-standard routes: Japan (30), USA (26), USSR (23), South Korea (23), Russia (16)

Death on Everest

As of December 4, 2017 (since 1921), 288 people are considered officially dead. Of these, 173 are foreign climbers and 115 Sherpas.
181 climbers died when climbing from the south side in a percentage of 3.4% of the total number of successful climbs, 107 people - when climbing from the north - this is 3.3% of the total number of successful climbs

Since 1990, mortality on Everest as a percentage of the age of up to 5.1% due to improved quality of climbing equipment, improved weather forecasting and increased willingness to climb to the top, participating in commercial expeditions.

Despite the fact that Everest is the leader in the number of deaths, in the overall statistics of eight-thousanders it occupies almost the last line in absolute terms: 1.23
Thus, Annapurna, the tenth highest eight-thousander of the world, still remains the deadliest peak in the world: in these expeditions, mortality reaches 3.91, and in specific figures: 261 ascents to 71 deaths, i.e. 28%.
In second place is K2 (Chogori): the ratio of ascents to deaths is 355 ascents to 82 deaths, that is 23%.
The safest eight-thousander is considered Cho-Oyu: 3681 ascents account for 50 deaths or 0.55%

According to Everest statistics, from 1921 to 2017, on average 4 climbers die in the climbing season
Between 2000 and 2018, an average of 6.5 climbers die in the climbing season, but this figure is more due to the tragedies of 2014 and 2015.

Considering the mortality rates from 1900 to 2017, it can be noted that they are essentially the same for both foreign climbers and sherpas, and are 1.18 and 1.9, respectively.
But when commercial expeditions came to Everest in large numbers, since 1990, the mortality rate of customers rose to 2.09.
In the modern era of commercialization, mortality among clients and employees has declined to 1.04 and 0.64, respectively.

Despite the fact that the reputation of the safe climbing route from Nepal was shaky in 2014 and 2015, there were also many accidents on the side of Tibet.
In 2004 and 2006, 6 and 8 climbers respectively died. The last year without death on the side of Tibet was in 2016, and on the side of Nepal in 2010.
The last time Everest saw no deaths on either side, it was 1981!

A remarkable fact is that out of 8306 people in the entire history of Everest, only 265 climbers (197 foreigners and 68 sherpas) climbed the top of the mountain on non-standard routes.
Of these ascents, there were 80 deaths, of which 50 foreign climbers and 30 Sherpas - this is 27% of the total mortality rate on Everest!
This partially explains why standard routes are the most popular among commercial operators - they have lower risks.

Everest Climbing Statistics

One of the remarkable features of Everest statistics is the fact that over the past two years the number of foreign climbers climbing from the northern, Chinese side has been steadily growing, but from the traditional, Nepalese side, it has been decreasing.
If you look at a larger time period, you can see that such indicators were in the 2010 season, when 85 climbers climbed to the top from the side of Tibet, and 175 climbers from the side of Nepal. In 2017, there were 120 and 199, respectively, the difference was 34% and 13%.
At such a pace, in just a couple - three years, China can overtake Nepal in popularity of climbing Mount Everest.

Of course, a number of events, both natural and political-economic, had an impact on the development of mountaineering on both sides of the top of the world.
As the diagram shows, the popularity of the northern side of Everest began to gain momentum until 2008, when China “closed” the climbing stream in connection with the Olympic Games in China. This forced many tour operators not to risk their money in receiving permits from China and switch to the southern, Nepalese side.
Russell Bryce was perhaps the leading member of expeditions from the north from 1994 to 2007, having led 219 of his clients to the top, including 53 climbers in 2007.
But he switched to south side, after the north was closed in 2008, making a large contribution to the statistics of ascents from the Nepalese side.

The 2008 “failure” in the graph below shows the situation when, at the time of the Beijing Olympic Games, the Chinese government closed the northern side of Everest for climbing.
"Failure" in 2014 is associated with
"Failure" in 2015 is associated with

A terrible avalanche and the subsequent strike of the Sherpas forced the climbers to switch to the Chinese side again.
But strangely enough, the distribution of climbers on the sides of Everest had little effect on the statistics, since first of all this tragedy was considered as a natural disaster, not unique to either side, even though Everest was closed both from China and from Nepal .

One of the factors that can significantly affect the preponderance of “forces” is the recent increase in the cost of permits by the Chinese government to 9,500 US dollars, which is very close to the current figure from Nepal - 11,000 dollars.
Over time, we will see how the reaction goes, although, on the other hand, constantly introduced as well as a large number of landslides on the route, may lead most climbers to consider the Chinese side as more reliable and safe.
Moreover, in the immediate plans of the Chinese government is.

Climbing with and without oxygen

As before, climbing to the summit of Everest without the use of oxygen cylinders is a rarity, and in the entire history of the mountain only 208 people were able to climb without the use of oxygen cylinders.
However, if you look at the statistics of accidents, it turns out that out of 208 deaths on Everest, 168 climbers did not use oxygen cylinders; however, this gives a slightly misconception about the situation, because 199 deaths in the case of anoxic climbing were recorded with Sherpas involved in laying the route, passing through

This chart shows that climbers who use extra oxygen are two times more likely to climb to the top than those who don’t use oxygen tanks.

And from this diagram it can be seen that climbers who do not use additional oxygen die more often than those who do not use it.

Looking at the north side, we note that bad weather on it is the main factor in accidents, both for those who use oxygen cylinders, and for those who do not use them. However, for those climbers who do not use oxygen frostbite cylinders become the second factor for the causes of death.
For those climbers who come with oxygen cylinders, the second fact in mortality is the emptying of these same cylinders.

The northern side of Everest is known to be colder and windier than the south. This may explain why more climbers not using oxygen tanks have returned!
2017 was an exception with only opposite characteristics on the south side, when strong winds knocked climbers off the route, stopping several attempts to climb to the top without using oxygen tanks.
Looking at the south side, one can also say that bad weather is the main factor in accidents, both for those who use oxygen cylinders, and for those who do not use them.
However, here, the second leading cause of death is physical exhaustion, both for climbers with and without oxygen.

Sherpas on Everest

The work of the Sherpas has undergone a huge change on Everest, especially over the past 15 years: it was a time of explosive growth in the number of hired expedition members.
Of course, this is primarily due to the increasing role of commercial tour operators who hired at least 1 Sherpa per 5 clients, and today this figure has grown to 1 Sherpa per 2 clients!

This increase in customer sherpas was due to the increasing number of inexperienced customers, and the marketing campaign by travel companies - which guaranteed money to each of their clients a sherpa on top of Everest

In 1992, when the commercialization of Everest was just beginning, 22 Sherpas for 65 clients worked on expeditions from the South, Nepalese side.
In 2017, there were already 212 Sherpas and 199 customers.
On the north side, the situation is as follows: in 2000, the ratio of sherpas to customers was 17:38, in 2017 it was already 117: 120!

Women on Everest

As for women on Everest, it is noted that 536 women climbed to the summit of Everest, of which 497 did it for the first time, which means that 39 women climbed Everest more than once in their lives.

Considering the average mortality on Everest, we can get a figure of 4.8 people per year. If we take the period from 2000 to 2016, we can see that this figure is 6.9 people per year.

The very first woman on Everest was

The most multiple climber on Everest is a Nepalese climber!

Two Ukrainians also visited Everest: became the first Ukrainian woman on Everest.
It is noteworthy that the very next day the second Ukrainian -.

Statistical Results of Everest as of 2018

Some statistics on climbing Everest in its history

• 2 full solo ascents
• 34 Everest Traverse
• 22 ski / snowboard slopes
• 13 paragliding (paragliding)
• 1 unauthorized ascent
• 20 controversial ascents
• 14 unrecognized ascents

Interesting facts about Everest

• Geography
  
  
  • Everest height 29,035 feet or 8,848 meters
  • Ascent passes along the border of Nepal (from the south) and from Tibet (from the north)
  • Everest formed about 60 million years ago
  • Everest formed as a result of the collision of the Indian tectonic plate and the Asian tectonic plate
  • Everest grows by about 6 mm every year
  • Everest consists of various types of slate, limestone and marble.
  • Everest's rocky peak is covered in deep snow throughout the year.
• Weather
  
  
  • On Everest all year round strong winds blow
  • Wind speed can reach values \u200b\u200bof 320 km / h
  • The temperature at the top of Everest can reach -63 degrees Celsius
  • In mid-May of each year, the weather conditions on Everest become accepted for the ascent, this short period is called the “weather window”. There is a similar period in the fall: in November of each year.
  • During weather windows, temperatures can reach +35 degrees