Mount Everest history. The very first ascent of Everest. How to get to base camp

Everest is the highest mountain on the planet, strewn with the corpses of its conquerors, about whom no one cares

Mount Everest is the highest point on the planet. Its height, according to various sources, ranges from 8844 to 8852 meters. Everest is located in the Himalayas on the border between Nepal and China. At the top of Everest, located in China, strong winds blow at speeds of up to 200 km/h, and the air temperature drops to -60 °C at night.

The history of conquering the highest point on the planet began in 1920, when the Dalai Lama first allowed British climbers here. According to statistics, about 1,500 people have climbed the mountain since then...

...and according to various estimates, from 120 to 200 people of different nationalities (including Russians) remained there forever. Both new and experienced climbers die on Everest. But not many people know that the dead remain where their fate overtook them. Everest has long been turned into a cemetery. Bodies lie on the slopes of Everest for years, some for decades, and no one is in a hurry to bring them down for burial.

Anyone who plans to climb to the top must understand that he has a chance of not returning. When climbing, not everything depends on you. Hurricane winds, a frozen valve on an oxygen cylinder, incorrect timing, an avalanche, exhaustion, etc. - all this can lead to the death of a climber.

The first conqueror of Everest and his first victim was the British climber George Mallory. In 1924, he and his group went to the top, but at an altitude of 8500 meters they lost sight of him, and for as much as 75 years. For many years they wondered whether Mallory had reached his highest point, and only in 1999 his remains were found very close to it. The body with a broken hip lay towards the top, which means up to last seconds In his life, the Englishman tried to literally crawl up the mountain of his dreams.

Alas, he was not the hero of Everest: only in 1953 did New Zealander Edmund Hillary, together with a Nepalese Sherpa, reach the peak of Everest. And after these two, daredevils from many countries of the world approached Everest from different directions. For some it became simply a personal feat, others set historical records here.

But man does not always triumph over harsh nature. Submitting to the people, the mountain collects a ransom of their lives. More than 200 people have died on Everest in 60 years. Until the 90s, the mortality rate here was a record 37%; in recent years it has dropped to 4%. Even on neighboring Himalayan peaks, also above 8,000 meters, this percentage is higher. But it is on Everest that death takes on its most dramatic overtones. People die here not only from injuries and fatigue, but often because of the vain indifference of their neighbors.

A simple example: in 1996, a group of Japanese climbers, while climbing, came across three freezing Indian colleagues. The Japanese went further to the top, all the Indians died. In 1998, rock climber Sergei Arsentiev and his American wife Frances made an oxygen-free ascent of Everest, but the mountain did not let them go. The couple missed each other in a snowstorm, Sergei, while searching for his wife, went missing, his body was found only a few years later. And Frances died for two days on the descent. Several groups passed by without providing any assistance. And only another British couple interrupted their expedition in an attempt to save the dying woman. They could no longer do anything, and almost dying from the cold themselves, they returned back. A year later, the Woodhalls finally made their ascent and saw a dead woman in the place where they left her last time. For the next 8 years they saved money to return to Everest in order to bury Frances. After all, climbing the mountain is not cheap. For access to the mountain alone, the Chinese side charges $5,500 for a group of 20 people, the Nepalese side charges about 70 thousand for a team of seven climbers.

Another Everest tragedy shocked the whole world in 2006. 42 people walked indifferently past David Sharp, who was dying without oxygen! One of them were television crews from the Discovery Channel, who asked Sharpe a couple of questions, gave him oxygen and left him alone. Another was amputee Mark Inglis, who made an unprecedented climb using artificial limbs. He did not sacrifice his unique expedition for the sake of a dying man. Ultimately, Inglis reached the top, becoming a hero with a stained conscience. The first conqueror of Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary, said indignantly:

On our expedition it was unthinkable that we would leave someone in trouble to die. Human life was, is and will be much more important than the top of the mountain.

However, more than 120 bodies still remain unburied on the slopes of Everest, over which the next conquerors have to literally step.

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

On December 4, 2017, the Himalayan Climbing Database was updated, including information on Everest ascents throughout its history.

In a broader sense, the Himalayan Database includes records of ascents of virtually all open Himalayan peaks in Nepal and Tibet, from 1905 to the present day.
This base is supported by a small group of enthusiasts, headed by . During this time, she became the unofficial chronicler of mountaineering in the Himalayas. Its database of historical ascents and achievements has been adopted by all climbers around the world.

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

Everest by the numbers by Elizabeth Hawley

As of December 4, 2017, the final count of climbers who conquered Everest in the 2017 season is 648 people. As a percentage, about 61% of all climbers who left base camp reached the summit of Everest in the 2017 season.
Of these, 440 people climbed 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 who have conquered Everest:

Number of climbers who have conquered Everest as of December 2018

Statistics from Nepal:

By season:

Statistics from Tibet:

By season:

Throughout the history of conquering Everest:

• Total number of climbers who have climbed Everest since the beginning of its history: 9044 people, excluding repeated ascents.
• from the southern (Nepal) side of it, the summit was climbed 5817 times,
• while from the north (Tibetan-Chinese side) the summit was climbed 3227 times.

Of the 9,044 ascents, approximately 211 were completed without the use of oxygen tanks. This is 2.33%. It would seem to matter little. But, if you look at other statistics: of the 274 deaths on Everest, 159 were from 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 to the top of the mountain along non-standard routes.

Countries with nai big amount ascents along non-standard routes: Japan (30), USA (26), USSR (23), South Korea(23), Russia (16)

Deaths on Everest

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

Since 1990, mortality on Everest as a percentage of age has risen to 5.1% due to improved quality of climbing equipment, better weather forecasting and more people willing to reach the summit participating in commercial expeditions.

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

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

Looking at 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, from 1990, the mortality rate of clients increased to 2.09.
In the modern era of commercialization, mortality among clients and employees has dropped to 1.04 and 0.64, respectively.

Although the reputation of a safe climbing route on the Nepal side was tarnished in 2014 and 2015, there were also many accidents on the Tibet side.
In 2004 and 2006, 6 and 8 climbers died, respectively. The last year without deaths on the Tibet side was 2016, and on the Nepal side was 2010.
The last time Everest didn't see death on both sides was 1981!

A remarkable fact is that out of 8,306 people in the entire history of Everest, only 265 climbers (197 foreigners and 68 Sherpas) climbed to the top of the mountain using non-standard routes.
Of these climbs there were 80 deaths, of which 50 were foreign climbers and 30 Sherpas - that's 27% of the total death rate on Everest!
This partly explains why standard routes are the most popular among commercial operators - they carry 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 increasing, while on the contrary, from the traditional Nepalese side, it has been decreasing.
If you look at a longer time period, you will notice that similar indicators were in the 2010 season, when 85 climbers climbed to the top from the Tibet side, and 175 climbers from the Nepal side. In 2017, there were 120 and 199, respectively, the difference being 34% and 13%.
At this rate, in just a couple of years, China may overtake Nepal in the popularity of climbing Everest.

Of course, a number of events, both natural and political-economic, influenced the development of mountaineering on both sides of the top of the world.
As the chart shows, the popularity of the north side of Everest began to gain momentum until 2008, when China "closed" the climbing flow in connection with the Olympic Games in China. This forced many tour operators not to risk their money in obtaining permits from China and move to the southern, Nepalese side.
Russell Bryce was perhaps the leading figure in North Face expeditions between 1994 and 2007, guiding 219 of his clients to the summit, including 53 climbers in 2007.
But he also switched to the southern side, after the northern one was closed in 2008, making his great contribution to the statistics of ascents from the Nepalese side.

The 2008 "failure" in the above graph shows the situation when the Chinese government closed the northern side of Everest to climbing during the Olympic Games in Beijing.
The "failure" in 2014 is associated with
The "failure" in 2015 is associated with

A terrible avalanche and subsequent Sherpa strike forced the climbers to cross over to the Chinese side again.
But oddly enough, the distribution of climbers on the sides of Everest had little effect on the statistics, since, first of all, this tragedy was viewed as a natural disaster, not unique to either side, even despite the fact that Everest was closed from both China and Nepal .

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

Climbing with and without oxygen

Climbing to the top of Everest without the use of oxygen cylinders is still rare, 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 accident statistics, it turns out that of the 208 deaths on Everest, 168 climbers did not use oxygen tanks; however, this gives a slightly incorrect picture of the situation, because 199 deaths in the case of anoxic ascent were recorded with Sherpas engaged in laying out the route passing through

This chart shows that climbers who use supplemental oxygen are twice as likely to reach the summit as those who do not use oxygen tanks

And from this diagram it is clear 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 on it bad weather is a major factor in accidents for both those who use oxygen cylinders and those who do not. However, for those climbers who do not use oxygen cylinders, frostbite becomes the second cause of death.
For those climbers who carry oxygen cylinders, the second factor in mortality is the emptying of these same cylinders.

The north side of Everest is known to be colder and windier than the south. This may explain why more climbers who don't use oxygen tanks are back!
2017 was an exception with only the opposite characteristics on the south side, when strong winds knocked climbers off the route, stopping several attempts to reach the summit without using oxygen tanks.
Looking south, it can also be said that bad weather is a major factor in accidents, both for those who use oxygen tanks 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 Sherpas on Everest has undergone a huge change, especially over the past 15 years: this has been a time of explosive growth in the number of hired expedition participants.
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 risen to 1 Sherpa per 2 clients!

This increase in Sherpas per client was due to the increasing number of inexperienced clients, and a marketing move on the part of travel companies - which, for money, guaranteed each of their clients a Sherpa on the top of Everest

In 1992, when the commercialization of Everest was just beginning, there were 22 Sherpas working on expeditions from the southern, Nepalese side for 65 clients.
In 2017 there were already 212 Sherpas and 199 clients.
On the northern side, the situation is as follows: in 2000, the Sherpa-client ratio was 17:38, in 2017 it was already 117:120!

Women on Everest

Regarding women on Everest, it is noted that a total of 536 women have climbed to the top of Everest, 497 of whom have done so for the first time, which means that 39 women have climbed Everest more than once in their lives.

Calculating the average mortality rate 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 repeated climber of Everest is a Nepalese climber!

Two Ukrainian women also visited Everest: The first Ukrainian woman on Everest was.
It is noteworthy that the very next day the second Ukrainian climbed to the top - .

Statistical results of Everest as of 2018

Some statistics about Everest climbs throughout its history

• 2 full solo ascents
• 34th traverse of Everest
• 22 ski/snowboard slopes
• 13 paragliding flights (paragliding descents)
• 1 unauthorized climb
• 20 controversial ascents
• 14 unrecognized ascents

Interesting facts about Everest

• Geography
  
  
  • Everest height is 29035 feet or 8848 meters
  • The ascent follows the border of Nepal (from the south) and from Tibet (from the north)
  • Everest was formed about 60 million years ago
  • Everest was formed as a result of the collision of the Indian tectonic plate and the Asian tectonic plate
  • Everest is growing by about 6mm every year
  • Everest consists of various types slate, limestone and marble
  • The rocky peak of Everest is covered with deep snow throughout the year
• Weather
  
  
  • Everest has strong winds all year round
  • Wind speed can reach 320 km/h
  • Temperatures at the top of Everest can reach -63 degrees Celsius
  • In mid-May every year, weather Everest becomes 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

A severe test for climbers

Climbing Mount Everest has presented one of the toughest challenges for climbers since 1852, when explorations revealed it to be the highest point on the earth's surface. Only 101 years later, on May 29, 1953 at 11:30 a.m., a person first climbed to the top of the world - Mount Everest. “I looked at Tenzing and, despite the fact that his face was hidden by a knitted helmet, goggles and an oxygen mask, completely covered with icicles, I saw that he was looking around with an infectious smile.”

These lines were written by New Zealander Edmund Hillary at the moment when he and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay became conquerors highest peak world, rising 8848 meters above sea level. Newspapers reported that the climbers had reached a height of 8,840 meters, according to measurements taken by a British expedition in the mid-19th century. It is now generally accepted that the height of Everest corresponds to measurements taken by an Indian government expedition in 1954, a year after the historic ascent.

Hillary and Norgay

Hillary and Norgay spent 15 jubilant minutes on top of the world, and each left Everest a gift as a token of gratitude: Norgay buried candy and cookies as an offering to the deities of the mountain, Hillary left a cross. The quarter hour at the summit was the culmination of many months of intense and meticulous planning, as well as the combined efforts of a team of 10 climbers and 5 Sherpa guides. Three days earlier, an attempt by two other members of the expedition had failed, but Hillary and Norgay returned victorious and reported that the “symmetrical, beautiful cone covered with snow” was noticeably different from the gloomy rocky ridge visible from below. Just a week later, on June 7, Hillary and the head of the expedition, English Colonel John Hunt, were knighted, and Norgay was awarded the British George Cross.

News of the expedition's success reached Great Britain on June 1, on the eve of the coronation of Elizabeth II, and the next day pushed the description of the coronation outfit onto the back page of the News Chronicle, on the front page of which was the headline: "Crown of Glory: Everest Conquered."

Everest tragedies

By the way, Edmund Hillary was a professional beekeeper. In 1958 he traveled to South Pole, in 1985 - to the Northern. In 1990, his son Peter climbed to the top of Everest, and 18 years later the first conqueror of Everest, Edmund Hilary (1919-2008), died.

The conquest of Everest was accompanied by a large number of previous tragedies: although to date more than 1,000 climbers have already conquered the highest mountain in the world, about 200 people have died in different years while attempting to climb.

So, let's trace the entire chronology of events related to the conquest of Everest.

Chronology 1921-1975

1921 During the first reconnaissance expedition (British) sent to Everest, Dr. Kellas and an unnamed Sherpa died at the foot of the mountain and were the first to be included in the list of Everest casualties.

1922 During the second, also British expedition to Everest, seven Sherpas die in an avalanche below the North Col (pass) and become the first people to die while climbing Everest.

1924 Mallory and Irwin, part of the third British expedition to Everest, rise above 8534 m, but they fail to descend. (The question remains unclear when exactly they died - during the ascent or on the way back, therefore, having managed to be the first to reach the summit).

1953, May 29. Edmund Hillary ( New Zealand) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) become the first people to summit Everest.

1963 James Whittaker becomes the first American to reach the summit of Mt.

1975, May. The first woman to climb Everest is Junko Tabei (Japan). September. Dougal Haston (Scotland) and Doug Skope (England) become the first British men to conquer Everest.

Chronology 1978 - present day

1978 Reinhold Messner (Italy) and Peter Habeper (Austria) are the first to reach the summit without oxygen supplies.

1980 Reinhold Messner (Italy) makes the first solo ascent.

1984 Tim McCartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer become the first Australians to reach the summit, and at the same time the first to climb the North Face without oxygen.

Dmitry Demyanov, Samogo.Net (

Faktrum wants to tell you a few stories about conquering Everest. We warn you: the text is not for the impressionable!

1. 40 people passing by and one Discovery TV crew

The general public first became aware of the “horrible” morals that reign on the approaches to Everest in May 2006, when the circumstances of the death of David Sharp, a British climber who attempted to conquer the peak alone, became known. He never made it to the top, dying from hypothermia and oxygen deprivation, but it is noteworthy that a total of 40 people passed by the slowly freezing math teacher, and no one helped him. Among those passing by was a film crew from the Discovery TV channel, whose journalists interviewed the dying Sharp, left him oxygen and moved on.

The general public was outraged by the “immoral” act of those who “passed by,” but the truth is that no one could help Sharpe at such a height, even with all the desire. It was simply not humanly possible.

2. "Green Shoes"

It is unknown when the concept of “green boots” came into use among Everest conquerors and became folklore. But it is known for certain that they belong to the Indian climber Tsewang Paljor, one of the victims of the “Bloody May” of 1996 - that month a total of 15 people died on Everest. This is the largest number of victims in one season in the entire history of conquering the highest peak on the planet. For years, Paljor's green boots have been a landmark for those climbing the mountain.

In May 1996, several commercial expeditions climbed Everest at once - two American, one Japanese, one Indian and one Taiwanese. They are still arguing about who is to blame for the fact that most of their participants never returned. Several films were made based on the events of that May, and the surviving participants wrote several books. Some blame the weather, some blame the guides who began descending before their clients, some blame other expeditions that did not help those in distress or even hindered them.

3. The Arsentievs

In May 1998, the couple Francis and Sergei Arsentiev attempted to conquer Everest without supplemental oxygen. The idea is daring, but quite real - without additional equipment(minimum 10–12 kg) you can go up and down faster, but the risk of complete exhaustion from lack of oxygen is very high. If something goes wrong during the ascent or descent and climbers linger in the “death zone” longer than the physical capabilities of the body allow, inevitable death awaits them.

The couple spent five days in the base camp at an altitude of 8200 meters, twice their attempts to climb ended in failure, time passed, and so did their strength. Finally, on May 22, they went out for the third time and... conquered the summit.

However, during the descent, the couple lost sight of each other and Sergei was forced to descend alone. Frances lost too much strength and simply fell, unable to continue on her way. A few days later, an Uzbek group passed by the freezing Frances without helping her. But its participants told Sergei that they had seen his wife and he, taking oxygen cylinders, went in search... and died. His body was found much later.

The last people Frances saw and who, accordingly, saw her alive were British climbers Ian Woodall and Cathy O'Dowd, who spent several hours with the dying woman. According to them, she kept repeating “don’t leave me,” but the British could not help her and left, leaving her to die alone.

4. Perhaps the first true conquerors of Everest

It’s not for nothing that those who strive to conquer Everest say that it’s not enough to climb - until you descend, the peak cannot be considered conquered. If only because there will be no one to tell that you were really there. Such is the sad fate of climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irwin, who attempted to conquer Everest in 1924. Whether they reached the top or not is unknown.

In 1933, at an altitude of 8460 m, the hatchet of one of the climbers was found. In 1991, at an altitude of 8480 m, an oxygen cylinder manufactured in 1924 (and, accordingly, belonging to either Irwin or Mallory) was found. And finally, in 1999, Mallory’s body was found at an altitude of 8200 m. Neither a camera nor photographs of his wife were found with him. The latter fact makes researchers believe that either Mallory or both climbers still reached the summit, since Mallory, before going to Everest, told his daughter that he would definitely leave a photo of his wife at the top.

5. Everest does not forgive “not like everyone else”

Everest severely punishes those who try to act “not like everyone else.” It is not for nothing that most successful ascents are made either in May or in September-October - the rest of the year the weather on the mountain is not conducive to ascents and descents. It’s too cold (until May), weather conditions change too quickly, and the risk of avalanches is too high (in summer).

Bulgarian Hristo Prodanov decided to prove that climbing Everest in April is quite possible - to do something that no one has done before. He was a very experienced mountaineer who conquered many iconic peaks.

In April 1984, Christo attempted to climb Everest - alone and without oxygen. He successfully conquered the peak, becoming at the same time the first Bulgarian to set foot on the very high mountain planet and the first person to do so in April. However, on the way back he was caught in a fierce snowstorm and froze to death.

6. The creepiest corpse on Everest

Hannelore Schmatz became the first woman and first German citizen to die while approaching the summit of Everest. This happened in October 1979. However, she is famous not only for this reason and not because she died of exhaustion on the descent, having successfully conquered Everest, but because for a good 20 years her body frightened those who tried to conquer Everest. She, blackened in the cold, froze in a sitting position towards the climbers of Everest, with her eyes wide open and her hair flowing in the wind. They tried to lower her body from the top, but several expeditions failed, and the participants in one of them themselves died.

In the end, the mountain took pity and during one particularly strong storm at the beginning of the 2000s, Hannelore’s body was thrown into the abyss.

7. Keep anniversaries alive

Sherpa Lobsang Tshering, nephew of Tenzing Norgay, the first official conqueror of Everest, decided to make the climb in May 1993 in memory of what his uncle had done. Fortunately, the 40th anniversary of the conquest of the mountain was just approaching. However, Everest does not really like “celebrants of the day” - Schering successfully climbed the highest mountain on the planet, but died during the descent, when he already believed that he was safe.

8. You can climb Everest as much as you like, but one day it will take you away

Babu Chiri Sherpa is a legendary Sherpa guide who has climbed Everest ten times. The man who spent 21 hours on top of a mountain without oxygen, the man who reached the top in 16 hours and 56 minutes, which is still a record. The 11th expedition ended tragically for him. At an altitude of 6500 meters, “children’s” for this guide, he was photographing the mountains, accidentally miscalculated his movements, stumbled and fell into a crevice, in which he fell to his death.

9. He died, but someone survived

Brazilian Vitor Negrete died in May 2006 during the descent after conquering Everest. This was Negrete's second ascent, and this time he planned to become the first Brazilian to conquer the mountain without oxygen. While ascending, he made a cache in which he left food and oxygen, which he could use on the descent. However, on the way back, after a successfully completed mission, he discovered that his cache had been plundered and all his supplies had disappeared. Negrete did not have enough strength to reach the base camp and died very close to it. Who took the supplies and the life of the Brazilian remains unclear.

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

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

We must hurry, there will be a snowstorm soon,” Prem warned.

We'll make it. What's the point of hanging around in a frozen hut heated by yak dung?

A couple of minutes later the snowstorm covered us from behind with a prickly snow hood.

In the gray-gray darkness, Natasha filmed Ksyusha in the spirit of Norshtein: “The Hedgehog is looking for the Little Bear in the fog.” We were having fun, Prem was nervous and pushing. Soon the Hedgehog was no longer visible in the lens, and Prem lost his way, but said nothing and went ahead.

We followed in his footsteps. The path was covered with snow, we walked through the wet snow on the edge of a cliff, as if on a tightrope. There was an abyss below, but I didn’t see it: the earth and sky were mixed up, as if 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. All hell has broken loose. I remembered my family and friends who must now be sitting at the dacha by the fire, barbecuing and drinking wine, and here you are, like a complete fool, hanging over the abyss on one leg. And then no one will call your death “smart”, because you got yourself stuck, and you were warned...
I sobbed, or rather even sobbed from the hopelessness of the situation, but quickly slowed down so as not to waste my energy on nonsense. A brilliant idea came to my mind to stop and wait for the snowstorm to pass.
But then Prem turned around and went to reverse side. We all went up together and visibility became better. In the distance we noticed a stone on which the wind was fluttering colorful Buddhist flags with mantras. Obviously, some person hung them there, and that means we are not alone in this silent space. Prem walked forward and happily waved his hands at us

Come here! I found the way!

The snowstorm is over. The white fangs of the mountains appeared from the gray clouds, and the abyss yawned.

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

No, the worst thing is going down the rocks that turn over under your feet,” Natasha objected.

I said nothing because I love suspension bridges and descents. But I will never forget this monstrous road over the abyss in a snowstorm.

We were all wrong. Our “hell” fears actually seemed like a mild fright when the next day we reached Everest Base Camp (5364 m), located on the Khumbu Glacier.

PART 2

Abnormal

Don’t go there, there’s nothing to do there,” said our guys, who were returning from visiting the base camp for an overnight stay in Gorak Shep (5170 m) - the highest mountain locality planets. “You better come with us, we’ll celebrate our ascent.”

Have you already managed to climb to the top?

No, are we crazy?

During the season (March - end of May and August-October), about 200 “abnormals” from all over the world gather in BC, who are preparing to conquer the most high point Earth. This year, due to the large influx of climbers, the Nepalese government even threatened to limit the flow of tourists so that there would be no tourists on the climb 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, numerous groups of experienced climbers and teapots like us go to Namche, from where they are already scattered around different peaks. There are so many people here that traffic jams form on the narrow mountain roads - you have to let entire delegations through or overtake where the road allows. Add here the accompanying Sherpas and local residents who rush through the mountains with their trunks on their heads, like mountain goats. I’m not even talking about all the shepherds who walk their donkeys, cows, yaks and jupis here (Russian tourists just have “assholes”). Prem said that jupi is a hybrid of cows, which do not rise above 3000 meters, and yaks, which do not descend below 5000. How they were bred is a complete mystery. And when these hairy “butts” with horns come towards you, you have to slam into 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, in order not to jostle and interfere with others’ climb, prefer to conquer the base camp by helicopter. It costs 6 thousand dollars. Here they take pictures in the costumes of rock climbers and ice climbers, breathe in the rarefied mountain air and, full of impressions, fly back to Lukla or Kathmandu.

But imagine that climbers, standing in an oxygen mask at an altitude of 8 thousand meters on the edge of a crevice, ask each other: “Who is the last to climb Everest? I’m behind you” - I can’t. I also cannot imagine that the Nepalese government would voluntarily give up the several million dollars that climbing Sagarmatha (the Nepalese name for Everest) brings them. Otherwise, climbers will take their money to the Chinese and will climb Chomolungma (the Tibetan name for Everest) through the North Col - it’s even cheaper.

Here are some prices:

The right to climb Everest for a group of 20 people from Tibet costs 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 cost of 10 thousand dollars for each additional tourist. For the right to take the classic route through the South Col you have to pay an additional 20 thousand (70 thousand dollars in total).

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

So those interested can already line up for the fall.

Despite the exorbitant prices, many climbers choose to climb from the Nepalese side, believing that it is easier, warmer and less windy. The ascent to the summit itself starts from the South Col between Mounts Everest and Lhotse from an altitude of 7900 meters. They usually leave at midnight. The climb is much faster than in the north.

You can get to the base camp (5000 m) at the foot of the North side by jeep. And then - on yaks to the advanced base camp (6400 m). From the Rongbuk Glacier the ascent goes to the North Col (Chang La Pass) and from there along the long northern ridge leads to the summit. The most dangerous place here - “Second stage”. At an altitude of 8790 meters there is a cliff several meters high. The situation is aggravated by hurricane winds blowing gusts of up to 200 km/h.
Base camp
From afar, like a clap of thunder, the growing sound of an avalanche came to us. We looked back and at the foot of the neighboring mountain we saw a cloud of snow dust rising like a nuclear mushroom.

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

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

Where's the party? - we asked, looking at the deserted camp. Apart from two idiots from New Zealand who were taking pictures at the “talking stone” with their pants down, and a bunch of curious tourists who, like us, came to see the heroes of Everest, there was no one there. The foreigners immediately rewarded me with three cameras and asked: “Photo, please!”

Are you on Everest? - we asked them.

Noo-noo,” the foreigners shook their heads and went to the tents to take photos.

Like three heroes standing at the “talking stone,” we tried to find an answer from him: where should we go next?

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

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

It’s strange, the Nepalese in the Himalayas measure distances in 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 17 km today, and 12 km ago you met Russian tourists, 5 km ago you drank tea, and after 3 km you will go to bed. But as soon as you freeze in place, time goes somewhere without you.

In the mountains, to go up, you have to go down,” Shriya explained the intricacies of mountaineering. First down - to acclimatize and breathe oxygen, then up - to put up a tent, throw a ladder over the gorge and down again - to spend the night.

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

After this incident, the elderly German woman gave up climbing. She sat silently next to us in Lobuche and mechanically drank tea, staring at one point. Her ascent, for which she had been preparing for many years, ended at an altitude of 6600 meters.

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