List of people who died climbing Mount Everest

Mount Everest, at 8,848 metres (29,029 ft) is the world's highest mountain and a particularly desirable peak for mountaineers. Over 280 people have died trying to climb it and in the last few decades, fatalities have occurred every year. The last year without known fatalities on the mountain was 1977, a year in which only two people reached the summit.

Most deaths have been attributed to avalanches, injury from fall, ice collapse, exposure, or health problems related to conditions on the mountain. Not all bodies have been located, so details on those fatalities are not available.

The upper reaches of the mountain are in the death zone. The death zone is a mountaineering term for altitudes above a certain point – around 8,000 m (26,000 ft), or less than 356 millibars (5.16 psi) of atmospheric pressure – where the oxygen level is not sufficient to sustain human life. Many deaths in high-altitude mountaineering have been caused by the effects of the death zone, either directly (loss of vital functions) or indirectly (unwise decisions made under stress or physical weakening leading to accidents). In the death zone, the human body cannot acclimatize, as it uses oxygen faster than it can be replenished. An extended stay in the zone without supplementary oxygen will result in deterioration of bodily functions, loss of consciousness and, ultimately, death.

The most popular routes are the South Col route from the Nepalese side and the North Col route from the Tibetan side.

The first recorded deaths on the mountain were the seven porters who perished in an avalanche in the 1922 British Mount Everest Expedition. George Mallory, who was present, blamed himself for the deaths. During the initial 1921 British Reconnaissance Expedition there were two deaths en route to the mountain – an unidentified porter as well as heart attack victim Dr. A. M. Kellas.

While dangerous for the novice climber, the mountain has also claimed the lives of some of the most experienced climbers. Babu Chiri Sherpa had climbed the mountain several times, and in 1999 spent 20 hours on the summit of Everest, then a new record. He also climbed to the summit twice in two weeks and held the record climbing time from Base Camp to summit of 16 hours and 56 minutes. He died in 2001 from a fall near Camp II. Experienced guide Rob Hall died on Everest shortly after becoming the first non-Sherpa to have summitted five times (1996).

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Wikipedia