Why would anyone voluntarily choose to risk life, limb and bank balance to try to get to the treacherous top of a massive, snow-covered hill? Numb with cold, gasping for air, with muscle tissue quickly deteriorating – even when mountaineers do achieve their goal, they can do little more than briefly stand tall on the summit, and cajole their companions into taking a souvenir photograph. They then begin the arduous and equally dangerous journey down. Why not simply stay home?
"Because it's there," goes the famous quote by the British mountaineer George Mallory. Shortly after mouthing this memorably obtuse aphorism, in 1924 Mallory took part in the third British attempt on Mount Everest (he had also been on the first two), and promptly disappeared. Although his body was eventually found in 1999, to this day no one knows exactly what happened. An expedition that began this June is attempting to discover whether or not Mallory and his companion, Andrew Irvine, made it to the top. Since these first efforts were made on Everest from the Tibetan side of the mountain, Himalayan climbing has changed dramatically. Whereas Mallory and Irvine were still clad in woollen knickerbockers, modern mountaineering has brought with it not only the relative luxury of high-tech clothing, but also the indisputable opulence of cinema tents, heated showers and bakeries at the base camps on both the Tibetan north and Nepali south sides of the mountain.
From 29 May 1953, the day Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay first summited Everest, until 1996, the year a single storm killed eight people near the summit, only 842 ascents were recorded. Over the last decade, however, more than 2200 people reached the peak. After last year recorded 471 ascents of Everest – also claiming 11 lives – the 2007 season has again broken all records, with more than 500 people reaching the top of the world between April and June.
Obtuse records
In the old, halcyon days of Himalayan mountaineering, it was considered a privilege to take part in an expedition. Nowadays, would-be mountaineers have only to cough up a pile of cash (Everest can be climbed for between USD 15,000-60,000, depending on the side of the mountain, number of Sherpas employed for support, and additional services) to be helped up the mountain. Of course, this is a claim that most expedition leaders are loath to admit. "Climbing Everest has changed," veteran Everest expedition leader Russell Brice accedes. "But people still have to put one foot in front of the other themselves. Carrying someone up is simply not possible."