Mount Everest: The World’s Deadliest Tourist Attraction

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Credits:
Host - Simon Whistler
Author - Ben Adelman
Producer - Jennifer Da Silva
Executive Producer - Shell Harris
Business inquiries to [e-mail]

[@geographicstravel]

Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/geographics for 10% off on your first purchase.

[@samuelwallis360]

Almost first XD

[@1986womble]

Are you thinking of doing a video on climbing K2? Its never been climbed in winter, it could be a good shout.

[@williamoldaker5348]

Please do Plum Island again.

[@johnthemachine]

please do a biographics on george mallory and andrew "sandy" irvine. they deserve it.

[@Blake_.Dryden]

I want to see a group willing to climb Everest without the aid of sherpas.

[@richardbarry04553]

Everest has always struck me as a mountain to leave alone above the elevation that can support life - and just admire it from a reasonable distance

[@BAGG8BAGG]

I would say for the people who are skilled enough to climb it on their own then go ahead, but for rich people who want a good story well if you can't do it yourself you shouldn't be paying others make it for you, seems like a hollow victory to me.

[@damienhunt4264]

You sum up my feelings exactly.

[@LemurDreamer87]

This. All the major records have already been set. Devote the last expeditions to cleaning up the trash and waste, and leave the death zone as a memorial to the dead remaining there. Same goes for all of the Eight Thousanders, really.

[@justiceBustamante]

30,000 ft isn't that the cruising altitude of a commercial airliner? I would not do it for 10 million dollars and I'm not joking a bit no way no how I don't know if I would do it to save a loved one I just would not

[@Declutterwithmelanie]

I love to admire its beauty while wrapped up in bed watching the documentaries x

[@HyperionRed]

When I was a young boy, I heard an experienced mountain climber say: "remember, when you reach the top, you only completed half your journey". I didn't fully understand then, but oh boy, was he right. The flashy goal in front can blind you, but never forget to leave enough in the tank to make it back, or turn around early to prevent disaster.

[@thebonesaw..4634]

Fun fact, Mount Everest is still growing, surprisingly by almost 2.5 inches per year. So, every single person who summits it holds the record for the highest summit ever... until the next person stands atop and temporarily holds it for themselves.

[@skyden24195]

huh, that fun fact is a pretty neat one. Puts a new perspective on the game, "King of the hill."

[@borismuller86]

plus when they first measured Everest, they added a few extra inches because they thought nobody would believe that it’s exactly 29,000 feet high.

[@johnbockelie3899]

George Mallory who mysteriously disappeared in 1924., was found in 2004, mummified. frozen near the summit of Mt.Everest. I have a book called Mysteries of the unknown, and it tells the George Mallory story. It says he wee never found.its an old book.

[@waynerainey2606]

Not every one, some are just stupid, have too much money and worked out for 30 mins a day in the executive gym for 30 days before on the stair master that someone cutely put a paper over the word "Stair" making it Everest Master. You find that kind in a crevasse just above base camp lol.

[@waynerainey2606]

@@johnbockelie3899 Oh I thought it was 1999 - either, he was pretty bleached out and mummified like you said. Not really frozen as much as freeze dried, most all the moisture had been whisked by the dry cold air of almost 100 years, and who knows how long exposed. I went and googled it and My old Noggin was right - discovered on 1 May 1999 by an expedition that had set out to search for the climbers' remains.

[@conors4430]

I met the first blind climber to successfully climb and survive it. He also climbed the other six tallest peaks on every continent. He describes the ice fall straight out of base camp as the worst place on earth for a blind person. And he had to do it 13 times. Also, during the 96 disaster, 8 people in a group nearly walked off a 3 km vertical cliff into Tibet. The only reason they didn’t is because one of the guides sensed an abyss in front of them during the middle of the blizzard

[@justiceBustamante]

I really hate to sound crude but if you want to do something stupid such as that you know the risks and if you die I wouldn't say you get what you deserve but you dang well knew the consequences. Just like many many seriously dangerous Hobbies such as lion taming or whatever if people want to put their self in that position they get somewhat get what they deserve at least found what they were looking for

[@bradhobbs6196]

Just remember, every corpse on Everest began as a highly motivated, goal oriented individual!

[@--enyo--]

Or just someone with more money than sense.

[@johnharrop5530]

All Fools

[@katherinegilks3880]

Or a Sherpa looking to feed their family. Regardless of how avoidable the deaths are, deaths are deaths. Be respectful.

[@zerofox1551]

@drew pedersen I feel bad for the Sherpas though.

[@scottplumer3668]

I'd rather my body lie desiccated on the slope of Everest than rotting in a suburban cemetery.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

It’s almost as if climbing Mount Everest is a horrible idea.

[@thomasthomasthomas296]

Could be K2..... something like 370 people to have reached the summit and 85 ish have died

[@chelereyes3305]

Lmaooo. Man this made me laugh, but its the truth.

[@Kirovets7011]

Yes, it is! But, on the otherhand: If you really have the drive, a VERY strong urge to want to do it, AND a shitload of money, well, than i would say: DO IT!!!

[@kevindickson2178]

@@thomasthomasthomas296 i've been alive my whole life. i like my chances.

[@lum26akua28]

@Cat Magic Sounds like a lot of fun!

[@Darwinsmom]

I learned about the ethics of attributing European names to geographical features in non-European locations in an interesting and, I think, unique way. While researching my ancestry in New Zealand, I learned that a particular mountain's secondary peak is named after my kinswoman, who was the first European to ascend the peak. She did not continue on to the summit however. The mountain in question was, at the time of her ascent, referred to as Mount Egmont by the pakehas, or Europeans. To the local Maori, it was Taranaki Maunga. Not unlike Ayers Rock, eventually it reverted to its Maori name, Taranaki Maunga. When colonialism is brought to a sovereign nation, like Te Aotearoa, I always picture it in a strange way: a group of people, happily living their lives, sitting together in a communal space, and some foreigner walks in, plants a flag and says, "I claim this land for my Sovereign, and the souls of the people for the Church. Cue confused "WTF?" faces. I hope that one day Chomolungma reverts to the name given to it by the people to whom she is the home of the "Mother Goddess of the World" - and historically they had no idea that it was the highest mountain peak above sea level (but NOT the tallest mountain on the planet). I personally believe that, if expedition contractors make a fortune from leading climbers up the mountain, it should be incumbent upon them to remove their waste and the dead bodies of their clients from the mountain. I recall the tale of one of the Sherpa people who, hiking in the Khumbu Valley, stopped to drink from a mountain stream. After he swallowed his drink, he noticed a human body part in the bed of the water course. It was likely the remains of someone who died on a glacier and was washed down because of glacial melting. The entire watercourse in the region is being contaminated by human activity on the mountain. Imagine all the human urine and feces left on the mountain? The Sherpa who experienced the horrific moment of drining "human tea" was prompted to organize an extensive clean-up effort on the mountain. Several bodies were brought down the mountain because of his efforts. The people of Tibet and Nepal should not have to place their lives in jeopardy to clean up the crap left behind by climbers.

[@greghelms4458]

Sherpas doing the heavy lifting, ropes, ladders, plenty of cached oxygen, equipment, food. Etc. yet many still die. Seems like the individual actual mountaineering is done by the sherpas though. Not the people paying to walk up.

[@jjgirl3715]

1/3 of the people who die on the mountain are Sherpas

[@The_Original_LBSwanson]

I had to write a paper on this disaster at Uni and let me tell you this was a sad case. Part of the prompt was to pick a stance on if it was avoidable or not. I say it was 100% avoidable and a lot of people died for pride.

[@spektrumB]

Do you refer just the 1996 event, or other accidents include the 2015 earthquake? The video makes it sounds like all Everest climbers are inexperienced tourist climbers. The fact there were real mountaineers that had summit K2 died in the 1996 tragedy, The only way it is 100% avoidable is not be there for not climbing it. Just like the sure way to avoid car accident is never sit in a car.

[@k-aw-teksleepysageuni8181]

@@spektrumB LOL.... Driving a car around is useful though....Climbing Everest is just a thrill seeking ego boost...

[@spektrumB]

@@k-aw-teksleepysageuni8181 How do you define "useful"? Is Mountain Biking useful? Is motor sport useful? Is bouldering useful? Is drinking alcohol useful? There are lots of people with a passion of mountain climbing. Do you think all they care is ego boosting?

[@stevenschnepp576]

@@k-aw-teksleepysageuni8181 Tell us more about how little you've accomplished in your life.

[@_Abjuranax_]

Having done some mountain climbing, the number one rule is to obey the climb master. But that comes with discipline and experience, which can be in short supply if you have more dollars than sense.

[@douglasenvang]

Make a video about K2! Its even more difficult and more deadly

[@samsignorelli]

Hell, if he wants deadly, do Annapurna.

[@erinlorca1240]

You can't do k2 without mentioning Aleister Crowley

[@facelessandnameless]

sam signorelli K2 is the deadliest. 1 in 4 climbers will die trying.

[@samsignorelli]

@@facelessandnameless Annapurna's death percentage is 1 out of 3...by percentage a greater chance of dying on Annapurna. K2's death toll is higher than Annapurna's simply because m,ore people have tried to ascend.

[@nicholaswilcox1549]

@@facelessandnameless Annapurna is 1 in 3

[@phurbasherpa7441]

Thanks geographics for putting out a video on Everest. Lots of love from Nepal. 😍😍

[@Succubus2Angel]

My cousin-in-law and his wife made it two the second camp before his missus felt she couldn't go any further, and left. On the way both up and down, they were told and saw some of those who fell along the way, still waiting to be taken away, but mainly used as directional guide-posts. I find it absolutely macabre and utterly fascinating for the longest time these bodies were used as a way to direct and measure where and when they would reach the next safe point in their ascent....I'll never have the chance to go, but wow, what a way to go if you do and find yourself on the highest cemetery in the world.... Only mountain I ever ascended on the hardest of the hard was Diamond Head on Oahu when I was just 9 with my sister, mother and father. It pales in comparison to Mount Everest though ^O^

[@vanessathomas7437]

I'll just watch everyone else Climb from my Base Camp: Mississippi

[@craigh2205]

u have common sense then because its better to do that than risking your like just to climb a mountain

[@anselreid2196]

@@craigh2205 do people actually receive likes for climbing high mountains ? Damn that's me out!

[@trissloan663]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘

[@DylanMcMullen]

Ah, im at base camp New Orleans. I struggle with the lack of oxygen up at Mississippi

[@vanessathomas7437]

@Lassi Kinnunen 81 And We STILL have SENSE Not to climb a dangerous mountain, just for clout...

[@dougb4801]

Some days my feed seems more like Simontube then KZbin and I'm ok with that

[@valerierodger7700]

Yep, same. LOL

[@--enyo--]

Same

[@berryberrykixx]

Same.

[@imtiazpatel6151]

Ditto

[@scubametalhippy]

We had the great they're their there war of 2007, we also mustn't forget the your you're battles of the early 2000s, i feel now we must take what we learnt from these bloody struggles and confront the then/than divide with gentle humour and love for our fellow human 😘

[@andreamunoz6088]

“This is hardly a trip to Yellowstone” that’s what 99% of inexperienced travelled don’t understand

[@borismuller86]

Free-soloing El Capitan is pretty tough, to be fair.

[@gemfyre855]

And even Yellowstone has it's fair share of casualties.

[@sideboob4276]

@@borismuller86 But El Capitan isn't in Yellowstone.

[@kingjames4886]

they die.

[@1310beth]

@@borismuller86 El Cap is in Yosemite not Yellowstone

[@neighborhoodcaptain790]

Do one on Simon Whistler, the man that spends all his time making documentaries.

[@Aquascape_Dreaming]

Brilliant idea.

[@Mclaren231627]

Yes indeed. Share some of what makes you happy Simon!!!! It would be nice to know you more. Love the videos!!!!!!

[@briandavis7790]

"Yes the man who's dome is much to be known, today on biographics we are talking about... Well, me."

[@vanessathomas7437]

YES! We're (inpatiently) waiting...👀👋💖

[@michellecallahan9496]

I'd totally watch this

[@stevenjlovelace]

How about a Geographics video on Olympus Mons, the tallest mountain in the solar system?

[@GrantFerdinandsen]

If I go to mars, I’ll die either going there or trying to climb Mons.

[@nicolainielsen7700]

@@GrantFerdinandsen As Mons is roughly the size of France, you wouldn't feel the gradient at all.

[@amandab3946]

Next on Geographics: the Sun !

[@kingjames4886]

no one wants that.

[@redgaek]

-27 C to -34C. For anyone curious.

[@jokuvaan5175]

I was like "below -60 degrees? God damn. That's like the worst wheather in Antarctica"

[@MrColophonius]

So stupid, a brit living in prag using the imperial system without telling all the other people what this means. must be his core viewership in the usa...

[@rafaelmarques2920]

@@MrColophonius exacly my thoughts

[@birdtower2801]

@@MrColophonius It's just that half of the people on the internet comes from the states, sadly.

[@MrColophonius]

@@birdtower2801 but half of us don't understand imperial.

[@anthonyholroyd5359]

I'd love to see a walk through of the other 8000ers on this channel. Maybe a little bit about each - location; Nickname (Savage mountain, Killer mountain etc.); first summit; technicality; number of attempts; and number of fatalities. After all, Everest may be a monumental challenge for most normal folk, but for mountaineers there's even harder out there. As the expression goes, "If you want to impress your friends, climb everest. If you want to impress mountaineers, climb K2". 1. Everest 2. K2 3. Kanchenjunga 4. Lhotse 5. Makalu 6. Cho Oyu 7. Dhaulagiri I 8. Manaslu 9. Nanga Parbat 10. Annapurna I 11. Gasherbrum I 12. Broad Peak 13. Gasherbrum II 14. Sishapangma

[@ReZpawner]

"Chinese-controlled Tibet". Nice one, sir!

[@--enyo--]

😢

[@C152SharjilJafri-hd5tq]

US-controlled Texas.

[@harrisonlupton3857]

UK controlled Yorkshire

[@madwax4771]

Brussels controlled Europe

[@9-11wasthecoolestthingever9]

Someone had to stick it to China

[@Gameflyer001]

The tallest point I've been to was the Sphinx Observatory atop the Jungfraujoch ridge in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland (11,719 ft up), so to know that Everest Base Camp is nearly 6,000 ft higher than that is mind-blowing. Just being on the Jungfraujoch (home to Europe's highest railway station) was somewhat tough to acclimate to.

[@IshaIsSomehowTaken]

i'm part Nepalese from my grandmothers side and im really happy that you mentioned the role Sherpa's play in the industry and what they have had to and continue to endure. i just watched the film Sherpa for English class and i was shocked about what they have to go through. the fact that you mentioned their role shows how much research you did and how much you value all people's lives so thank you. :) - just a 16 yr old kid on youtube

[@drewping2002]

It's also called "The world's tallest graveyard" for good reason

[@hunnerdayEDT]

I'm 100% going to climb Mount Everest...... As soon as they make a Playstation game for it.

[@somjasa]

Nah... xbox : - )!

[@indy_go_blue6048]

Believe it or not there's been a board game about a climb on Everest for 40+ years now. It's called "Assault on Mt. Everest" published by Eagle's Nest.

[@foreverpotato3035]

There is for PlayStation vr

[@bigsouth010]

indy_go_blue60 Xbox is for men who piss sitting down. Or men who go to school to become registered nurses. Or Karen’s who call the police on minorities for nothing. Or people who use a grocery cart for under 5 hours. Or people who bully or promote racism behind a computer screen.

[@kamtrey9552]

Lmfaoooo

[@anirbanbhattacharyya4737]

Also mention Tenzing Norgay in the same breath as Edmund Hillary !!!

[@HardWorkingandHouseProud]

Anirban Bhattacharyya you’re sooo right. Hillary wouldn’t have made it without Tenzing. Tenzing had it twice as rough as Hillary, yet he never gets credit.

[@les1324]

Everest is littered with trash nowadays. I wish people would clean up after themselves.

[@wanderingangelstudio1359]

The Chinese work hard every year to clean the mountain. Also, new rules have been put into place to help prevent trash accumulation in the future.

[@piperar2014]

Leave no trace.

[@bigsouth010]

Like that should be a 100,000 dollar a year job. Like cmon now. Cleaning Mt Everest. Talk about top ten world’s dangerous jobs.

[@danzo486]

Kerry Cutler not Chinese my friend nepali sherpas who are cleaning the mountain every year

[@iksarguards]

Mountain: littered with corpses and climbing gear of the fallen 👌🏻 😋 Mountain: littered with coke cans and empty cup o noodles 👎 😠

[@Loopyschwoopy]

Simon, I love ya lots. But, if you're going to use the imperial system, would you also be so kindly to put the metric system next to it, please?

[@niezbo]

Exactly my thought. And I won't hide it - I was a bit triggered when somebody bother to write info-box in imperial, but totally ignored metric.

[@lucromel]

Last time he tried to that, he messed up the conversion.

[@stevenschnepp576]

@@niezbo Learn to do the conversions on the fly, if it bothers you that badly.

[@--enyo--]

I wish he’d just use metric. I mean, he’s British & only North America uses imperial these days. It just makes more sense.

[@InciniumVGC]

@@--enyo-- The majority of his audience are Americans and therefore use imperial. It makes more sense to use the units used by the majority of his audience.

[@deborahryder7521]

I met one of the survivors for the avalanche from the 2015 earthquake. He had video and images of the before and after as well as during. So crazy and looked so scary!

[@sparkpenguin]

i'd love to visit everest. not to climb it, just to see the ol gal. there's plenty to see in the surrounding region as well; i definitely get the desire to just "be" near the mountain. i'm okay on climbing to the top though especially with the ethical problems involved with it of late.

[@AleksandarGospic]

Been there in 2016, did the Everest trek, and it is stunning beyond belief! Been reading books and watching documentaries about Everest all my life and when I first saw it I couldn't stop the tears, it was overwhelming, I couldn't believe I was there, in that mythical place! So, if you catch the opportunity to go there don't miss it.

[@becsterbrisbane6275]

I went to Base Camp (China side) July 2005. There is nothing, NOTHING on earth quite like watching the sunset on a clear day at Mt Everest! And the weather is no joke- crystal clear day with no cloud hiking back from base camp after camping overnight at base to the Rongphu monastery (highest on earth), but the time I arrived it was hailing like nothing I'd ever seen (and the hike's only a couple of hours)!

[@GrantFerdinandsen]

Those sherpas are put in a position to either help climb Everest, and maybe die, or not feed there family. Climbing Everest is a vanity endeavor. No one cares if you climb it or even ski down it. It’s been done. Start exploring other parts of Nepal and make there tourism industry not revolve around climbing.

[@stevenschnepp576]

Or just don't go to Nepal in the first place, if we're that concerned about the abuses of the tourism industry.

[@TannerWilliam07]

One man's opinion.

[@cmoore6131]

@@TannerWilliam07 Pretty popular opinion actually. Sherpas are expected to essentially make the climb twice, setting up ropes and paths 1st, then going back for the tourist climbers. Sherpas carry the gear. Tourist climbers leave trash, feces, and sometimes their own dead bodies all over the mountain. Sometimes the bodies are used as trail markers in future expeditions. It's been a pretty awful business for years. Do some research. RIP Greenboots

[@facelessandnameless]

But if it wasn’t for the tourism that Sherpa would not have a way to free his family at all.

[@GrantFerdinandsen]

@That Flippin Guy I'm not saying that at all lol. Capitalism is the most efficient way of sorting out supply and demand. So, if people want to climb Everest they should and no one should stop them. If a sherpa wants to guide them on that climb and that sherpa has been paid enough to have a sufficient profit margin, then that sherpa should, by all means, guide that expedition. What I'm actually saying is, Nepal should expand its tourism industry to encompass more options other than climbing expeditions. They have vast mountains and could build up their tourism economy to offer a diversified portfolio of hospitality services. Currently, their tourism sector is too heavily weighted to serve climbing expeditions. They could reduce their local economies systemic risk by building resorts and capitalizing just off the beauty of the land rather than capitalizing on risky expeditions. Then, a whole different segment of tourists could go there and the people in these villages could have a choice on what they want to do for a living. If done successfully, the sherpas could demand higher wages since there would be less of them facilitating these expeditions due to these workplace alternatives (aka reducing the labor supply). Also, what I'm saying is climbing Everest with a Sherpa isn't exploration anymore. It's literally just "extreme" tourism. And people that are extreme tourists, should be well enough trained to do what they want to do without the need of a fully guided expedition. Maybe a training course but really, you technically are not climbing the mountain, you're simply just following the sherpa.

[@cleonmain1291]

An amazing place, surprising how many people go on a adventure that is so potentially fatal. lots of bodies on Everest.

[@linda10989]

Lots of raw sewage too! 🤢

[@Echowhiskeyone]

You should do a Biographics on George Mallory and Edmund Hillary.

[@jacquelinelaface136]

There is one of Edmund Hillary...not sure about Mallory though, don't think so

[@cj4631]

Mallory and Irvine: the most intriguing and tragic story ... when I show my students the moment they found Mallory in 1999 they gasp with intrigue...now they are mini journalists investigating whether or not they got to the top! Being a geog teacher is the best job!!

[@johnthemachine]

definately needs mallory & irvine.

[@davidcoleman757]

Definitely do Mallory and Irvine. I still like to believe they were the first, and it's a great story.

[@johnbockelie3899]

I made the climb to see the Yeti.

[@bethfrompa]

4:19 that must be a shot from the China side base camp, because the Nepal side has no motor vehicles from Lukla and upwards.🇳🇵 Love your videos🙌

[@pyr0bee]

yea, also the sign in the middle says China Post, you can send mail to and from basecamp if you wish

[@riggstwenty2]

The top shelf of my freezer is a mystery to me never mind climbing a stupid mountain. And just imagine getting to the summit to find there is no gift shop !

[@mischaminxx]

K2 would make an interesting video, even if you make it to the summit you're likely going to die before you make it back down. That's one crazy mountain!

[@ArchFiendFolio]

Agreed

[@deirdregibbons5609]

Yes! That would be great. It has an interesting history, and part of the challenge is the beautiful but dangerous journey getting to the base camp.

[@spektrumB]

@@deirdregibbons5609 You don't have to be a mountaineer to visit K2 basecamp. I would do a trekking trip there this year if not the pandemic.

[@spektrumB]

@That Flippin Guy From Islamabad back to Islamabad is about 21-22days. The actual trekking is about 15-16days. Hope I can do this trek next year. Fingers cross.

[@wanderingangelstudio1359]

K2 has killed more people percentage wise than Everest.

[@xKuukkelix]

More facts about the death zone: air is so scarce that it feels like you are breathing through a straw while running on a treadmill, your body is in a constant state of dying because your cells in your body are slowly dying, you have a risk of just suddenly drop dead from a heart attack, stroke or pulmonary edema without any warning, your whole digestive system shuts down in the death zone so you can't eat or gain more energy, also fluid absorption is extremely slow so pretty much all the water you drink just goes straight through Edit: typo

[@azuregriffin1116]

*is so scarce

[@adamtennant4936]

@@azuregriffin1116 Air is never described as scarce, it's described as thin.

[@adamtennant4936]

@That Flippin Guy Air is around 21% oxygen no matter what altitude you're at. So if air is plentiful, so is oxygen. At 29,000 feet the air is far thinner (i.e. less dense) and it is not "plentiful". And we're the clueless ones? You sir, are a moron.

[@adamtennant4936]

@That Flippin Guy "(since a couple nerds are TRYING to correct this)" - That's not what we were even talking about. How dense can one person be? (certainly considerably more than the air at 29K feet)

[@vanessathomas7437]

I feel an Asthma attack just from reading this. Got my inhaler near...no worries...

[@Sol-mr1lv]

Can we please get the numbers in units used by most of the world next time. Celsius, meters and such

[@InciniumVGC]

He's giving the numbers in units used by most of Simon's audience, which are Americans. If you care that much just find a converter online so you don't have to do any math.

[@skyden24195]

KZbin units of measurement = Algorithms

[@AvoidTheCadaver]

There's one rather dark story of a few climbers who came across what they thought was a corpse . They stopped for a quick breather when they heard the corpse talk. Turned out that climber hadn't died yet but because he'd stay din one spot for too long his body had frozen into place. And he was slowly freezing to death. They couldn't help him and had to leave him in that cave. He's still there.

[@jjgirl3715]

Yep he's next to Green Boots

[@skwervin1]

One of my best friends has met Sir Edmund Hillary and said he was a very intelligent and humble man. Sir Edmund was a friend of his brother and one time when Gavin went over to NZ to visit him, his brother asked if he minded him having a few friends over for dinner. Gavin said sure...whatever and he was shaken when he was seated next to Sir Edmund at dinner and chatted to him for hours after.

[@conniehill816]

In to Thin Air is an awesome read.

[@skyden24195]

When Simon spoke of the view from the summit and had mentioned the turnaround time, I immediately had the image, in my head, of Clark W. Griswold, his arm around Ellen Griswold, looking out over the world, bobbing his head a few times, then abruptly announcing, "Okay, let's go!"

[@XbunkerXballerX7127]

You post some weird shit bro

[@pinkpantherkipz3965]

Altitude sickness really is no joke. I took a train to the top of Pikes Peak and the change was so shocking that I was struggling to breath and had to catch the first train back. My dad had to give me his canned oxygen but when that ran out, I still passed out on the train no joke don't climb mountains that were never meant to be scaled in the first place It's just a bad idea

[@jdamyadick3659]

Cheers dits.

[@spektrumB]

While you mention you focus on the Nepali side. On 4:22, the picture of basecamp is from the Tibetan side. Just a piece of information. You actually cannot see Mount Everest at the Nepali side basecamp. Other high peaks are blocking the view.

[@Tomkatails]

I was going to comment: Simon explains that you have to walk to base camp; yet at 4:20 I see vehicles in the base camp?! Thank you for clearing up the confusion!

[@spektrumB]

@@Tomkatails On the Nepali side, the dirt road(for Jeep and tractors) only goes to Lula. Which is about 2800m high. From there, it is only foot paths and trails. On the other side in Tibet. The Chinese has built a paved road for vehicles almost all the way to Tibetan side basecamp.

[@marthahawkinson-michau9611]

Yeah, I've decided that If I die doing something adventurous.... It's going to be somewhere that my family can recover my corpse. No matter how I(eventually) die, I want my family to be able to properly grieve, mourn, and bury me. I don't want to leave them with a hollow feeling lack of closure from not being able to bury me.

[@whoever6458]

Climbing Mount Everest sounds a lot like surviving COVID-19, except you don't have to walk up/down a steep mountain with that low oxygen level when you're sick. The descriptions of people who got into trouble up there in the death zone remind me of how I felt when I had COVID-19 and I struggled to walk ten feet on completely flat ground to go use the bathroom. I'm in decent shape but, to be fair, I didn't acclimatize myself to oxygen levels in the upper 80s to low 90s before getting sick.

[@cladivostoc]

I don't wanna climb this Goddess, I just want to see her up close and immerse myself in the feeling of insignificance in front of the might and grandeur of the World 🗻

[@sagefields]

I did the Everest Base Camp trek. It's insanely popular, and tens of thousands do it every year. Yeah, it's not necessarily actually CLIMBING Everest, but you can still say you've been, and the week-long trek to the base camp is quite beautiful.

[@thegruffalo5383]

Doing a video on K2 would be fantastic also, it’s had much worse events and is considered harder to climb

[@jonathanlovejoy1984]

i have seen it from the best possible place........looking out of the window of a Royal Nepal Airways Boeing 727 on aproach into Kathmandu in the early morning.......the mountain was way above us and the ground was way below..........it is a truly impressive sight sticking up above all surrounding peaks.

[@Mxmusicaddict]

Much envy on that one.

[@jonathanlovejoy1984]

@Maria Kelly i was flying from the old Kai Tak airport at Hong Kong which was the very most dangerous airport at the time........Kathmandu is equally as dangerous as Kabul on the approach and lift off........on taking off it is comon for a plane to spiral around the valley a couple of times before making the height to continue but nothing compares with the aproaches at Paro or Lukla.........only small twenty seat twin prop planes can land at Lukla and Paro is limited to airbus 318s and is deep in a valley where the pilot can only see the runway at the final turn and then just has seconds to turn and land.

[@Mxmusicaddict]

@@jonathanlovejoy1984 Sounds like fun 😣

[@janepeterson3016]

"It certainly not a gift shop.." 😄

[@ernestolombardo5811]

"Mom and dad went to the summit of Everest and all they brought me back was this lousy t-shirt"

[@amateurastronomer9463]

I do not know if you did a videograph geographics of three mile island but I think it would be a good subject. If you did I apologize for taking up space and I'll look for it.

[@TrashDeviant]

Commenting helps him with the algorithm anyway, it keeps track of likes and dislikes, comments, and even watch time. Take up as much space as you want. That's what gets people onto the front page.

[@nicolainielsen7700]

If you go to a given channel, there's a search function for that channels videos only.

[@Thelegend-fm2tt]

So polite oh my god

[@amandab3946]

We need more Erica Johnson’s in the world. There would be no more wars.

[@timothybogle1461]

One thing to note is that the storm was an exceptionally low pressure storm and that reduces Oxygen levels even further.

[@rosiebanks5618]

Sometimes I sleep on my sofa because I can't be arsed to walk upstairs. I'm good.

[@insertname1014]

I don’t think (or hope) that is a tourist attraction.

[@Pusher97]

I can respect that.

[@Aquascape_Dreaming]

@That Flippin Guy you need to relax and smile a bit more.

[@adamtennant4936]

@That Flippin Guy You should look up what humour is sometime. You might be pleasantly surprised.

[@rosiebanks5618]

A special needs teacher and single parent. Definitely lazy 🥳🤣

[@DrakoDragonis]

Lets hope the snow & ice never melts or Everest is gonna stiiink!!

[@Bella.216]

It's already melting

[@DrakoDragonis]

@@Bella.216 Well, shit. Literally.

[@Bella.216]

@@DrakoDragonis Yes sadly, that's why some bodies have came out at the bottom. Very tragic we are killing our planet 😭

[@robertsollory7475]

I wish he would do either a biographics or a geographics on Dyatlov Pass and the infamous deaths thereof.

[@hannuvallin6155]

How bad of an idea would it be to include metric values (metres, celcius) for us non-imperial watchers, the conversion for F/C isn't really something that just rolls out of my mind (even though the feet to meters is pretty basic calculation) :)?

[@Khenfu_Cake]

The fact the metric system is much more widely used (even NASA uses metric) than Fahrenheit makes the choice to only use the imperial measurements in these videos a bit odd 😕

[@stevenschnepp576]

It's not like the math is _that_ hard. We convert from metric to freedom units all the time on the fly.

[@Khenfu_Cake]

@That Flippin Guy Not sure if you are joking or not but you are not entirely wrong. Cinemasins deliberately make mistakes in their videos in order to get more people to comment which helps with the engagement and thus the ad revenue. So now that you mention it, it does seem like a plausible (clever even) reason for why Bio/Geographics use imperial measurements lol.

[@oliverjack5454]

" The Mountain is a Killer" flashbacks to Sir Gregor Clegane intensifies

[@datman6266]

This video goes hand in hand with Last Week Tonight's episode on Everest climbing, just can't stop thinking about it while watching this..

[@neals6348]

It's definitely worth seeing the general area in person, now climbing the mountain itself im not so sure about but the Nepalese side is beautiful and the sherpas are something else.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:35 - Chapter 1 - The mountain 2:45 - Chapter 2 - Dangers from top to bottom 4:15 - Chapter 3 - Base camp 5:55 - Chapter 4 - Khumbu icefall 6:55 - Mid roll ads 8:35 - Chapter 5 - Into the death zone 11:00 - Chapter 6 - Summit push 12:15 - Chapter 7 - Everest disaster 15:15 - Chapter 8 - Modern day, modern problems

[@chellicarterflores4524]

My doctor is still on the mountain. He will be forever missed. May he RIP♡

[@isee7668]

Go-getters, eh?

[@dgeneric7518]

I'm obsessed with Everest for some reason. In my wildest dreams, I'd attempt it... Wild dreams, though. In reality, I HATE the cold!

[@tenhirankei]

Of all the dangers that come with Mount Everest you didn't mention one found at the high altitudes - the Yeti!

[@rittenbachstock]

O Yeah ive got a yeti. Keeps ice for days.

[@tenhirankei]

@@rittenbachstock Not that one!

[@D0UBLD]

How can you not use the best quote from Sir Ed when he got to the summit? He turned to Tenzing and said "So we knocked the bastard off" before a huge hug

[@phurbasherpa7441]

On top of Everest. Obi wan: " I have the highest ground"

[@kb9849]

Its over anakin

[@kingjames4886]

group of sherpas: stares

[@boiwth5406]

I made it to the top back in 2009. Toughest climb of my life but worth it!

[@195511SM]

The 2006 documentary.....'Storm Over Everest'....( a roughly 2-hour episode of the award-winning PBS series 'Frontline'...) recounts that ill-fated expedition of '96. It includes some spectacular footage, as well as some of the survivors telling their stories. One of the women featured ( I can't recall her name at the moment.....) passed away a year or two ago, when she fell down some stairs in her home.

[@charlesfitzgerald9461]

The movie was on Netflix a year ago.

[@koltonhouser3544]

A video on St. Paul’s cathedral aould be great.

[@SD457500]

As a person in the Twin Cities, YES! Its over 100 years old now.

[@davidcoleman757]

The mountain is holy to the Nepalese. Climbing it is a form of desecration. Walk in from Jiri, sit at the bottom and be awe-struck at her sheer magnificence.

[@spektrumB]

The Nepalese themselves climb this mountain. One of the first man reaches the summit, Tenzing Norgay is a Nepalese. And he is a national hero of Nepal. The record holder of fastest ascending of Mt Everest is also a Nepalese. How can you say climbing this mountain is desecration?

[@phurbasherpa7441]

That is usually not the case, among all the nepalese only of tibetan buddhist family see it as desecration as they believe it is holy and house of gods. This is massive among tibetans hence you do not find much record of them climbing mountains. Tenzin Norgay pretty much set it as a trend and only sherpas can climb the mountains compared to others in Nepal, therefore the desecration isnt widely prevalent even in the community that is closest to Tibetan culture

[@xBayley]

Simon, love your Bio and Geo videos ❤️ always chuck them on to listen to as I fall asleep as theyre super relaxing

[@stadoo9372]

i'm from Jamaica so i think i'll stick with dunn's river falls that's good enough for me.

[@skyden24195]

I know I've stumbled stepping up onto the front porch of my house. That was more than enough climbing for me.

[@dx1450]

I've climbed up that.

[@myownboss1]

Wow Simon, the way you narrated this made it sound like another adventure for Indiana Jones! Good job!

[@ewestner]

Simon: Let's pretend that you're one of the thousands that flock to Everest every year in order to climb it. Me [knowing a lot about Everest already]: No, thanks, I'm good. Me [watches first half of video]: No, really, I said I'm GOOD. Me [watches entire video]: NO THANK YOU I HAVE NO NEED TO CLIMB MOUNT EVEREST EVER THANK YOU JUST THE SAME.

[@etherealtranslationtm]

Although Everest is the tallest mountain it's not the hardest to climb, at least in my own experience, I didn't find it very hard, at most it took a lot of careful planning and patience, unlike some other mountains with a small window of stable passage each year, there a small error would lead straight to death and everything has to go perfectly. After all Everest at least has a dedicated rescue plan and the people required for such rescues. The most dangerous mountains are the least understood and farthest away from civilization.

[@theobserver9131]

I've always enjoyed hard challenges, but climbing Everest has never attracted me. Sounds like hell at best.

[@herodotus1601]

That reminded me of a video i watched on Mallory and Irvine's expedition of Mt. Everest which is still full of mystery today . i hope you make a video on it someday .

[@ReclusiveEagle]

"Money can't buy you happiness" No but it can allow you to climb a mountain

[@twocvbloke]

So when are they putting the escalator in then? :P

[@ladymopar2024]

Very interesting video, I like the original name of the mountain. We change the name for Mount McKinley back to Denali I think it means more

[@spektrumB]

The problem is that Mount Everest is shared by Nepal and Tibet, China. Nepali calls it Sagamatha, the Goddess of the Sky; While Tibetan calls it Qomolangma, the Holy Mother.

[@ladymopar2024]

@@spektrumB they both sound like so awesome names too bad they couldn't share the names being part Indian I just love the original names I've never known that before though until this video

[@katherinegilks3880]

So hyphenate the two names or just use both. Honestly Sagamatha Qomolangma sounds awesome. Way better than Everest.

[@shebbs1]

@Maria Kelly The US prez cannot make that decision. He has not got the authority, even if his drones think he did.

[@Bothandle70]

@@spektrumB it should be the tibetan name. nepali name was given only recently, even later than the name everest.

[@gabriellemarcotte7525]

I read Into Thin Air in my freshman year of high school. Before that I was in awe of Everest. Now I’m in awe of Everest but more in fear than excitement

[@JClark2600]

Simon do an episode on the UK canals.

[@czchad5773]

Can you do the Appalachian Trail, the PCT, and the CDT?

[@motherofvermin]

So much death and pollution and exploitation just for the sake of ego.

[@nicholaswilcox1549]

Ego has nothing to do with it for real climbers

[@jimthar17]

That's mankind for ya.

[@jimthar17]

@@nicholaswilcox1549 Really? you do it for what then? Because every reason I can possibly think of comes back to ego and false pride. There is literally no other reason to climb a death trap mountain.

[@nicholaswilcox1549]

@@jimthar17 have you even been near a mountain, let alone reached the summit of one? Until you can show me a list of major peaks please politely stop making assumptions of people who participate in a sport you don't understand. Mountaineering is not about selfish ego boosts, and anyone that says it is doesn't belong in the mountains.

[@nicholaswilcox1549]

@@jimthar17 what do I do it for? I do it to bring awareness to the environment. To show people the beauty of this planet, to teach other people how to climb to bring happiness to them, to take beautiful pictures for people who can't climb, to be a role model for people who went through similar bullying that I did growing up. Show them that no matter what people call you or say about you even the tallest mountains won't stand in your way especially if you know what you're doing. I know guys who take the lessons they learned from climbing to do amazing things for people. Instead of jumping to conclusions go talk to guys who climb big mountains and you learn that some may have a big ego many of us don't do it to be selfish.

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

I never understood as to why some people would want to risk their well being, just to take a selfie on the tallest mountain on earth.

[@spektrumB]

Climbing the tallest mountain is the main goal. Get a selfie is just a bonus. People will still climb the mountain even if they can't make any selfie.

[@pavkatam]

Why climb the mountain? Because it's there.

[@LilDitBit]

They want to trash every part of our earth

[@bazilisk1]

It would be nice to use metrics which 95% of the world uses.

[@ladymopar2024]

I agree

[@katherinegilks3880]

That Flippin Guy How to convert metric to imperial isn’t taught to anyone outside the UK or US born after 1980 or so because it is largely unnecessary. We learn that is roughly 2.2 lbs to a kilogram, 3.5 feet to a metre, and 1.6 km to a mile. That is it. So every time we watch a video with only imperial units, we have to stop the video and get out the calculator so that we have an accurate idea of the amount. It is not difficult, just frustrating. And forget converting temperature! But the point is that most of the world doesn’t need to do this and so the Brits and Yanks should be the ones to bother saying two numbers instead of one.

[@shebbs1]

@@katherinegilks3880 Actually it is mostly just the yanks who use cave-man units. Even Liberia and Myanmar are turning metric. We Brits pretty much use metrics now, except for miles and, sometimes, pounds but we are taught how to convert.

[@scorpio4080]

Since learning more about Everest a few years back, I've found myself strangely attracted to it. It's deadly, and haunting. There is no pot of gold at the top and the only glory you'll get are the bragging rights. So what's the attraction? I'm not sure, to be honest. The adventure I suppose, where death walks with you. We're I younger and free of health issues, I might find myself strongly tempted by the now famous mountain. I see it in my dreams and nightmares.

[@jensonank2409]

4:11 is Base Camp, 4:19 definitely is not. No cars/roads anywhere near Lucla let alone Base camp

[@spektrumB]

At the Tibetan side, the Chinese builds a road almost straight to the basecamp. Yes, the picture is incorrect if they only refer to the Nepali side.

[@AleksandarGospic]

That is car park at Rongbuk monastery, where road ends on the way to the base camp on the Tibetan side of the Everest. So yeah, wrong image while talking about the Nepalese side base camp

[@kenh9508]

A great book "into thin air" read it and you probably would agree that making to the summit and back is lucky weather and how many oxygen bottles your sherpa can carry.

[@themagicinfidel]

I own and have read Into Thin Air its an amazing book and well writen enough to really get the point across

[@13lochie]

Pretty sure the same author wrote a book on the Eiger. Great read I'd strongly recommend it.

[@knarf_inc4790]

@@13lochie Eiger Dreams

[@13lochie]

@@knarf_inc4790 Thanks mate that's the one. Bloody good read that. Reading that book is about as close as I want to get to the Eiger.

[@moumitadasmontvidiene94]

It's nice that you mentioned the history behind the name of Everest. However, if you had researched beyond Wikipedia, you would have seen that in 1853 an Indian mathematician and surveyor from Bengal, Radhanath Sikder identified Everest as the highest peak above sea level. He worked as a "computer" for the Great Trigonometric Survey. Sikdar was hired by George Everest himself and was his favourite. Radhanath Sikder had his own methods of calculation and never followed the traditional methods. He introduced quite a few innovations that were to remain as standard procedures for many decades to come. The most notable was the formula for conversion of barometric readings taken at different temperatures to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. But I guess no one cares about the colonial servants. It was the mighty Brits that "identified" and "conquered" Everest. Ironically, Sir Edmund Hillary was from NZ and Tenzing Norgay was from Nepal & India...but it was still the British flag at the summit since it was a British led expedition (John Hunt, the leader himself failed to reach summit).

[@ipsissimus7378]

Imagine living at the base of Everest for hundreds of years, I think I would have topped myself halfway through the first century.

[@ex-navyspook]

I saw a video, I think it was Stan Lee's "Superhuman," where they were testing people in a hyperbaric chamber, and slowly taking them up to the elevation of Everest, and having them do simple manual tests. One of the test subjects was a Sherpa who had made several trips to the summit, and he was the only one who was still doing the tests at an elevation HIGHER than Everest with NO oxygen, where the scientists stopped the tests; he, obviously suffered no ill effects.

[@tacklecentralfishing1051]

Everest. You will forever rest *there*

[@happiestcamel5064]

Until Earth is inevitably engulfed by the sun, then it will just be some melted space rocks

[@frtzkng]

*Conversions into units the remaining 7.9 billion people on this planet use:* 2:13 29,090 ft = 8,845.3 m 2:33 -17 °F = -27.2 °C 2:36 -30 °F = -34.4 °C 4:20 17,700 ft = 5,395 m 5:17 150 miles = 241 km 6:06 4 ft = 1.2 m 9:07 26,000 ft = 7,924.8 m 11:40 -40 °F = -40 °C 14:22 80 mph = 129 km/h 14:24 -60 °F = -51.1 °C 15:50 26,000 lbs = approx. 11,800 kg

[@amandab3946]

To get a more detailed narrative of Mt Everest & why many find it controversial; I highly recommend the Last Week Tonight episode on Everest with John Oliver (on USA KZbin).

[@cmoore6131]

Agreed. RIP Greenboots

[@kenh9508]

An unstoppable river of ice moving at 2" an hour. I would like to watch a time lapse of that.

[@kevmasengale6903]

I smoked a joint on top of a mountain one time... It was about 14,200 ft. Talk about being high!

[@jrmckim]

If you want to learn more about the deaths on everest I suggest looking at the Caitlin Doughty video.

[@AceSpadeThePikachu]

"Mount Everest is the deadliest tourist attraction." Yeah well just wait until commercial trips to The Moon and Mars become commonplace.

[@MrRaki72]

Would it be possible to use the metric system, please?