Published May 16, 2026 03:49AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Climbing Mount Everest was once seen as perhaps the most arduous activity a human could endure. But in recent decades, the reputation of the mountain and those who climb it has changed. Today, the contemporary view of Everest is that of a tourist attraction for the ultra-rich, who gulp down bottled oxygen while being dragged to the summit by silent Sherpa guides.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve spent the spring living at Mount Everest Base Camp, observing how climbers and expedition operators navigate the complexities and challenges of modern climbing on the peak. I\u2019ve also spoken with dozens of veteran guides, expedition workers, climbers and even authors who have chronicled the greatest feats of modern mountaineering.<\/p>\n
There is one thread woven through nearly all of my conversations here that is as simple as it is surprising: despite all of the conveniences of commercial expeditions, and advances in technology and guiding techniques, Mount Everest remains an extremely difficult climb.<\/p>\n
I set out to learn more and to investigate deeper. Is it really that hard to get to the top of Everest? And where did this reputation of Everest being \u201ctoo easy\u201d come from? Here\u2019s what the experts told me.<\/p>\n
A Punishing Ascent, Even for Elite Climbers<\/h2>\n
Mark Synnott is a professional climber, International Federation of Mountain Guides Association (IFMGA)-accredited mountain guide, member of The North Face athlete team, and author of numerous books, including The Third Pole <\/em>about his 2019 Everest expedition. Synnott has built one of the most impressive climbing resumes in modern alpinism. His achievements include the 40-day first ascent of the 4,700-foot Polar Sun Spire on Canada\u2019s Baffin Island, and a 6,000-foot Grade VII route on Great Trango Tower in Pakistan\u2014one of the longest and most difficult rock climbs in the world.<\/p>\n Despite decades spent on some of the planet\u2019s steepest and most remote walls, Synnott says his 2019 ascent of Mount Everest remains among the hardest climbs of his life.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople told me that when you\u2019re on oxygen, Everest only feels like you\u2019re at 20,000 feet,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been at 20,000 feet, and it didn\u2019t feel anything like that. It felt at least ten times harder.\u201d<\/p>\n Synnott joined a National Geographic expedition to Everest\u2019s north side six years ago to search for the body of Sandy Irvine, a British mountaineer who disappeared on Everest along with George Mallory in 1924.<\/p>\n Synnott expected the climb to be difficult, but very manageable. He was quickly humbled by the mountain.<\/p>\n \u201cI couldn\u2019t breathe, even with oxygen,\u201d Synnott recalled. \u201cI had no appetite. I remember getting to the summit and taking a bite of a Snickers bar. It was completely nauseating to me, and I immediately barfed it down the front of my suit.\u201d<\/p>\n At the extreme altitudes of Everest, even our most critical bodily functions begin to fail.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we descended, I found myself hoping that the going would get easier because I was already way, way, beyond my limits. Thankfully, it was,\u201d Synnott added.<\/p>\n What surprised Synnott most about Mount Everest was not the technical climbing, but the sheer physical degradation his body suffered during the hours he spent above 26,000 feet.<\/p>\n \u201cI walked away from Everest having a lot of respect for the amount of grit it takes to get to the top,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At extreme altitude, the human body enters into a slow and unstoppable deterioration where it cannibalizes itself simply to survive. Once you cross above 26,000 feet, in the so-called \u201cDeath Zone,\u201d this breakdown accelerates. Without supplemental oxygen, humans can only survive in these conditions for a matter of hours or days. Here, the air contains a third as much oxygen as at sea level. Even with supplemental oxygen, a climber\u2019s blood-oxygen level plummets to dangerous levels.<\/p>\n \u201cEven with all the help people get, climbing Everest is still really hard,\u201d Arnold Coster, a longtime guide from the Netherlands, told Outside. <\/em>\u201cWe can reduce some of the weight people have to carry, but you cannot take away the deterioration of your body at altitude.\u201d<\/p>\n Coster spoke to Outside <\/em>from Everest Base Camp while leading his 23rd expedition to the mountain. While there are other 8,000-meter\u00a0peaks like K2 or Makalu that are more technically challenging than Everest, its soaring height means climbers must spend more time above 26,000 feet than on other 8000ers. And the more time climbers spend at this altitude, Coster says, the more stress is placed on their bodies.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the time you spend above 20,000 feet, your body is going to eat itself in order to survive because normal organ functions, digestion, and even sleep don\u2019t work anymore at that altitude,\u201d Coster explained. \u201cThe longer you stay there, the worse it gets.\u201d<\/p>\n Most climbers make several ascents above 20,000 feet during their acclimatization rounds. Then comes summit day.<\/p>\n \u201cAbove Camp III, it feels like the worst hangover you\u2019ve ever had in your life\u2014and then you have to strap on your backpack and go for a 24-hour nonstop workout in the cold,\u201d Coster said. \u201cWith almost no water or food, because all you can bring is what fits in that bag of yours.\u201d<\/p>\n Matt Irving is an athlete and cinematographer who accompanied Synnott on his 2019 climb and, in subsequent years, reached the summit again from the Nepal side. During his climbs, he was surprised by how slow everything was, and how something as simple as staying healthy could make the difference between reaching the top or not coming back at all.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the physical element of the climb was manageable,\u201d he said. \u201cAs long as you can put one foot in front of the other and keep moving, it feels like an achievable goal. The climb was hard for me, but not in a way I expected it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe thing that surprised me that I know now is to do whatever you can to not get sick,\u201d he continued. \u201cBecause as fit as you are, as much money you throw at the problem, if you get sick at the wrong time, you are probably not going to the top. If you get sick as you\u2019re going up to the summit, you really are putting yourself in quite a bit of danger.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, getting sick is one of the many things that can go wrong on Everest. Every year, Base Camp fills up with more than 2,000 people from all over the world. Here, climbers are exhausted and battling altitude illness. They\u2019re eating different foods and meeting in crowded tents. Every year, colds and viruses spread through the camp like wildfire.<\/p>\n \u201cCouple that with bad food, bad sleep, and all kinds of small sicknesses climbers get before they even sleep above 23,000 feet,\u201d Coster added.<\/p>\n Then there are the logistical challenges posed by the large crowds all striving for the summit. While expedition operators handle the tricky logistics of stocking higher camps and moving oxygen bottles onto the peak, they must also navigate the weather and find the right day for their clients to make their summit push.<\/p>\n \u201cAs an expedition leader, the biggest worries are the weather forecast and the crowds. On mountains other than Everest, I don\u2019t have to worry about other people,\u201d Coster said. \u201cThe lines on Everest aren\u2019t dangerous per se as they tend to move steadily and slowly upwards\u2014but this poses a real test of patience and mental strength that most clients aren\u2019t prepared for.\u201d<\/p>\n Synnott came of age as a climber in the nineties, inspired by legendary Everest pioneers like Reinhold Messner and Tom Hornbein. But the publication of Into Thin Air, <\/em>in 1997, fundamentally changed how he and his generation viewed the mountain.<\/p>\n \u201cThat book changed the story for a whole generation of climbers because it painted a portrait of Everest that wasn\u2019t pretty,\u201d Synnott told Outside. <\/em>\u201cIt put a dark cloud over the mountain that wasn\u2019t there before. Myself and pretty much every other climber of my generation were like, \u2018This mountain is tainted. Let\u2019s go as far in the other direction from this as we can get.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Jon Krakauer\u2019s bestselling account of the 1996 Everest disaster embedded an enduring narrative of chaos, commercialism, and needless death into the public imagination. In the decades since, viral social media images of crowded summit ridges and traffic jams have only reinforced the perception that Everest has become less of a true mountaineering challenge than a guided endurance event.<\/p>\nThe Body\u2019s Deterioration in The Death Zone<\/h2>\n
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A Million Things That Can Go Wrong<\/h2>\n
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Why Do People Think Everest Is Easy?<\/h2>\n