10 Mountain Climbing Disasters Deadlier Than The Everest Movie
1. Just When They Thought It Was Safe To Return To Everest - 2015
The Mountain: Everest
# of Deaths: 18
The Story: After the tragedy of 2014 essentially canceled that year’s climbing season, many mountaineers were eager to return in 2015. The conflict with the Sherpas had resulted in an increase in the insurance on each guide from $11,000 to $15,000. The Nepalese government set a new route up the mountain, changing it for the first time since 1953 so as to avoid a repeat of the 2014 tragedy. Everest was ready to be climbed again.
By April 25, 2015, little more than a year after the 16 Sherpas perished at the "Golden Gate," Everest had as many as 359 climbers at Base Camp. Then Nepal suffered a 7.8 earthquake that afternoon, killing thousands in the area and decimating villages. It also set off multiple avalanches on Everest, killing at least 18 while injuring 61 others. Among the dead were 10 Sherpas and a Google executive who was mapping the mountain for a Google Earth project. Three other Google employees who were on the trip with him survived. In the hours and days after the event, wide-scale helicopter rescue efforts and a heroic effort by an Indian Army mountaineering unit rescued hundreds of stranded climbers.
There were still those who were undeterred and determined to finish their climb, but the authorities eventually had to close the mountain down. When a second earthquake hit on May 12, there was no one left at Base Camp, and Everest ultimately went unclimbed for the first time in 41 years, calling into question the future of mountain climbing on the world’s roof.