Above: Headlamps trace a path to the summit a few hours before dawn. Without tighter safety rules, climbers will continue to face more hazards on the mountain than altitude and the elements. “The most dangerous thing about Everest,” said one guide, “is everyone else who’s trying to climb it.”
Image © Subin Thakuri, Utmost Adventure Trekking/National Geographic
Traffic chokes the Hillary Step on May 19, 2012. Some climbers spent as long as two hours at this 40-foot rock wall below the summit, losing body heat. Even so, 234 people reached the top on this day. Four climbers died.
A crowd of climbers slog up the Lhotse Face, heading toward Camp IV, last stop before the summit. Loose regulations and a boom in commercial guiding over the past two decades have made Everest far more accessible to experts and novices alike.
Image © National Geographic
Images are from the June issue of National Geographic magazine.
source National Geographic