Mount Everest is the highest point on our planet. Therefore, many people dream of conquering. Is it a joke: eight thousand eight hundred forty eight meters! From one height only, it takes your breath away and ripples in your eyes. After all, there is three times less oxygen in the air near the top of Everest than at sea level. Add to that the risk of avalanches, hurricane winds. Thin air is not sufficient protection against solar radiation. The temperature amplitude here is almost like on the Moon: during the day + 40, and at night -60 degrees. But in these hellish conditions you also need to go up. Although in this regard, Everest is not such an impregnable mountain. The usual tourist route to the top is not so difficult in the technical sense. Therefore, to conquer the "roof of the world" is within the power of any healthy person, and not just a climber. Another thing is the financial issue. How much does climbing Mount Everest cost? This article will be devoted to this aspect of the journey to the top of the world.
Magic of everest
The local names of the mountain indicate that the peoples inhabiting its slopes had the deepest respect for this peak and even experienced sacred awe. In Nepal, Everest is called the Sagarmatha, and in Tibet - the Jomolungma. These names mean "Mother of the whole world and the gods." And to take this peak with an attack is not so simple. Even now, when the business of climbing has been put on a commercial basis, the answer to the question: “How much does climbing Mount Everest cost?” may be fatal: "Human life." Mortality among those storming Jomolungma reaches 11%. Every tenth perishes! But people still strive for the highest peak in the world. Why? As George Mallory (another Everest victim in 1924) said, because it exists. Man is so arranged - he was born to set records. And unbearable climatic conditions, the danger of frostbite and the concomitant rise in hypoxia will not stop him. After all, the more difficulties, the more valuable the victory.
The history of the conquest of Everest
It happened on May 29, 1953. A New Zealand citizen, Edmund Hillary, and his accompanying sherp, Tenzing Norgay, ascended the Roof of the World. Both breathed "English air" - so the locals, chuckling, called the oxygen cylinders that British climbers first brought to Nepal. Twenty-seven years later, their record was broken by the Austrian Reinhold Messner. He conquered Everest alone and, moreover, breathed the rarefied air of the highlands. And when the easiest route along the southern side of the Jomolungma was explored, and a network of base camps was built, the records became more frequent. Now everything is decided by money, so the question “how much does climbing Mount Everest cost” is the most important in the entire enterprise. The youngest conquerors are 13-year-old American and Indian. The oldest is an 80-year-old Japanese. There were times when people with disabilities climbed Mount Everest from the steep side of the summit, stayed at the peak of the night … They all outdid the Buddhist monk who went into a trance on the "Roof of the World" and spent thirty-eight hours like that!
Who is taken on the expedition
As you can see, now that the business of conquering the highest mountain on the planet has been put on a commercial basis, it all depends more on the size of the wallet than on the state of health. But do not discount it. After all, the question of conquering the highest mountain on the planet must be posed correctly: not “How much does climbing Mount Everest cost?”, But what is the price of such an opportunity. Moreover, the money must be paid in advance - for organizational expenses. Therefore, it makes sense to first test yourself in other mountain hikes. It happens that a person and at three thousand above sea level becomes ill: nausea, sometimes vomiting, intolerable headache. This means that you have a mountain sickness. And there's nothing to be done about it. The only cure is to go down. Also, there is nothing to meditate on conquering the eight-thousander people with acute heart failure, weak lungs, asthma, hypo-and hypertension.
How much is climbing Everest
The price of such a trip varies depending on various conditions. You can climb the solo peak, with or without oxygen tanks, accompanied by a sherpa porter or really yourself, carrying your (rather big!) Luggage on your back. There are group ascents and the so-called commercial ascents. In the latter case, the trip turns into an almost entertaining walk. The undersized Sherpas will do everything for you: deliver your luggage, oxygen tanks to the top, pitch tents, cook food. You will only need to step and take stunning pictures. And in the base camp, at an altitude of 5200 meters, where acclimatization takes place, comfortable bedrooms, a sauna and Wi-Fi are waiting for tourists. Let’s now see how much it costs to climb Mount Everest. The price starts at twelve thousand dollars. And it can reach forty. But even having paid that kind of money, you won’t get a guarantee that the closest point to the top will be the same base camp at 5200 m, or, even worse, that you will return alive from this trip.
When Everest Mountain Becomes Available
How much is climbing, we have already considered. But not everything depends on the size of the wallet. High altitude weather is moody. With heavy piercing winds and minus twenty degrees, they feel like -80. In order not to then have to amputate frostbite limbs, it is worth going down and starting the ascent when the weather is blowing. Therefore, the conquerors of the “Roofs of the World” have only two seasons a year. The first, and most popular, lasts from early April to late May. Later, the time comes for heavy fogs, which can be fatal even for Sherpas who know every pebble on the trail. The second season - September-October - is less popular due to a slightly shorter daylight hours. Well, in winter, the temperature at the top can reach minus sixty degrees. Hurricane winds reduce the chances of surviving such a night to zero.
Which tour to choose
Based on the laws of simple logic, independent travel should cost a person less than that organized through a travel agency. Costs for tour operators and other intermediaries are deleted from the estimate. However, this logic does not work if you plan to climb Mount Everest. How to get there and how much it will cost - depends on the size of the group. After all, the luggage that you need to take with you on a trip is common things. The costs of large tents, guides, transfer to the camp and back will be shared by the group members. An independent tourist will have to buy oxygen cylinders (four per person, but preferably six), while the group leader simply refills the ones already used. It is also almost impossible for a lone daredevil to hire an experienced Sherpa guide. At an altitude of more than seven and a half thousand, each breath is given with difficulty. Under such conditions, setting up a tent is a feat. Oxygen starvation and low pressure do the most evil jokes with the human mind. Climbers experienced visual and auditory hallucinations. To stay in reality and act appropriately, you need the support of the group.
How long is the trip
Why are such gigantic amounts voiced by operators when you ask how much it costs to climb Mount Everest? Traveling to the "Roof of the World" and (with luck) back lasts about two months. Although the spurt to the peak itself takes only a couple of days. Most of the time - about forty days - tourists spend in the base camp. Do you think this is a waste of money? Then check out the dry facts. When the cockpit depressurizes at an altitude of 7000 meters, the pilot loses consciousness after two minutes. But you have to climb 8848! In base camp, you will not be idle. And how much does it cost to climb Everest (in terms of personal efforts), you will find out there already. The golden rule of mountain adaptation is: "Come high, sleep low." Therefore, a number of short trekking awaits you. But the conditions in the base camp are good. Tourists are provided with one tent per person. VIP-am available saunas, restaurant food and other delights that can only be found at an altitude of 5200 meters.
Death area
Up to seven and a half thousand meters, climbing for an adapted person is not very difficult. In addition, there is always the opportunity to return. If the price of the question "how much does it cost to climb Everest" ranges from 50-60 thousand dollars, and you climb the gentle southern slope, then a helicopter can pick you up. But then begins the death zone. Then all the tourists - no matter how much they pay - are equalized in rights. Rather, they almost equalize. Those who breathe through an oxygen mask and whose wears are Sherpas benefit. But they also experience great difficulties associated with climbing to great heights. Each breath is given with difficulty. The desire to sit down and relax is fraught with the risk of staying here forever. By the way, because of the inaccessibility, corpses are not removed from the death zone, and they serve as guidelines for subsequent conquerors of Everest. And give joy on the "Roof of the World" give only twenty minutes: if you do not go down to the camp before dark, the whole group will die.
