Everest and the Crowd Factor: How Congestion Is Raising the Risks

Category: Adventure Guides

Each spring, when the icefall ladders go into place, tents proliferate across Base Camp, and sherpas go on rotation runs, another phenomenon silently unfolds on Mount Everest—a human congestion at the pinnacle of the world.

Though climbing Everest is a lifelong aspiration for so many, the recent spate of congestion on the mountain has made the world’s highest point a perilously congested corridor. And with it, a fiercely increased risk, particularly within the Death Zone, where a single minute matters.

A Mountain of People: The Increasing Number

On the 2023 Everest season alone, there were more than 600 summit successes from the Nepali side. This number increased to 787 in 2024. As the Nepal government has issued a record number of permits annually, the formerly isolated climb is now studded with bottlenecks, queues, and lengthy wait times at bottlenecks along.

The Hillary Step
Entry and exit of the Khumbu Icefall

Not where you want to become stranded, particularly when the air has run low and the situation may reverse within a matter of minutes.

Why is this so dangerous?

The countdown is on in the death zone
Above 8,000 metres, the body slowly dies. Oxygen is at a third of that at sea level, and each minute at the Death Zone raises the risk of:

High-altitude sickness
Frostbite
Hypoxia (lack of oxygen)
Hallucination and poor judgment

Imagine being stranded in a queue for hours, with no room to move up or downwards, with only a few bottles of oxygen and decreasing temperatures.

Delayed Descents Are Deadly
Most accidents on Everest don’t occur while climbing upward, but on the descent. Climbers use up all their strength climbing to the top and overlook the physical effort of descending.

Congestion delays mean:
Exhaustion-stricken climbers take much longer than anticipated

Chances of being caught in the darkness or sudden storms
Exhaustion of oxygen, fodder, and energy

Overwhelmed Rescue and Medical Support
The large number of climbers places pressure on:

Helicopter evacuations
Base Camp medical teams
Sherpa support teams, who make several hazardous journeys to help stragglers

Logistics for rescuing a sick or injured mountaineer at over 8,000m are already close to impossible. Factor in dozens of people on the trail, and response time is severely slowed down.

What is driving the congestion?

Unlimited permits issued: Nepal has no restriction on the number of permits issued during a season. (This year, a new rule has been put in place where the Nepal Government has made it mandatory that a climber who wants to climb Mt Everest has to have summited a 7000-meter peak in Nepal). Yet there could be many who are just first-time climbers with no 7000 mts climb to their credit and have a permit to climb Mt Everest.
Untrained climbers: They join budget tour operators with limited screening or preparation. It’s the lure of joining the 8K club.
No staggered schedules: When a good window of weather presents itself, everyone ascends to the summit on the same date.

What Can Climbers Do?

Choose your operator wisely

Select companies which rotate wisely and do not go for the peak at any price.

Inquire about weather forecasting, alternative plans, and crowd avoidance measures.

Know Your Limit

Climbing Everest is not for a novice. Experience on other high-altitude peaks prepares you for pacing yourself and handling stress.
Prepare for flexibility

Be prepared to wait out a crowd or reverse direction if it becomes unsafe. Summit fever is deadly.
Get insured—for real

Evacuation from Everest is a $10,000 to $30,000 expense. Adventure insurance such as ASC360 covers not only emergencies but also delays, cancellations, and rescues—all becoming ever-more prevalent during a crowded Everest season.

Today's Everest is not the same as it was in 1953. It is congested, commercialised, and—if approached without caution—riskier than ever before. But that is no reason why the dream is gone. It simply signifies that the new world demands increased consciousness, intelligence, and a culture of safety rather than ego. For at 8,848 meters, the summit is not the paramount objective. The paramount objective is to return safely.