Everest isn’t the place we thought it was. There may be snow covering the fierce mountain – but underneath its deceiving white plumage, you will find the bodies of people that have “climbed” before you.

Mark Jenkins tells us a story of his expedition to the top of the world. The piece he wrote, which is published in the June edition of the National Geographic covers his journey up the Southeast Ridge of Everest. 

He and the lead Sherpa from his team, Panuru, discovered four bodies that had been frozen solid. The bodies beloyned to a Chinese man, Ha Wenyi, who was 55; Nepali-Canadian Shriya Shah-Klorfine, 33; South Korean Song Won-bin, 44; and German Eberhard Schaaf, 61, whose disappearance duration was unknown.

Panuru told Jenkins:

Only half the people here have the experience to climb this mountain. The half without experience are the most likely to die.

“The success rate of climbers has more than tripled since 1990, largely due to more guides and better gear.”

What was once the summit for professional climbers, has now turned into a destination for around 4 000 people. According to the article, almost 90% of the Everest climbers are guided folk that have paid between R282 640 and R1 130 580 to attempt the mountain, without the correct experience or teachings. On top of the four deaths Jenkins spoke of, he reported that another six people were “taken” by the mountain in 2012 – including three Sherpa’s.

And the frozen corpses of the unlucky and inexperienced will not be the only thing in the way of you and the mountain’s summit. The two routes most taken (Northeast Ridge and the Southeast Ridge) are also fulled with litter and past climbers’ excrement.

According to Jenkins and people who know the mountain the best, like Russell Brice, who runs the Himalayan Experience – the mountain can still bounce back and be repaired.

Here are some of the things that have been started and could be done to improve the state of the highest mountain in the world.

[Source: National Geographic]