The hardest part of climbing Mount Everest isn’t what you think

Everest is, we’re told, ‘the highest garbage dump in the world’. It’s a place, if you believe the reports from this year’s climbing season, that is increasingly crowded. Terrifying video footage released last month showed climbers waiting their turn at the very top of the mountain shortly before two of them fell to their death. What’s the appeal?

For nearly two decades I’ve lived in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. I spend my time here gallivanting around the high Himalayas. Having made it to the top of Everest, it’s clear to me that the reason so many people want to climb the mountain is simple: it is the highest peak on earth. The majority of those who reach the summit bask in the glory for the rest of their lives.

Those who seek to climb Everest are driven by a desire to stand on top of the world and return with a tale of conquest that cements their place in the annals of human achievement – no matter in what style they reach it.