Mt. Everest climbers are having a tough year. Citing experts, ABC News tried to make the deaths on Mt. Everest about climate change. After you wade through the climate fear porn, you find that 11 of 17 deaths were preventable, which is not much different than the expected 4 to 6 deaths.
Seventeen climbers died while trying to climb Everest this year, an extraordinary figure compared to the average of four to six climbers per season, Alan Arnette, a seasoned mountaineer, said.
While the Nepalese government blamed the steep increase in Everest fatalities on climate change, inexperienced and ill-equipped or unqualified guides is likely to blame for the majority of the deaths. the climbing experts said.
Of the 17 people who died, 11 of the deaths were preventable, Arnette said. Several of the deaths were blamed on natural causes, which is typical, Arnette said.
“It is to be expected that you’re going to have people that are going to die from natural causes when climbing Everest because the lower amount of oxygen, and then the exertion that the body goes through climbing at that altitude is stresses the body,” Arnette said.
Why climb Mt. Everest? “Because it is there,” George Mallory.
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