- 20 hours ago
History By The Numbers
Category
🏖
TravelTranscript
00:05I think a lot of people go to Mount Everest and be like,
00:08this is something I'm going to accomplish.
00:10It's like the metaphor for all the goals, you know, that people have.
00:14It's a quantifiable marker. It's just like, it just is the biggest, tallest thing.
00:17There is this badge of honor that comes with it.
00:21And yeah, a selfie, for Insta.
00:24The summit of Everest is just over 29,000 feet above sea level.
00:29And it so happens that there is no other mountain which does top 29,000 feet.
00:35That one simple number has attracted thousands of people
00:38willing to risk everything to get to the top of Mount Everest.
00:42For every 33 people who make it to the top of Everest,
00:46one person dies trying. Not good odds.
00:48There must be 50 ways to die on Mount Everest.
00:52Hyplaxia, hypothermia, ice falls, avalanches.
01:00And bad decision-making.
01:03I would die climbing Mount Everest.
01:05I would immediately die. I have no cardio.
01:07Most people who did climb Everest definitely did not tell their mom
01:10they were climbing Everest because no mother would ever allow their child
01:13to do anything like that.
01:15For 100 years, Everest has been a beacon to scientists,
01:18geographers, and adventurers,
01:20drawn to the tiny point where our planet brushes against the stratosphere.
01:24There's something rather special about being totally alone
01:27on top of the Earth.
01:29The dreams are found.
01:30It's thrilling and exciting, immensely rewarding.
01:33It's truly a blessing.
01:34On the other hand, you're in the most dangerous place on Earth.
02:00Mount Everest casts a spell across the globe.
02:03Thanks to a few numbers, Everest is more than a mountain.
02:07It's a challenge to the world.
02:11Asking, have you got what it takes to conquer the big one?
02:15Well, it's the highest mountain in the world.
02:17It's a third pole.
02:19Mountaineers seek the heights.
02:21There's something about getting to the highest point
02:23that brings you closer to God.
02:26Mount Everest is 29,032 feet tall.
02:30Its summit is almost 5 1⁄2 miles above sea level.
02:36That's as high as 95 statues of liberty
02:38stacked on top of each other.
02:41It sits in the Himalayan mountain range in Central Asia,
02:44on the border between China and Nepal,
02:48about 115 miles east of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu.
02:53I can't help but think that some of the fascination
02:56with tall mountains has to do with a bit of phallic obsession.
03:04But I think a lot of people climb Mount Everest
03:07for the bragging rights.
03:11Each year, more than 500 climbers
03:13hailing from all over the world
03:15pay an average of $45,000 to try and make it to the top.
03:19It cost me like $3,000 to go backpacking in Japan
03:22for like two weeks, so like, that seems reasonable.
03:24That's some rich people right there.
03:26Even though you have a lot of free time
03:28and a lot of money, there's a chance to die
03:30and you sort of want to.
03:34Until really the 1990s,
03:36to have a go at Mount Everest,
03:38it was assumed that you were
03:41a very experienced mountaineer.
03:44When I went to the mountain in 1988,
03:48I was actually the 203rd person to reach the summit.
03:5433 years later,
03:55the mountain's been climbed by well over 10,000 people.
04:00In 2019 alone,
04:02523 paying climbers tried to scale Mount Everest.
04:08398 of them succeeded,
04:10along with 507 gods.
04:12Ten people died in the attempt.
04:16Certain humans are attracted to sports and competitions
04:21that are considered particularly dangerous.
04:24And the corpses strewn up and down Everest
04:27kind of add to the cachet for some individuals.
04:33For 100 years,
04:35human beings have been trying to climb Everest.
04:38And 288 of them
04:39have lost their lives.
04:41So why would anyone brave this peak?
04:44And how did our obsession with Everest begin?
04:47These guys are the Everest OGs,
04:50especially this guy,
04:51George Mallory,
04:52who tries to climb it three times in the 1920s.
04:55When he is asked why,
04:57he simply answers,
04:59because it's there.
05:01Because it's there
05:02is not a good enough reason to climb Mount Everest.
05:04Because it's there
05:05is kind of like the same reasons my cats have
05:07for eating all the things
05:08that they're not supposed to eat.
05:10Uh, heroin's just there.
05:12A lot of things are there.
05:17So how exactly did Mount Everest get there?
05:2450 million B.C.
05:27The tectonic plate
05:28that forms the Indian subcontinent
05:33collides with the Eurasian plate,
05:35driving the rocky peaks of the Himalayas
05:38up and into existence,
05:40including Mount Everest.
05:43For the next 50 million years or so,
05:45that tectonic collision continues.
05:48So every year,
05:49Everest grows about an eighth of an inch.
05:52That's called being an overachiever.
05:54At some point,
05:56Everest slowly became
05:58the highest point on the planet,
06:00but no one noticed for a really long time.
06:06Fast forward to 1802.
06:08British colonial influence in India
06:10is in full swing.
06:12And Mount Everest is still living
06:13in blissful anonymity.
06:15But that will soon change,
06:17because the British East India Company
06:19wants to reinforce their control
06:21of the Indian subcontinent.
06:23So they decide to map every inch of it,
06:26beginning at the country's southern tip.
06:29This is an extraordinary feat
06:32of science and engineering
06:36called the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India.
06:39And basically,
06:41it was a way of measuring
06:43through a series of triangles.
06:46Hundreds of people labor
06:48to create an accurate map of India,
06:50working their way 1,600 miles up
06:52the entire country,
06:53one triangle at a time.
06:55It was a literal measurement
06:58of a line of longitude,
07:00the length of the subcontinent of India.
07:03This implied carrying
07:05the most fine instrument of the era,
07:08these theodolites that weighed 1,500 pounds.
07:11And they literally marched
07:13these incredible devices,
07:15the length of the subcontinent.
07:1742 years after they begin,
07:19the British surveyors
07:20reach the Himalayan mountain range
07:21and notice,
07:23wow,
07:23these mountains are big.
07:29In 1846,
07:31Andrew War is the director
07:33of the Survey of India
07:34when the Bengali mathematician
07:38Radhanar Sikhtar says,
07:40I've discovered
07:41the highest mountain on Earth,
07:44peak 15.
07:46and it's Andrew War
07:48who suggests that
07:50instead of calling it peak 15,
07:52we should name it
07:53after my predecessor,
07:54Sir George Evarist.
07:57Sir George Evarist,
07:59as he apparently pronounced his name,
08:01actually rather objected to this idea.
08:03He said, well,
08:03that's not really appropriate
08:04and there must be a proper,
08:06a local name for the mountain,
08:08which indeed there is.
08:09It's Chomalungma.
08:11And it was his misfortune
08:13to have a mountain,
08:15highest on Earth,
08:16named after him for all time,
08:18but also mispronounced
08:20for all time
08:21as Everest.
08:26The mountain's stature
08:27is discovered
08:28at a key moment,
08:29just as Europeans
08:30are developing
08:31a severe case
08:32of alpine fever.
08:38In the mid-19th century,
08:40there was a gradual change
08:41of attitude in Europe
08:43from thinking of mountains
08:45as places of horror
08:47to thinking of them
08:49as places
08:49of fascinating beauty.
08:50By the late 19th century,
08:54climbing had been
08:54one of the things
08:56that gentlemen did.
08:57There was a fusion
08:58of literature and culture
09:00that went with climbing.
09:02And that really
09:03reached its climax
09:04with the first descent
09:05of Matterhorn
09:06in 1865.
09:09The 14,692-foot Matterhorn
09:12quickly attains
09:13legendary status
09:14among the European mountaineers.
09:16It is a very,
09:18very striking
09:19visual object
09:21and it has a kind
09:23of aura
09:24and fame.
09:25When word of Everest's
09:27impressive altitude
09:28makes it back to Europe,
09:29the tweed-clad mountaineers
09:31inevitably set their sights
09:32on conquering it.
09:34In the mid-19th century,
09:37when Westerners
09:38first realized
09:39that there were mountains
09:41reaching to nearly
09:4330,000 feet in height,
09:45they couldn't believe
09:46that mountains could
09:47actually be this high.
09:50The fact that Everest
09:51is 29,000 feet high,
09:53that is the equivalent
09:54of looking down
09:55from an airplane.
09:56Everest is twice the height
09:58of the mighty Matterhorn
09:59and presents challenges
10:00that European mountaineers
10:02can't even imagine.
10:07It's the early 1900s
10:09and Europeans are conquering
10:10the final frontiers
10:11of planet Earth
10:12one by one.
10:14The North Pole,
10:15the South Pole,
10:17and inevitably,
10:18Mount Everest.
10:21In 1921,
10:22George Mallory
10:23of Because It's Their fame
10:24goes to Everest
10:26for the first time
10:27to scout it.
10:28George Mallory
10:29was a fantastic climber.
10:31He was also
10:32stunningly good-looking,
10:34and in a way,
10:36he became the symbol
10:38of the great effort
10:40on Everest.
10:41In 1922,
10:43he returns
10:44as part of the first
10:44serious attempt
10:45to reach the summit,
10:46approaching Everest
10:48from the north
10:48through China.
10:50The white men
10:51arrive with all
10:53their extraordinary
10:54equipment,
10:55including these
10:56steel cylinders
10:57full of oxygen,
10:59and the local
11:00Tibetan people,
11:01they are amazed,
11:02and they call it
11:03English air.
11:06At Everest base camp,
11:07the air contains
11:08less than 50%
11:10of the oxygen
11:10present at sea level.
11:12At 25,000 feet,
11:14this drops to 39%.
11:17At Everest summit,
11:19the air contains
11:20only 32%
11:22of the oxygen
11:22we're used to
11:23at sea level.
11:24But Sherpas
11:25and many European
11:27mountaineers at the time
11:28are dubious
11:29about using English air.
11:30At this stage,
11:32there's still
11:32considerable doubt,
11:34A, about whether
11:36a human being
11:37can actually get
11:38to 29,000 feet,
11:40B, whether
11:41supplementary oxygen
11:43is actually
11:43going to help.
11:45These European
11:46mountaineers
11:47had never tested
11:48their abilities
11:48against a mountain
11:49like this one.
11:50Mount Everest challenges
11:52the very limits
11:53of human physiology.
11:55At nearly 9,000 meters,
11:57there's so little
11:57air pressure,
11:58you've just got to
11:59extract what you can
12:00out of the air.
12:00Every step,
12:01it'd be three
12:03very conscious,
12:05deep breaths.
12:07Onward, gentlemen!
12:08Forward!
12:10Now, echo!
12:12The first expedition
12:13quickly finds out
12:14how unforgiving
12:15Everest can be.
12:16They were really
12:17climbing into
12:18the unknown.
12:18On June 7, 1922,
12:22George Mallory,
12:23two teammates,
12:25and 14 Sherpa
12:27are attempting
12:27to conquer Everest.
12:29They weren't really
12:30prepared for what
12:31they saw.
12:32They got onto
12:32the northeast ridge,
12:33and then there
12:34was a huge avalanche.
12:38The avalanche
12:39tosses the expedition
12:41145 feet down
12:42the mountainside.
12:44Seven Sherpa
12:44are killed
12:45in the first major
12:46climbing disaster
12:47on Mount Everest.
12:52It will be two years
12:54before George Mallory
12:55makes another attempt
12:56at Everest.
12:591924, many of the
13:00same team come back
13:02for a second full-scale
13:04attempt on the mountain.
13:07George Mallory
13:08sets out once more
13:09to reach the top
13:10of planet Earth,
13:11this time with a young
13:12climbing partner
13:13named Andrew Irvine.
13:14They sort of knew
13:16what to expect.
13:18They had all the pieces
13:20in place to actually
13:21make an attempt
13:22to climb the summit.
13:25Mallory and Irvine
13:26leave the rest of their
13:27team at the camp,
13:28striking out along
13:29Everest's northeast ridge.
13:31June the 8th,
13:32a member of the
13:32climbing team
13:34looks up,
13:35and he thinks
13:36he sees two figures
13:38somewhere possibly up
13:40on that crest
13:41of the northeast ridge.
13:44And then the clouds
13:45move back in,
13:46and he doesn't see them again.
13:48It's the last time
13:50anyone sees Mallory
13:51or Irvine alive.
13:56And it was never
13:57determined whether
13:59or not they reached
14:00the summit
14:01before they met
14:02their end.
14:03Mallory's disappearance
14:04was international news
14:06and remains a subject
14:07of public fascination
14:09to this day.
14:10But his disappearance
14:11into the mists
14:12of Everest
14:13does not discourage
14:14further attempts
14:15to conquer the mountain.
14:17During the 1930s,
14:18there are four more attempts
14:19to try and get
14:20to that summit.
14:21And then after the war,
14:23there are more attempts
14:23because people desperately
14:25want to complete
14:25this journey.
14:28In 1953,
14:29the British make
14:30another attempt
14:30under the leadership
14:31of an army colonel
14:32named John Hunt.
14:33Right, here we go.
14:35The large expedition
14:35includes Edmund Hillary,
14:37a beekeeper
14:38from New Zealand.
14:39There won't be any bees
14:40at the top of Everest.
14:41and Tenzing Norgay,
14:42who is a member
14:43of the climbing team
14:44in addition to leading
14:45the Sherpas.
14:46I can help you, Edmund.
14:47Ed Hillary was very,
14:49very driven.
14:50He was intensely ambitious.
14:53It was wonderful
14:54that he was paired
14:55with Tenzing Norgay,
14:56a man who almost
14:58got to the summit
14:59with the Swiss
15:00the year before.
15:04Tenzing Norgay
15:05has been a porter
15:05and guide on Everest
15:06for nearly 20 years
15:07by the time
15:08Edmund Hillary arrives.
15:10Tenzing Norgay
15:11technically
15:12a citizen of India
15:13but born in Tibet
15:15and also a citizen of Nepal
15:17and was in a way
15:19representative
15:19of the Sherpas
15:21he headed.
15:23The 1953 expedition
15:25establishes a path
15:26approached through Nepal
15:28that is now known
15:29as the South Khol route.
15:31A khol is a low point
15:32in a ridge
15:33between mountains.
15:35This route winds its way
15:36up the southwest
15:37face of the mountain
15:38and is now dotted
15:39by four rest stops
15:40along the way
15:42starting with Camp 1
15:43at 19,500 feet
15:45up to Camp 4
15:47which sits in the South Khol
15:49at 26,300 feet.
15:52The start of the climb
15:54is up the infamous
15:55Khumbu Icefall
15:56a great cataract of ice
15:58on the south side
15:59of the mountain
15:59is changing from week
16:01to week.
16:01Sections are collapsing
16:03constantly.
16:03you've got to climb
16:04through over 2,000 feet
16:06of chaotically fractured
16:08tumbling blocks of ice
16:10the size of skyscrapers.
16:13It's just a very,
16:14very dangerous place
16:15and it always will be.
16:18The Khumbu Icefall
16:19is part of the 10-mile-long
16:21Khumbu Glacier
16:21the highest glacier
16:23in the world
16:23with its source
16:25at an altitude
16:26of 25,000 feet
16:28moving down the mountain
16:30at an average rate
16:30of 3 feet per day.
16:33If you could stand it on end
16:34it would be 53,000 feet tall
16:37almost twice as high
16:38as Mount Everest itself.
16:42The 2.5-mile-long
16:43icefall
16:44is filled with towering
16:45ceracs up to 30 feet high
16:47and crevasses
16:48up to 145 feet deep.
16:51It's the first major challenge
16:53on the ascent.
16:54Climers must cross
16:55a 2,000-foot stretch
16:56of the icefall
16:57to get to Camp 1.
16:59Part of what's impressive
17:01is all the logistics
17:02to get them there.
17:04The plans for having
17:05regular drop-off points
17:07for food,
17:08for oxygen,
17:10how they're going to get
17:11all their equipment
17:11up and down that mountain.
17:13In preparation
17:14for their summit attempt
17:15Hilary and Norgay
17:16must pass through
17:17the icefall several times.
17:21During one attempt
17:22the dangers of the icefall
17:24strike.
17:25Descending the glacier
17:26Hilary lands
17:27on an icy outcropping
17:29above a crevasse
17:30which collapses
17:31beneath him
17:32and he plunges
17:33towards the darkness below.
17:36Luckily he is tethered
17:37to his climbing partner
17:38Norgay.
17:39And I set off
17:40down the crevasse.
17:42Well, Tenzing
17:43he was following
17:44had the rope
17:46tighten
17:46in a very short time
17:47and pulled me up
17:49so I didn't go very far.
17:52Tenzing Norgay's
17:53expert skills
17:54save Edmund Hillary's life
17:55and they form a friendship
17:57that will last
17:58for decades.
18:01Hillary and Norgay
18:02are the B team
18:03on this expedition.
18:04After another pair
18:05of climbers
18:06fails to reach the peak
18:07they are chosen
18:09they are chosen
18:09to make the second try.
18:11So we get to the morning
18:13of May the 29th
18:15Hillary and Tenzing
18:16in this tiny little tent
18:18perched on a ledge
18:20What a view!
18:21Higher than any human
18:22has slept before
18:24they break trail
18:26up the steep snow
18:27leading to the south summit
18:29and then they come to
18:31what is now known
18:32as the Hillary Step
18:33and it's a steep rise
18:36in the ridge
18:36it's about 40 feet high
18:38and finally Hillary
18:39gets to the top
18:40of this awkward step
18:43brings up Tenzing
18:44on the rope
18:46finally there's this
18:47wonderful moment
18:48where it's a beautiful morning
18:49hardly a breath of wind
18:51and it's just
18:52just perfect.
18:54Edmund Hillary
18:55and Tenzing Norgay
18:56become the first
18:57human beings
18:58to stand on the summit
18:59of Mount Everest.
19:01In the 1950s
19:02we have not
19:03left the atmosphere yet
19:04we have not been
19:05to the moon
19:05so Mount Everest
19:07at that time
19:07was the farthest
19:09or highest
19:09anyone has ever gone.
19:11It wasn't summited
19:13as the British had
19:14imagined
19:15by Oxbridge boys
19:16no
19:17it was a humble beekeeper
19:19from the far reaches
19:20of an empire
19:20and a Sherpa
19:22of a humble origin
19:23in the Carta Valley
19:25Ed Hillary
19:26was offered
19:26a knighthood
19:28Tenzing Norgay
19:29was not offered
19:29a knighthood
19:30it would have been
19:31nice if they
19:32had given a knighthood
19:33to Tenzing Norgay
19:34as well.
19:35Those two dudes
19:36worked as a team
19:37it is not fair
19:38that only one person
19:39gets recognition.
19:40You know the saying
19:40behind every
19:41great white man
19:42is an Asian?
19:45That should be
19:46a saying guys
19:47that should be
19:47a saying.
19:49Since Hillary
19:50and Norgay
19:51blazed the trail
19:52up Everest
19:5210,271 climbers
19:55have successfully
19:56summited
19:56and 6,554 of them
19:59have done it
20:00on the South Call route.
20:03The South Call route
20:05has also paid witness
20:06to some of the mountain's
20:07other famous firsts.
20:09In 1970
20:10Yuichiro Miura
20:11of Japan
20:12becomes the first person
20:13to ski down Everest.
20:15But Miura
20:16doesn't stop there.
20:1843 years later
20:19in 2013
20:20he becomes
20:22the oldest person
20:23ever to summit
20:23the mountain
20:24at age 80.
20:26In 1975
20:27Junko Tabe
20:29of Japan
20:29becomes the first woman
20:31to summit Everest
20:32barely surviving
20:33an avalanche
20:34en route.
20:36And then in 1980
20:38Reinhold Messner
20:39of Italy
20:39and Peter Habler
20:40of Austria
20:41become the first people
20:42to summit Everest
20:43without supplemental oxygen.
20:46By 1980
20:48Reinhold Messner
20:49is already
20:49a legendary mountaineer.
20:51He's one of the best
20:52fastest climbers
20:55in Europe.
20:56He does some
20:57extraordinary Himalayan climbs
20:59and he is a phenomenon.
21:02I'm the king of the world.
21:04Messner invents
21:05the ultimate mountaineering challenge
21:06climbing the highest peaks
21:08on all seven continents.
21:10It becomes known as
21:11the Seven Summits.
21:15The Seven Summits
21:16are Mount Kosciuszko
21:17Vincent Massif
21:18Mount Elbrus
21:20Mount Kilimanjaro
21:21Denali
21:23Aconcagua
21:24and finally
21:26the gargantuan
21:27Mount Everest in Asia.
21:32Mallory and Norgay
21:33proved it was possible
21:34to reach Everest summit
21:36but only elite mountaineers
21:38dared to attempt it.
21:40Only four more people
21:41made it to the summit
21:42in the 1950s
21:43and 17 more
21:45in the 1960s.
21:46In the 50s
21:48and the 60s
21:49and into the 70s
21:50they were really
21:51experienced climbers
21:52and so Everest
21:53was the pinnacle
21:54of their career.
21:56Until one man
21:57decided to use numbers
21:59to tackle Everest.
22:00Numbers in his bank account
22:01with lots of zeros
22:03at the end.
22:04Round about 1980
22:06a wealthy
22:07American businessman
22:08Richard Bass
22:09and he liked dreaming
22:10up great plans
22:11and he thought
22:12well how about
22:13climbing the world's
22:15seven highest
22:15continental summits.
22:18Bass has only
22:19four years
22:20of climbing experience
22:21but he realizes
22:22he can pay
22:22more experienced
22:23mountaineers
22:24to help him
22:24climb the world's
22:25highest peaks.
22:27Bass conquers
22:28six of the seven
22:29summits in 1983
22:31spending a whopping
22:32125,000 US dollars
22:35just to reach
22:36the top of
22:37Vincent Massive
22:37in Antarctica.
22:39It takes him
22:40two more years
22:41and three attempts
22:42before his odyssey
22:43concludes
22:44on the summit
22:45of Mount Everest
22:45on April 30th
22:471985.
22:50It's a bit
22:51of a game changer
22:52when this
22:52wealthy businessman
22:54says well
22:55I've got the money
22:57I'll pay someone
22:58I can get
22:59to the summit
23:00of Everest
23:00and he pulls it off
23:04it obviously
23:05makes people think
23:06well
23:06if him
23:07why not others?
23:11And so
23:12it doesn't take long
23:13for commercial pressures
23:14to change
23:15who climbs Everest
23:16it's quite lucrative
23:17you can charge
23:1870, 80,000
23:20dollars
23:20to climb Everest
23:22it starts as a trickle
23:24but soon becomes a flood
23:26between 1990
23:28and 2005
23:29more than 2200 climbers
23:31attempt to summit
23:32Everest
23:32for the first time
23:39the climbers
23:40who make it
23:41to the very
23:42tippy top
23:42also known
23:43as the summit
23:44will discover
23:45that it measures
23:46approximately 10 feet long
23:47by 3 feet wide
23:48the size
23:50of a large
23:50dining room table
23:55most climbers
23:56remain on the summit
23:57for just a few minutes
23:59on May 23rd
24:012019
24:01a total of
24:03354 climbers
24:05reach the summit
24:07the most ever
24:08in a single day
24:13the Nepalese government
24:14wants to keep
24:15those visitors coming
24:16they collect a fee
24:17for every climber
24:18so they just start
24:20dishing out
24:21these permits
24:21to more and more
24:22climbers
24:22and that starts
24:24hundreds of people
24:25arriving every April
24:27to throng the mountain
24:28for the spring season
24:31these newer climbers
24:32are not necessarily
24:34accomplished mountaineers
24:35and many of them
24:36aren't prepared
24:37for the most hostile
24:38environment
24:39on the planet
24:44the last camp
24:45on the south call route
24:47before reaching
24:47Everest summit
24:48is camp 4
24:50perched on a rocky
24:51flat devoid of life
24:54ladies and gentlemen
24:55we have now entered
24:57the death zone
24:59I bet the death zone
25:01is where most people
25:01die when they're
25:02climbing the mountain
25:03a tourist attraction
25:04to go to the death zone
25:04sounds like a ride
25:05not a great way
25:06to appeal to a person
25:07like me
25:08but like anyone
25:09who drinks mountain dew
25:10probably loves it
25:11I think you need
25:11to rebrand a little bit
25:13maybe if you call it
25:14the pleasant zone
25:17the altitude above
25:1926,000 feet
25:20is known as
25:21the death zone
25:22the air contains
25:23less than a third
25:24of the oxygen
25:24present at sea level
25:27the human body
25:28is using oxygen
25:29faster than it can
25:30be replaced
25:31by breathing
25:31and simply
25:32can't acclimatize
25:33to the deficit
25:36the chance
25:37of brain swelling
25:37increases
25:38digestion efficiency
25:40declines
25:42climbers are advised
25:43to spend no longer
25:44than 48 hours
25:45in the death zone
25:47it's been a time
25:48to lift
25:48it's been here too long
25:50human beings
25:51were not designed
25:52to operate
25:53at 29,000 feet
25:55the trick
25:56on Everest
25:56is to try
25:57and get up
25:58and down
25:58so quickly
25:59that your body
26:00doesn't quite know
26:01what's hit it
26:05the most important
26:06number on Everest
26:07could be the length
26:08of time your body
26:08can operate
26:09in the death zone
26:10because once there
26:11you've still got
26:12more than 3,000 feet
26:14to climb
26:14to get to the summit
26:18your body
26:19is just wasting away
26:20and that's because
26:21there's just not
26:22enough oxygen
26:23even for you
26:23to keep blood flowing
26:28individuals
26:28start to experience
26:30hypoxia
26:30they're not getting
26:32enough oxygen
26:32they experience
26:34such high blood pressure
26:35in the brain
26:36that they are
26:37disoriented
26:39and really have
26:40impacts on their
26:41decision making skills
26:42this is part of the
26:43danger of the death zone
26:47there's so little
26:48air pressure
26:49and you really
26:50have to feel
26:50your diaphragm
26:52pulling down
26:53and desperately
26:54trying to fill
26:55the lung cavities
26:56with as much air
26:58as you possibly can
27:00and you just become
27:01weaker and weaker
27:02you are dying
27:04that's what you're doing
27:04up there
27:05you're dying
27:06and you're battling
27:07these symptoms
27:08in an environment
27:08that gets more
27:09hostile weather
27:10than anywhere else
27:11on the surface
27:12of the planet
27:13the six and a half
27:15mile layer
27:15of the atmosphere
27:16that supports
27:17all life on earth
27:18is known as the
27:19troposphere
27:19and above that
27:21and above that
27:21is the stratosphere
27:23when you fly
27:24in a plane
27:24you're usually
27:25flying in the stratosphere
27:26there's almost
27:28no place
27:28on the surface
27:29of the earth
27:30that actually reaches
27:31into the stratosphere
27:32except for really
27:33high mountains
27:34the summit
27:35of mount everest
27:36is on the border
27:36of these atmospheric layers
27:38which is also
27:39occupied by the jet stream
27:41with prevailing winds
27:43that move upwards
27:44of 100 miles per hour
27:47everest is in this region
27:49where it actually
27:50can be slammed
27:50by these very very
27:51high winds
27:55temperatures can drop
27:56as low as minus 40 degrees
27:58with the wind chill
27:59making it feel more like
28:01minus 94 degrees fahrenheit
28:03while the overall speed
28:05of the jet stream
28:06can easily reach
28:07100 miles per hour
28:08bands of intensity
28:10called jet streaks
28:11can achieve speeds
28:12of 183 miles per hour
28:14if you're not careful
28:15it could blow you
28:16off the mountain
28:17there are records
28:18of people being blown
28:19off of mount everest
28:20that can happen
28:23in 1996
28:24the death zone
28:25unleashes its fury
28:27during a climbing season
28:29that results
28:29in one of everest's
28:31most notable tragedies
28:33in the early hours
28:34of may 10th 1996
28:36three expeditions
28:38leave camp four
28:39new zealander rob hall
28:41and american scott fisher
28:43lead a combined total
28:44of 33 climbers
28:47the goal is to get
28:48to the summit
28:49as early as possible
28:50if you haven't made it
28:52to the summit
28:52by 2 p.m.
28:53you're not going to make it
28:54before the sun goes down
28:56i think it's kind of hard
28:57for people to understand
28:58how difficult it is
28:59to climb at those elevations
29:01and so typically
29:02when you climb everest
29:03it takes you
29:03about an hour
29:05to go 100 meters
29:08at that pace
29:09the final push
29:10to everest summit
29:11is a race against
29:12the clock
29:14in the death zone
29:15any delay
29:16can be the difference
29:17between life
29:17and death
29:18when hall and fisher
29:20arrive at the hillary step
29:21the fixed rope
29:22hasn't been set up
29:24and they wait
29:24for an hour
29:26three climbers
29:27return to camp four
29:28fearing they will run
29:30out of oxygen
29:30on the summit
29:32what happens is that
29:33people don't have
29:34a lot of skill
29:35they come to the hillary step
29:37and they slow down
29:38and only one person
29:40can go up
29:40through the hillary step
29:41at any point in time
29:42and so what happens
29:44is the kind of
29:44backup occurs
29:46the 2 p.m. deadline
29:48comes and goes
29:49rob hall and a handful
29:51of others
29:51reach the summit
29:52but there is still
29:53a traffic jam
29:54of climbers below
29:54determined to get
29:56to the top
29:56if this is your goal
29:58to climb everest
29:59you've just
29:59spent $70,000
30:01of your money
30:02to do it
30:02and so you're
30:03going to try
30:04to make it
30:05to the summit
30:05by 3 p.m.
30:07the sky darkens
30:08and snow begins
30:09to fall
30:09a second jet streak
30:11brings a terrifying storm
30:13rob hall remains
30:14at the summit
30:15trying to protect
30:16a trapped client
30:17scott fisher
30:18is struck
30:19with altitude sickness
30:20and sends his team
30:22down without him
30:22by 5 p.m.
30:24a blizzard hits
30:25and everyone
30:26on the mountain
30:26is in deep trouble
30:28fearsome winds
30:29whiteout conditions
30:31driving snow
30:32in your face
30:33and that storm
30:34blew all afternoon
30:35and continues
30:35through the night
30:38a lot of the people
30:40who got trapped
30:40high in the mountain
30:41were not very skilled
30:42and they climbed
30:44essentially
30:44into a blizzard
30:48the death zone
30:49claims both
30:50rob hall
30:50and scott fisher
30:51as well as
30:52several other climbers
30:54well eight people
30:55died
30:55in that storm
30:57during those days
30:58May the 10th
30:59and May the 11th
31:01at the time
31:02it was the most
31:03fatalities
31:04in a single day
31:05on everest
31:10when news
31:11of the 1996
31:12disaster
31:13reaches the rest
31:14of the world
31:15well
31:16you know what
31:16they say
31:17about bad publicity
31:18after the great
31:19disaster of 1996
31:20apparently
31:22instead of bookings
31:23dropping off
31:23bookings doubled
31:25maybe quadrupled
31:26for the companies
31:27organizing
31:28Everest expeditions
31:30in 2019
31:32a total of 398
31:34paying climbers
31:35summited Everest
31:35along with 478
31:37support climbers
31:39making it the busiest
31:40season in the
31:41mountains history
31:42it isn't 500 people
31:44going up over the
31:45course of 12 months
31:47it's 500 people
31:48going up in a
31:49six week window
31:49the mountains future
31:51holds the same
31:52problems as the
31:52rest of the world
31:53but higher
31:54too many people
31:55too much garbage
31:57and warmer temperatures
31:58and they're no easier
32:00to solve at 29,000 feet
32:01in the past
32:02people weren't so
32:03concerned about
32:04leaving waste
32:04because they assume
32:05that they are one
32:06of such a small
32:07handful of people
32:08who are going
32:08to be up there
32:10that's really
32:11changed now
32:11you have so many
32:13people going up
32:14every spring
32:18on average
32:19climbers and guides
32:20generate about
32:2126,000 pounds
32:22of waste
32:22on the mountain
32:23each year
32:24approximately
32:25the same weight
32:26as eight
32:26full-grown
32:27hippopotami
32:31once you're
32:31up there
32:32you're like
32:32well
32:32there's no
32:33garbage bin
32:34so I guess
32:35the snow
32:36will cover it up
32:37littering
32:38I'm not down
32:38with to be clear
32:39but I get it
32:40you've surmounted
32:41a mountain
32:41you've done
32:42the thing
32:42which everyone
32:43said is impossible
32:43at that point
32:44you don't care
32:45about anything
32:55on Everest
32:56there's these
32:56ubiquitous
32:57blue barrels
32:59that are used
33:00for everything
33:00so all the food
33:01goes up the mountain
33:02in the blue barrels
33:03and all the poo
33:04comes down the mountain
33:05in the blue barrels
33:07these barrels weigh up
33:08to 150 pounds
33:10each when they're full
33:10and Sherpa porters
33:12carry them on their backs
33:13for over five miles
33:14back down the slope
33:17in 2019
33:18the Nepalese government
33:20staged a 45-day
33:21cleanup operation
33:22that removed more than
33:2324,000 pounds
33:25of waste
33:26from the mountain
33:26and there is likely
33:28much more frozen
33:29beneath the surface
33:36the skills
33:37and generational
33:38knowledge
33:38of the Sherpa people
33:39make expeditions
33:41to Mount Everest
33:41possible
33:43how many people
33:44would make it
33:44up the mountain
33:45without the help
33:45of a Sherpa guide
33:47my guess is that
33:48zero percent
33:50of the people
33:50could make it
33:51to the top
33:52without the Sherpas
33:54it started
33:55with Tenzing
33:56and it goes on today
33:58these incredibly
33:59talented people
34:00who live in the region
34:01the contributions
34:03that they make
34:03hasn't been recognized
34:04the Sherpa were
34:06an ethnic group
34:07that had found
34:07their way
34:08to the Solokumbu Valley
34:09in Nepal
34:10they became deeply
34:12associated
34:12with the mountain
34:13and of course
34:15once Tenzing Norgay
34:16summited Everest
34:18the position
34:19of the Sherpa
34:20in mountaineering lore
34:22is absolutely secure
34:24we suspect
34:26that people
34:26have been living
34:27in the Tibetan plateau
34:28for 40,000
34:31or more years
34:32the Sherpa
34:34aren't just
34:34skilled mountaineers
34:35they've physically
34:36adapted to life
34:37at high altitudes
34:38they're going to breathe
34:40more rapidly
34:41and more deeply
34:42some of them
34:43are developmental
34:44like ending up
34:45with a larger
34:45chest circumference
34:47from living
34:47at high altitude
34:48all their lives
34:49and needing
34:50larger volume
34:51in their lungs
34:52and some of them
34:53are through
34:53multi-generational
34:55natural selection
34:56they have a gene
34:57that allow them
34:58more efficient
34:59use of hemoglobin
35:00when they're in
35:01low oxygen scenarios
35:03so it's no surprise
35:04that Sherpa's
35:05hold some of
35:06Everest's
35:06greatest climbing records
35:14Camirita has
35:15summited Everest
35:1624 times
35:17including two
35:18successful climbs
35:19within the space
35:20of a single week
35:21in 2019
35:24the fastest ascent
35:26from the south
35:26took just under
35:2711 hours
35:28and was accomplished
35:29by Lak Pajalu
35:33Babushiri
35:33who was at the summit
35:34for 21 and a half hours
35:36holds the record
35:37for the most time
35:38spent on top of Everest
35:42they're carrying
35:43all of the stuff
35:44up the mountain
35:45I think being
35:46a Sherpa guy
35:48isn't the worst
35:50job in the world
35:51it's like
35:51yeah no problem
35:52I'm just gonna go
35:53up and down
35:53I do this on the daily
35:55that is a tough job
35:57Everest is an important
35:59economic asset
36:00for Nepal
36:02the 43rd poorest
36:04country in the world
36:05in 2019
36:07expeditions earned
36:08the nation
36:08more than
36:09300 million dollars
36:10a huge incentive
36:12for the Sherpa guides
36:13to return to Everest
36:14each climbing season
36:15despite the dangers
36:22just how risky is it
36:24to be a guide
36:24on Mount Everest
36:26the most dangerous
36:27industry in America
36:29is hunting and fishing
36:30with an annual
36:31fatality rate
36:31of 144 workers
36:33for every 100,000
36:37Sherpa guide on Everest
36:39between 2000
36:40and 2010
36:41their annual death rate
36:42was 1,332 per 100,000
36:4610 times greater
36:48than the most dangerous
36:49job in America
36:54the riskiest part
36:55of Everest guide work
36:56is creating the infrastructure
36:57through the Khumbu Icefall
36:59in 1953
37:01keeping that icefall open
37:03was the job
37:04of an English climber
37:05he had the expertise
37:07and it was the Sherpa employees
37:10who helped him
37:12nowadays the expeditions
37:13on Everest
37:13are largely run
37:15by the local Sherpa people
37:17the Sherpas secure
37:19climbing ropes
37:19carry oxygen tanks
37:21and a special team
37:22known as the Icefall Doctors
37:24creates a path
37:25each day
37:26through the Khumbu Icefall
37:27using simple aluminum ladders
37:32every day
37:33they've got to go up
37:34and readjust the ladders
37:35because the glaciers
37:36will have moved
37:36a meter or two
37:37and that can cause
37:38these ladders
37:39to become less stable
37:40people have to walk
37:42across these ladders
37:43with their crampons
37:45and literally
37:46they are just ladders
37:48and they're pretty rickety
37:51I wouldn't trust them
37:52but people do it
37:56an average climber
37:57may have to cross
37:58the Icefall
37:59six to eight times
38:00during their time
38:01on Everest
38:01but a Sherpa guide
38:03must do it
38:0330 to 40 times
38:05each climbing season
38:07the more often
38:08you go up and down
38:09through the Icefall
38:10the greater
38:11the statistical odds
38:13on you
38:14being unlucky
38:19of the 176 deaths
38:21that occurred
38:22on the southwest face
38:23between 1953
38:25and 2016
38:2644
38:28about 25%
38:30happened in the Icefall
38:32making it the deadliest part
38:33of the South Call route
38:36of those 44 deaths
38:38six fell into a crevasse
38:42nine were killed
38:43by a section
38:44of the Icefall collapsing
38:45and 29 died by avalanche
38:53the climbers
38:54always tend to die
38:55high on the mountain
38:55whereas the Sherpas
38:57tend to die low
38:58on the mountain
39:00in 2014
39:02the big disaster
39:03which everyone
39:04has always been dreading
39:05happens
39:07it's April 18th
39:08first thing in the morning
39:09and the Sherpa
39:10are working
39:11in the Khambu Icefall
39:16unseen above them
39:18the glacier
39:18gives a tiny shrug
39:20and unleashes
39:21massive tragedy below
39:22a huge chunk
39:24of ice
39:25breaks off
39:26the western shoulder
39:27of the Everest
39:27and develops
39:28into an immense
39:29great airborne avalanche
39:31probably about 15
39:34million tons
39:35of ice
39:35and the avalanche
39:37occurred
39:37exactly in that region
39:39of the Icefall
39:40where they were working
39:4416 people
39:46are killed
39:46in the avalanche
39:4713 of them
39:48Sherpas
39:51in the aftermath
39:52the Sherpa community
39:54ceases work
39:54and the mountain
39:56is closed
39:56to visitors
39:57for the year
39:58the disaster
40:00the disaster
40:00in 2014
40:01was probably
40:02the worst
40:03single disaster
40:03to the Sherpa people
40:04it did sort of highlight
40:06that they're paid
40:08very good money
40:09by the standards
40:10of Nepal
40:11but they're doing
40:12very dangerous work
40:13to earn that money
40:21so the whole world
40:23is warming
40:23and we think
40:24that's what caused
40:25the avalanche
40:26in 2014
40:27was these hanging
40:28glacier
40:28are becoming
40:29more unstable
40:30and there'll be
40:31more avalanches
40:32occurring in the future
40:34global warming's
40:35strongest effects
40:36occur at the extremes
40:37and Mount Everest
40:38is no exception
40:41regions like
40:42Mount Everest
40:43which are high regions
40:44are actually warming
40:45at a faster rate
40:46than the rest
40:47of the earth
40:51average global
40:52temperatures
40:53increased by
40:541.3 degrees
40:55between 1914
40:56and 2014
40:58in Nepal
40:59the average
41:00temperature increase
41:01was more than
41:02twice that
41:04each year
41:05the glacier coverage
41:06in Nepal
41:06shrinks
41:0714 square miles
41:09and when glaciers
41:10shrink
41:10they turn into
41:11water
41:11a lot of water
41:13there's a very
41:14large glacial
41:15outflow
41:15like near Everest
41:16which is constantly
41:17growing in size
41:18as the glaciers
41:19melt
41:19and there's a real
41:20concern
41:20that this will
41:21eventually burst
41:22through the moraine
41:23and cause a flood
41:24there's a couple
41:25of towns downstream
41:27so it's a really
41:28big problem
41:29global warming
41:30is destabilizing
41:31the entire glacier
41:32system on Everest
41:34it's coming over
41:35the hill now
41:37and the way
41:38they recede
41:39is they avalanche
41:52that makes
41:53some of the ice
41:54falls
41:54more dangerous
41:58should we go back
41:59into the tent
42:03it's also revealing
42:05more of the corpses
42:06that have been
42:06left up
42:07on the mountain
42:09more than 200
42:10of Everest's victims
42:11never made it
42:12back down the mountain
42:13they remain
42:14in the world's
42:15highest graveyard
42:17as the snow
42:18and ice proceed
42:18Everest is beginning
42:20to reveal
42:21its secrets
42:21when Edmund Hillary
42:23and Tensi Norgay
42:24finally reached
42:25the top
42:25in 953
42:26they do
42:27actually say
42:28we looked around
42:29just in case
42:29there were any signs
42:30of Mallory and Irvin
42:32having been there
42:35for decades
42:36after his disappearance
42:37climbers hoped
42:38to solve
42:38the George Mallory mystery
42:4275 years later
42:44an American
42:44research expedition
42:46on the sloping
42:47screes
42:48of the North Face
42:49at a point
42:51a few hundred feet
42:52below
42:53the crest
42:54of the Northeast Ridge
42:55here great
42:56this is George Mallory
42:57oh my god
42:59oh my god
43:01finds George Mallory's
43:02body
43:03and
43:03it's obvious
43:04the broken rope
43:06tied around his waist
43:07and the bruising
43:09of his body
43:10and a broken leg
43:12that he's been
43:13badly injured
43:14in a fall
43:15and
43:16at some stage
43:17has died
43:19alone
43:20on the mountain
43:21from those injuries
43:25the 1999 discovery
43:27of Mallory's body
43:28solved the riddle
43:28of his disappearance
43:30but the question remains
43:31if he was one
43:33of the most skilled
43:33mountaineers
43:34in the world
43:35why didn't he
43:36survive his climb
43:38scientist Kent Moore
43:39believes he found
43:40the answer
43:41I was really intrigued
43:42by the Mallory
43:43and Irvin story
43:46they disappeared
43:47into a cloud
43:48essentially
43:49and then
43:50they were never seen
43:51ever again
43:52and so what I decided
43:54to do was go
43:55to London one day
43:56and go to the
43:58Royal Geographical Society
43:59and access
44:00the original
44:01expedition reports
44:04I came across
44:05these pressure measurements
44:06that they had made
44:07what the data showed
44:09is that on the day
44:10they were climbing
44:11there was a huge drop
44:12in pressure
44:14and the pressure drop
44:15that Mallory recorded
44:17at base camp
44:17was about the same magnitude
44:19as the pressure drops
44:20that we saw
44:21in the really bad storm
44:22in 1996
44:23where eight people died
44:25so from this data
44:27we were able to
44:28quantitatively show
44:29that Mallory and Irvin
44:31probably climbed
44:31into a really bad storm
44:34numbers may solve
44:35more mysteries
44:36from Mount Everest's past
44:37but the mountain's
44:39shrinking glaciers
44:40raise questions
44:41about its future
44:42the future of Everest
44:44I think
44:44as the planet warms
44:46I think it's becoming
44:47a more dangerous
44:48place to go
44:49but still
44:50I think
44:51the magnet of Everest
44:52is a pretty profound one
44:56you could say
44:57that Everest
44:58is just one more
44:59sightseer's tick
45:00it's like
45:01seeing the pyramids
45:02or the Taj Mahal
45:04it's one of those
45:05things you do
45:07you can't deny
45:08there's a sort of
45:09cheap thrill
45:10in saying
45:11oh well here I am
45:11I've done it
45:12this is the summit
45:13of Everest
45:13say what he does
45:14that's like he says
45:18thanks for the opportunity
45:20on the other hand
45:21there's something
45:22rather special
45:22about being
45:23completely alone
45:24higher than anyone
45:25else on earth
45:25it's a strange
45:28mesmerizing feeling
45:32what's the next thing
45:33after Mount Everest
45:34when people get tired
45:35of that
45:35it's been done
45:36it's kind of passe
45:38people are gonna
45:38start trying to
45:39conquer the moon
45:40to up the ante
45:41like we're going
45:42into space right
45:43we're gonna try
45:43to go to Mars
45:44you gotta go like
45:45bottom of the sea
45:45like James Cameron
45:47did it but only briefly
45:48and he still hasn't seen
45:49even half of the
45:50weird looking fish
45:50that are down there
45:51I think it'll just
45:52keep being a thing
45:53because it's been a thing
45:54for so long
45:54and people continue
45:56to do it
45:56you