Everest Deaths

#death - Most deaths on Mount Everest occur above 8,000 meters during descents from the summit in the so-called "death zone".

Researchers who analyzed the reported 212 deaths on the 29,000-foot mountain between 1921 and 2006 have concluded that high-altitude cerebral edema appears to be associated with an increased risk of death.

The American, British and Canadian researchers found that the overall death rate for climbers and sherpas (locals hired to assist climbers) over those 86 years was 1.3 percent (1.6 percent among climbers and 1.1 percent among sherpas). Over the past 25 years, the death rate for climbers descending via the longer Tibetan northeast ridge was 3.4 percent, and 2.5 percent on the shorter Nepal route.

Source: Washington Post