In recent years, mountain tourism, which includes mountaineering, has grown in popularity and accounts for 60% of tourism across 10% of countries worldwide, according to the 2022 United Nations World Tourism Organization survey (Statista Research Department, 2023). One location in particular, the Himalayas is a popular destination for mountain tourism.

The Himalayas are a system of mountain ranges along the border between India, Nepal and China that many go to. Some of these reasons includes their scenic environment, being a hotspot for researchers to understand the impacts of climate change, and having the Earth’s highest point, Mount Everest.

However in 2024, the BBC reported that the death toll has been increasing each year on mountains like Mount Everest in the Death Zone, which is a region above 8000m from the ground where there isn’t enough oxygen to sustain life long-term.
To understand this issue and how you can increase your survival and success climbing in the Himalayas, we'll look into the history of climbing expeditions and different factors impacting expeditions.

How prepared are you for your expedition into the Himalayas?

Answer the quiz to unlock insights about climber statistics.

History of Climbing Expeditions in the Himalayas (1905 to Spring 2019)

Number of Deaths in the Himalayas

Over the past century, the number of people attempting to climb the Himalayas has steadily increased, leading to a rising number of casualties each year.

Leading Causes of Death
Click on a curve to focus on a specific cause of death
Brush over timeline to change the years of interest

From 1900-1970, very few have passed away due to very few expeditions overall in the timespan.

Starting from 1970, we see a growth in the total deaths and from 1970-1980 we see avalanche's as the most prominent cause. This can be explained by inexperience climbing the Himalayas.

As climber's watch above them, they forget to watch below them and lose their step oftenly as falling grows to tbe the most common cause of death from 1980-2000.

From 2000-2019, Falling, Avalanche, Ams, Other Illnesses and Disappearance have all become relevant causes of death and expeditioners need to stay vigilant for all of these during their trip.

Climbing Expeditions in the Himalayas: Factors & Outlook

Select a group to view statistics about them!

Completed Expeditions

What are the age groups and genders of individuals who have completed Himalayan expeditions?

Out of all the total successful expeditions, 91.99% of the climbers were male while 8.01% of the climbers were female.

However, the success rate for both groups was almost equal with female climbers having a success rate of 32.91% while for male climbers it was 39.04%.

The age group that makes up most of the successful expeditions was 30 to 39 years old. However, the group with the highest success rate was 13 to 19 years old. It appears that the older the climber was, the lower their average success rate was.

Supplemental Oxygen Use

What percentage of climbers across different age groups and genders use supplemental oxygen during their expeditions?

Out of all expeditions, 91.57% of oxygen used was by male climbers while only 8.43% of were used by females climbers.

However, the oxygen use rate for both groups was close to equal with female climbers having a rate of 21.91% while for male climbers it was 24.59%.

The age group that used the most oxygen was 30 to 39 years old. However, the age group that had the highest rate of oxygen use was 13 to 19 years old.

Mountain Peaks To Be Cautious About

We found the mountain peak in the Himalayas with the most number of deaths was Everest at 219 deaths. However, Annapurna I had the highest death rate at 5.55%. Out of the top 17 peaks with the highest death rates, the lowest height that is reached by an expedition member was 4400 m, which was on Ama Dablam. On the other hand, the highest height that is reached was on Mount Everest at 8850 m. Climbers should be wary when climbing these peaks.

Successes Across Different Seasons

This shows that many climbers successfully reached the summit during spring and autumn. Surprisingly, despite a lower success rate, there were more successful climbs in winter than in summer.

Average Death Rate Over The Years
What do you think would be the death rate trend looks like over the years? Could it be soaring high up or dropping down low?

In the plot on the left, the line represents the 25-year moving average of death rate on the Himalayas.

Estimate and draw the rest of the trend! When you are done, click "Reveal True Trend".

Well, how did you do?

Did you expect that the real trend falls and stabilizes to a near 0 death rate?

So you maybe wondering, how do I prepare for my expedition to the Himalayas?

We now know that success and survivability when climbing the Himalayas are influenced by various factors such as oxygen use, the mountain peak, the season, etc. Here are some information that you might find useful when planning your expedition:

Tips to increase chances of survival

Oxygen Tank

Bring supplemental oxygen with you.

Altitude

If you are a beginner climber beware of reaching altitudes of 8000m and above, which is the death zone of mountains.

Flower

Plan your expedition for the spring or autumn.

Waterbottle

Make sure you bring water and food with you and have enough energy on your expeditions.

People

Make sure to be with other people at all times. Falling is the leading cause of death for expeditions in the Himalayas.

Trekking Agency Suggestions

There are many trekking agency that offer expeditions in the Himalayas. Here are some of the popular ones:

Climbing Assessment

Lattice Training provides free climbing assessments (fingers, lift, pinch, and flexibility) and compares you with other climbers around the world so you can evaluate how prepare you are for your expedition. The assessments can be found here: Lattice Training Assessments

“To survive Everest, you have to stay calm and relaxed. Don’t stress yourself out.” - Paul Valin (Climbed Mount Everest), 2019

By: Emily Su, Fardin Faruk, and Wenzhuoyi (Tom) Li

Data Sources:

Images: