Climbing Mount Everest

Climbing Mount Everest would be the biggest challenging event you’ll ever achieve, and it’ll be life changing as well. Mount Everest is the world’s highest mountain, which is 29,035 feet. To this day, there has been about 5000 attempts to climb Mt. Everest and only 660 people successfully climbed to the peak. To prepare for climbing, you must be aware of the many physical dangers of climbing mount Everest. The top four dangers are frostbite, hypothermia, snow blindness and acute mountain sickness.

Frostbite is the most common danger on Everest. Frostbite is a condition in which skin and the tissue just below the skin freeze. Usually happens from not keeping your hands or feet warm enough, which causes your fingers or toes to lose circulation and turn blackish blue. If that occurs, amputation may need to be done. Hypothermia is caused by your body temperature going down faster than it is
made. The blood in your system would slow down and your whole body would feel like it’s frozen or in a coma. Snow Blindness happens due to seeing the sun’s reflection on the snow. Snow blindness will make your eyes ooze and swell, causing eyesight damages. Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS) is very common and has many different symptoms. The most common symptoms are headaches, nausea, vomiting, insomnia, dizziness, small breaths, anorexia, and fatigue. AMS is the kind of sickness that makes you so sick, you can’t think straight. To prevent AMS, you must acclimatize before climbing higher altitudes.

To really prepare for climbing, you need to get your body ready for the 29,035-foot climb to Everest's peak.
Since oxygen levels drop by nearly 70 percent from sea level, you’ll need to build muscle and cardiovascular strength by running, walking, biking, swimming or hiking for at least 45 minutes to an hour a day, four to six days a week. It’s also a good idea to carry a weighted pack to build tolerance for when you actually climb Everest, you can start at five pounds and build until you're able to ascend 3,500 feet carrying 65 pounds.

You’ll definitely need a list of things to take with you on your trip. To ascend to the peak of Mt. Everest, you need a backpack with plastic, frost-proof clubbing boots, thermal base layers (two sets), down pants and parka with a hood, half a dozen pairs of socks, bandanas/face masks, two wool or fleece hats, sun visor, two pairs each of synthetic gloves and Gore-Tex mitts, Glacier glasses, a sleeping bag rated to -300 degrees Fahrenheit, A harness, ascender, ice ax, crampons, headlamp, carabiners, rappel device, ski poles, altimeter and
food.

Airline tickets to Kathmandu, Nepal can cost thousands of dollars and a climbing permit can range from $4,000 to $10,000. Expenses for the Mt. Everest climb can combine up to about $40,000. Getting to Everest Base Camp, where the trek starts, is a 10-day, 17,000-plus-foot period. From there, you'll climb to Camp 1, to the glacial Khumbu Icefall at 19,500 feet. It'll be 1,500 feet on a slope to Camp 2, and 2,000 more feet between that and the third camp, at the head of the Lhotse face. At 22,000 feet, you'll need those oxygen tanks on the mixed snow and rock path to Camp 4. When you get to Camp 4, you’ll get a day of rest. And in the morning, you’ll make your attempt to reach the summit and see the world for about five minutes before making your way back down.