Deadly Everest
Climbing Mount Everest has long been one of the greatest challenges known to man. It's certainly among the most perilous. After two years of devastating tragedies that included an earthquake and avalanches, climbers returned to the world's tallest mountain in the spring of 2016. Unfortunately, they were met with more misfortune when at least six climbers were killed in the past week.
Death on Everest comes in many forms: from violence, to illness, to avalanches, to heart stopping cold.
On May 19, 2016, a 25-year-old Nepalese guide Phurba Sherpa fell to his death. In subsequent days, a Dutch man, Eric Arnold, an Australian woman, Maria Strydom, and an Indian climber, Subhash Paul all died as the result of altitude sickness.
Two other Indian climbers with Paul, Paresh Chandra Nath and Goutam Ghosh, were reported missing on May 19.
Mount Everest, the world highest peak, and others in the Himalayan range are seen from the air during a mountain flight from Kathmandu. Everest is 29,000 feet above sea level.
Everest climber
Death on Everest comes in many forms: from violence, to illness, to avalanches, to heart stopping cold.
On May 19, 2016, a 25-year-old Nepalese guide Phurba Sherpa fell to his death. In subsequent days, a Dutch man, Eric Arnold, an Australian woman, Maria Strydom, and an Indian climber, Subhash Paul all died as the result of altitude sickness.
Two other Indian climbers with Paul, Paresh Chandra Nath and Goutam Ghosh, were reported missing on May 19.
Here, Indian climber Nava Kumar Phukon, who says he successfully climbed Mount Everest, with a bruise on his face at a hotel in Kathmandu after the death of fellow climbers, May 24, 2016.
Climbing Everest
A rescue helicopter prepares to land at Everest Base Camp on May 23, 2016. Mount Everest, the world highest peak, is 29,000 feet above sea level.
Avalanches have taken an especially terrible toll recently on climbers, killing 35 in just the past two years.
Everest climber
Indian climber Ratnesh Panday, who says he successfully climbed Mount Everest, sits with frostbitten fingers inside the ambulance after being rescued from Mount Everest in Kathmandu, May 24, 2016.
Around 30 climbers have suffered from frostbite or other serious illnesses in the past week.
Everest death
Australian climber Robert Gropels who was rescued from Mount Everest sits in his hotel room in Kathmandu, May 24, 2016.
Robert's wife Maria Strydom, 34, died from altitude sickness while descending the summit. Everest climbers returning after successful ascent say mountaineers were pushing too hard and some didn't carrying enough oxygen.
Everest climber
Phurba Tenzing Sherpa (L), who says it was his 10th Everest summit, poses for a picture with Chinese climber Liu Lei after returning from Mount Everest's summit in Kathmandu, May 24, 2016.
There is a relatively short window of approximately two months when the weather conditions are favorable for climbers to attempt to reach the summit.
Climbing Everest
Climbers descend from Camp 1, in the Valley of Silence, to Base Camp on Mount Everest on May 21, 2016.
Climbers on Everest don't usually attempt to reach the summit before mid-May.
Everest climber
Chinese climber Liu Lei, who says he successfully climbed Mount Everest, gets a checkup inside an ambulance after returning from Mount Everest summit in Kathmandu, May 24, 2016.
Despite the dangers, Everest is facing unprecedented numbers visiting the mountain, with nearly 400 reachiing the summit just from the Nepalese side since May 11. The situation raises renewed questions about safety, with more less experienced climbers participating, and the impact on the mountain itself.
Climbing Everest
A porter carries goods at camp four at Everest on May 20, 2016.
The most popular routes up the mountain are the South Col route from the Nepalese side and the North Col route which is reached from the Tibetan side.
Climbing Everest
Japanese mountaineer Takako Arayama, 70, leads other climbers on the way to the top of Mount Everest May 17, 2006. Arayama is the oldest person to scale the world's highest peak from the Tibetan side.
More than 4,000 climbers have reached the summit of Everest since it was first scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
Climbing Everest
Climbers cross a part of Khumbu Icefall, a dangerous expanse of ice blocks and crevasses, using a ladder on Everest, April 28, 2016.
The icefall, with its unstable ledges and crevasses, is the first major obstacle climbers face on Everest. Nepal's government hires Sherpas as "icefall doctors" to create a route through the treacherous expanse.
Climbing Everest
Hikers climb Khumbu Icefall, above Everest Base Camp, using a ladder, May 15, 2016.
On April 18, 2014 an ice avalanche that swept through Khumbu Icefall killed 16 Sherpas. It was the single most devastating tragedy on the mountain and for the Sherpa community. Guides angered by inadequate compensation to victims' families announced they would not continue to work, ending the 2014 climbing season.
A 1970 disaster in the same area killed six Sherpas.
Everest quake disaster
A cloud of snow and debris triggered by the earthquake flies towards Everest Base Camp, moments ahead of flattening part of the camp in the Himalayas, April 25, 2015.
The catastrophic 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal in April 2015 sparked a series of avalanches on Everest, leaving 22 hikers and support workers dead and base camp in ruins.
Everest
Rescuers tend to a sherpa injured by an earthquake related avalanche that flattened parts of Everest Base Camp, April 25, 2015.
Dozens were trapped on the mountain. It was the deadliest climbing season in Everest's history. Not one person reached the summit in all of 2015 as a result.
Everest
People look on at the devastation after an avalanche triggered by a 7.8 earthquake flattened parts of Everest Base Camp, April 25, 2015.
Death has been a constant for those attempting to reach the summit of Everest ever since the 1922 British expedition by George Mallory in which seven porters died in an avalanche. Mallory later disappeared on Everest in 1924 along with his partner, Andrew Irvine. Their bodies were only found on May 1, 1999.
Death on Everest
A body bag containing the body of a climber is carried from a helicopter in the Himalayan tourist town of Lukla on April 29, 2015.
Most who have died on the mountain remain there because of the incredible difficulty in recovering bodies.
Climbing Everest
Climbers ascend towards Camp 4 from Camp 3 to summit Everest on May 19, 2016.
The upper most part of Everest above Camp 4 is called the "death zone," which usually refers to altitudes above 8,000 meters (26,000 ft) or any area with not enough oxygen to sustain life. Most climbers use supplementary oxygen.
Sherpa deaths
Relatives carry the body of Ankaji Sherpa, who lost his life in an avalanche at Mount Everest April 18, 2014, during the cremation ceremony of Nepali Sherpa climbers in Kathmandu, April 21.
Mourning Sherpa deaths
A family member of a Sherpa climber is comforted by her relatives during a funeral rally of Nepali Sherpa climbers in Kathmandu, April 21, 2014.
Nepal's Sherpas demanded compensation of $10,000 for the families of 16 colleagues dead or missing in the avalanche on Mount Everest and double the insurance cover for expeditions on the world's highest mountain, crowded with climbers.
Their refusal to continue to work in 2014 led to an early end of the climbing season and much debate about safety on Everest with an increasing number of climbers participating in expeditions.