Climbing high altitude mountains in the Himalayas is expensive. The region is remote, inhospitable, and all supplies have to be ported in manually or by yak to most of the mountains. Due to the low-oxygen environment and requirement to acclimatise slowly, expeditions last for more than a month. Where guides or Sherpas are assisting a climber, their services have to be engaged and paid for, for several weeks. Any shortcuts in terms of equipment or team experience will likely result in life changing injuries or worse.
Some media stories would suggest that costs for other Himalayan peaks are near zero, while Everest has a price tag of US$100,000 that bares no relationship to the actual input costs. The truth is quite different.
To answer this question, I’ll use the expedition prices quoted by the very respected and long established Himalayan Experience Team (Himex):
- Everest Expedition - 8,848m: US$60,000 (incl. climbing permit)
- Lhotse Expedition – 8,516m: US$35,000 (incl. climbing permit)
Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain in the world and is situated next to Everest. Both expeditions use the same Base Camp, and the route for both climbs is the exact same up to about 7,700m. Thus, Lhotse serves as an excellent Himalayan example to illustrate this answer.
Photo: Routes up Everest and Lhotse from Nepal (Camp 1 is hidden).
So why is there a difference of $25,000 when the two peaks are adjacent and Lhotse is only a few hundred metres lower?
- The climbing permit for Everest, as charged by the Nepali government, is $11,000. The corresponding permit charge for Lhotse is $1,800.
- An Everest climber will require two extra oxygen tanks to accommodate the additional altitude and time in the death-zone. They cost $500 each.
- If assisted by a Sherpa, which is the norm, the Sherpa will also need two extra tanks, which is another $1,000.
- The extra four oxygen tanks will have to be transported by plane to Lukla, by yak to Base Camp, and then most likely by a Sherpa to about 8,400m. This all has a cost, and there are only so many people in the world with the experience, strength, high altitude equipment, and acclimatisation than can drop off a stash to 8,400m.
- If there is a guide, which is the norm, the cost of their extra two tanks and transport to 8,400m will have to be split among the climbers.
- Compared to Lhotse, approximately 1,200m of additional climbing rope must be purchased for Everest, and then ported up to 8,500m. From there, a team of five Sherpas will break trail and secure the rope along a route over rock, ice, and snow, deep in the death zone to the summit. This will take a full day of effort and risk. Only the most experienced climbers (expensive) can undertake this task, as there is no safety rope to clip onto. It is traditional alpine-style climbing. Should any of their anchor points be less than reliable, the results with be catastrophic the following week when multiple climbers are clipped in at the same time. All of the rope fixing team requires oxygen tanks at $500 a tank. And of course, they are due a healthy salary to reward their expertise, plus danger-money. Note that this cost would be shared among all climbers on the mountain, but it gives an example of how all the expenses mount up.
- An Everest expedition lasts about five days longer than a Lhotse expedition. This is five more days of wages for the guides and Sherpas. It also requires five more days of food and cooking gas for the team, most of which will also have to be ported above Base Camp to the high camps.
- Since Lhotse is lower and the final summit push takes less out of climbers (both in terms of hours of exertion, and duration and severity of oxygen deprivation), most Lhotse climbers can descend straight down to Camp 3 or Camp 2 after summiting. On Everest, many climbers need to recover at Camp 4, before continuing their descent. This burns up additional oxygen tanks, and lengthens time spent at the edge of the death-zone. All of which increases the cost of an expedition.
Photo: View from Camp 1, with crevasses behind the tents. Everest is on the left, Lhotse is centre, and Nuptse is to the right. (large MB photo, click to zoom in)
Other factors that increase the price of Everest expeditions:
- The most experienced guides (and thus most expensive) are used by teams on Everest. Their up-and-coming guides begin their Himalayan guiding careers on the lesser local peaks. However, note that Lhotse demands extremely experienced guides on a par with the best available.
- The death-zone is exponentially dangerous. Climbing from 8,000m to 8,100m increases the danger for all concerned and requires additional back-up plans. However, moving from 8,500m to 8,600m is a whole new world of danger. The pace of progress drops significantly, equipment is pushed to the limit, cognitive function falters, and even experienced climbers and Sherpas who’ve climbed higher on previous expeditions might have to turn back. And the temperature drops still further to life-threatening levels. Additional back up resources and plans are needed, all of which are expensive. Moving above 8,700m pushes all concerned into a world of extreme danger. Guides and Sherpas must be compensated accordingly, and emergency stashes of oxygen tanks, regulators, first aid kits, dexamethasone injections etc. organised by the team leader. Again, all of this costs money.
- The higher a peak, the longer the calm weather window required to get to the summit and back down to safety. As a result, higher expeditions last longer, as climbers wait out potential storms at lower camps. Everest needs a relatively calm five days in a row to allow a summit push.
Of course, Everest also commands a price premium by simple virtue of being the tallest, and that adds a bit extra to the price tag; a simple case of supply and demand. And if one were to attempt Everest with a 1:1 western guide ratio, unlimited oxygen tanks, a personal Sherpa to carry gear above Base Camp, large personal Base Camp tent, etc. the price can exceed $100,000.
In summary:
On a like-for-like basis there is a genuine foundation for price comparison between Everest and the other 8,000m Himalayan peaks. Everest expeditions cost more because they last longer, require more equipment, require more staff, require more porting, put more people in danger, and the basic climbing permit is more expensive. The first successful Everest ascent in 1953 employed a team of 400 people for nearly three months to put just two people on the summit; this has never been a cheap undertaking.
Photo: View down to Lhotse from the summit of Everest, as 4 climbers approach the peak of Everest. (large MB photo, click to zoom in)