2023 was a deadly year to climb Mount Everest

So far in the 11 months of 2023, far more climbers than normal have died while trying to make their way up Mount Everest. The question is why? Why are more people dying trying to make their dream come true?

Keep in mind the deadliest season to date on the mountain was in 2015, when an earthquake broke the record number of climbers who died on Mount Everest: 19.

A year earlier, an avalanche that killed 17 people had also set a sad record.

However, last year it seems the number of lives taken at Everest reached a new high. A total of 17 climbers have lost their lives on the mountain in 2023.

To put it in context, in 2021 and 2022 combined, eight climbers died on the world's highest peak.

Among the 12 dead in 2023 is Hungarian mountaineer Suhajda Szilard, who went missing on Hillary's climb after being unlocated for days.

Photo: Facebook - Suhajda Szilard

As Timea Legindi, the climber's wife, shared on Facebook, they last saw her husband at 8,780 meters, with signs of frostbite and cerebral edema due to altitude sickness.

Photo: Facebook - Suhajda Szilard

"Realistically, there is a very small chance that Szilard would be found alive at this altitude," said Timea Legindi, still confident her husband would survive. "I believe in miracles."

This hope was later dashed when it was confirmed on Suhajda Szilard's Facebook profile that the rescue team had declared him missing after several days of unsuccessful searches.

Photo: Facebook - Suhajda Szilard

The question many people ask when they hear the number of deaths on Everest in 2023 is: what happened? Why are there so many deaths?

The answer is simple: massification. According to the specialist climbing portal 'Desnivel', 478 permits were issued in the 2023 spring campaign alone, which is 70 more permits than in 2021 and an increase of 15%.

The massive influx of climbers on Everest not only means greater risk, but also creates the curious image of groups of climbers queuing to reach the highest peak on the planet.

In reality, there weren't any more deaths because rescue teams in the area were working flat out during the spring season, so the numbers didn't skyrocket.

The most experienced climbers are amazed, Desnivel reports that "rescues are happening everywhere", citing the constant use of helicopters to evacuate people who, without these tools, would probably not escape certain death.

One of the heroic stories of 2023 is that of Gelje Sherpa on May 20th.

While climbing with some clients, he found a climber in distress and abandoned at 8,300 meters.

He aborted the mission with his clients just a few hundred meters from the summit and managed to carry the injured climber on his back to Camp 4 at 7,900 meters, where he was evacuated and taken to the hospital.

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Climbing the highest mountain in the world can be a magical experience, but it can also be the last thing you experience if you are unaware and underprepared.