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To put a number on "huge chance", I think it's about 1% of summits in recent years. Probably less if you just count clients not guides/Sherpas, and less if you
by tlrobinson 9y ago
To put a number on "huge chance", I think it's about 1% of summits in recent years.
Probably less if you just count clients not guides/Sherpas, and less if you expand to include climbers that don't end up attempting the summit.
- jessriedel 9y agoA 1% fatality rate definitely qualifies as huge. The statistical value of life in the US, which is inferred from what people are willing to pay to avoid risk, is ~$10M. So a 1% risk is worth about $100k, i.e., this is something like what the median person would pay to avoid that risk. Non-expert climbers who pay for help to climb Everest probably have above average wealth and hence would probably pay even more to avoid this risk. It's sizeable. At least as risky as spaceflight.
- mbostleman 9y agoFor all time, Everest fatalities are 4% of summits. Of the 14 8k peaks, it ranks 11. The "huge" caught me too. At 30% fatality to summits, Annapurna and K2 are huge.