As of December 2024, Mount Everest had been climbed just under 13,000 times by about 7,200 different people, because many climbers, especially Sherpa guides, have reached the top more than once. About 340 people had died on the mountain by May 2024.
Summits and climbers
The number of summits is higher than the number of people, because some climbers have been up many times. The figures above come from the Himalayan Database and similar counts, and they change every season.
Deaths
About 340 deaths had been recorded by May 2024. Avalanches, falls, altitude illness and exhaustion are the main causes. Most happen above Camp II.
Records
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first ascent on 29 May 1953. Yuichiro Miura of Japan became the oldest summiter in 2013, at 80.
What it means for trekkers
Almost nobody who visits Everest climbs it. Trekkers walk to Everest Base Camp at 5,364 m, a very different undertaking. See Everest Base Camp altitude.
Questions people ask
- Has everyone who summited been counted? The figures come from expedition records and change each season.
- Do Sherpa climbers appear more than once? Yes, which is why summits exceed the number of people.
- Who was oldest? Yuichiro Miura, at 80 in 2013.
Plan it
