What’s Changed Since I Climbed Everest
Since Jon Krakauer's 1996 ascent of Mount Everest, the experience of climbing the mountain has changed significantly due to increased commercialization, improved safety measures, and a shift in leadership from Western climbers to Nepali guides. Despite viral images of overcrowding, the fatality rate on Everest has dramatically decreased over the past three decades. A key factor in this transformation has been the professionalization of Sherpa climbers through initiatives like the Khumbu Climbing Center.
- ▪Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air inadvertently increased interest in Everest climbs among amateur climbers.
- ▪From 1921 to 1996, one person died for every five summits; from 1996 to 2024, that ratio improved to one death for every 68 summits.
- ▪In 2025, five climbers died while 866 reached the summit, resulting in a fatality rate of one per 173 summits.
- ▪Nepali climbers, especially Sherpas, now lead most expeditions and control critical logistics on the mountain.
- ▪The Khumbu Climbing Center, founded by Jenni Lowe and Conrad Anker, has played a major role in training Sherpa climbers in technical skills.
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BooksWhat’s Changed Since I Climbed EverestScaling the world’s highest mountain is a very different experience than it was 30 years ago.By Jon KrakauerIllustration by Sally DengMay 4, 2026, 7 AM ET ShareSave When the first edition of Into Thin Air was published not long after the 1996 Mount Everest calamity, during which eight climbers died in a violent storm, I assumed that the disturbing events I described in my book would convince amateur climbers that paying a lot of money to be guided up the highest mountain on Earth was a bad idea. I was wrong. The deadly hazards I wrote about attracted novice climbers to Everest like gamblers to a slot machine.
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