How Many People Climb Everest Every Year

You know how some days you’re just standing in line at the coffee shop, feeling a bit impatient? Well, imagine swapping that latte line for a line that stretches up the side of the world’s tallest mountain. That’s Everest in the spring season. Every year, between 800 and 1,200 people attempt to climb Mount Everest, with about half of them reaching the summit.

But let’s be real: that number sounds huge until you think about your local theme park. More people ride Space Mountain in a single morning than summit Everest in a whole year. Still, for a freezing, death-defying pile of rock, it sure attracts a crowd.

Spring is the big season, like Black Friday for mountain climbers. Between April and May, the weather’s just right—a tiny window where the winds calm down. That’s when everyone shows up, like tourists at a popular beach on July 4th.

In 2023, Nepal issued a record 478 climbing permits. Add in the guides, Sherpas, and support crews, and you’ve got over 1,200 people stomping around Base Camp. If you’ve ever been to a crowded subway station, you’ll recognize the energy: a mix of excitement, mild panic, and someone stepping on your oxygen tank.

Why So Many? It’s Not Just for the Gram

Sure, Instagram plays a part—nothing says “I’m interesting” like a selfie at 29,000 feet. But mostly, it’s the challenge. Climbing Everest is the marathon of bucket lists, the one thing people brag about at dinner parties without sounding like a total show-off. You don’t need to be a pro climber anymore; guided expeditions have turned it into a very expensive, very dangerous group hike.

Think of it like signing up for a Tough Mudder race, but instead of mud pits, you get crevasses. And instead of a finisher’s T-shirt, you might lose a toe to frostbite. Charming, right?

Here’s the weird part: the actual number of climbers each year varies wildly, like the number of people who suddenly decide to adopt a sourdough starter. In 2019, about 950 people attempted the summit. Then COVID hit in 2020, and the mountain basically had a quiet year, like a restaurant during a blizzard.

The Traffic Jam at the Top of the World

If you’ve ever been stuck in a traffic jam on the freeway, you’ll relate to what happens near the summit. With so many climbers on the same narrow route, you get a human chain of brightly colored parkas, waiting in line for a photo at the top. It’s like queuing for the bathroom at a concert, except the bathroom is a pile of snow and you can barely breathe.

In 2019, photos went viral of a literal traffic jam near the Hillary Step. People waited for hours, and some died from exhaustion. Talk about a bad commute. That’s when the world realized: maybe too many people are climbing Everest every year.

How Does Everyday Life Compare?

Let’s put the Everest numbers in perspective. My gym has about 800 members, and half of them never show up. Everest has more people attempting it annually than the number of hot dogs sold at a single baseball game. It’s a lot, but it’s not a Super Bowl crowd.

Consider this: more people climb Mount Everest each year than the number of times I’ve flossed my teeth consistently. That’s right—1,000 climbers versus zero discipline from me. We all have our own Everest, I guess.

What about the support crew? For every climber, there are about two Nepalese guides and Sherpas. So the total number of people on the mountain in peak season is around 3,000 to 4,000. That’s roughly the same as the audience at a minor league hockey game—except everyone’s wearing down suits and carrying poop tubes.

The New Normal: Fewer Climbers, More Rules?

Recently, Nepal started cracking down. In 2024, they required climbers to have previous high-altitude experience—no more “I climbed a hill in my backyard, sign me up.” This might drop the numbers a bit, like when a streaming service raises its price. The truly dedicated still pay up.

So, will Everest ever be empty? Never. It’s the ultimate flex. But expect the annual crowd to settle around 600 to 800 summit attempts per year. That’s like the number of people you’d see at a busy movie theater on opening night, except the movie is you potentially dying in the Death Zone.

Here’s the takeaway: next time you’re stuck in line at the grocery store, remember you could be waiting in a -40 degree wind tunnel with 200 strangers. Suddenly, that six-minute wait for a bag of frozen peas doesn’t seem so bad. And if you ever feel the urge to climb Everest, just think: do you really want to be that person in the traffic jam?