[Introduction] Since 2006, Xiao Yiwei had been building up his physical stamina for climbing Everest. He ran every day. The entire process of reaching the summit of Everest cost Xiao Yiwei over 200,000 RMB. On the way down, Xiao Yiwei discovered that the oxygen in his carried oxygen bottles had run out.
“The ‘bulky’ Everest — how much charm is left?”
Key Highlights:
On May 29, 1953, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay successfully reached the summit of Everest from the southern slope, becoming the first recorded people to stand atop the world’s highest peak. Sixty years later, thousands of people from over 60 countries and regions have successfully summited Everest. Every year from April to May is the golden period for climbing Everest, where many achieve their dreams, though some are forever left on the mountain. However, compared to the past, high-tech methods and well-trodden routes have greatly reduced the difficulty of climbing Everest. A popular saying in Nepal goes: “As long as you’re in good health and willing to pay, there will be people to carry you up Everest.” The commercialization of Everest has made the ascent crowded, and the once-sacred beauty of the mountain has been somewhat diminished.
Three Years of Special Training, Over 200,000 RMB
Chengdu Amateur Mountaineer Conquers Everest
Since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first summited Everest in 1953, the mountain has welcomed climbers from around the world over the past 60 years. Nowadays, with the commercialization of Everest, reaching the summit is not as difficult as it once was, and many amateur climbers have also managed to do so. Xiao Yiwei, a trade worker and mountaineering enthusiast from Chengdu, spent three years preparing and over 200,000 RMB, and finally succeeded in reaching the summit from the northern slope in 2009. Though he has some concerns about commercial Everest climbs, he is also a beneficiary of this trend.
Both Physical Fitness and Money Are Essential
For many, Everest is the ultimate dream destination. Xiao Yiwei, a Chengdu native who works in trade and loves mountaineering, had a new dream in 2006: to summit Everest. In the past, this was almost impossible, but with the gradual opening of commercial Everest climbs, these amateur climbers have started to dare to imagine reaching the top. There’s a common saying in today’s mountaineering community: to summit Everest, you need a strong body, money, and time. For Xiao Yiwei, who is financially well-off, getting in shape became his primary goal.
Starting in 2006, Xiao Yiwei began building up his physical stamina for climbing Everest. He ran every day, and to build endurance, he would climb up and down the stairs of his 30th-floor apartment multiple times a day. After such training, Xiao Yiwei began climbing smaller mountains with mountaineering teams for acclimatization. In 2006 and 2007, he successively summited Mount Haba at over 5,000 meters and Mount Yuzhu at over 6,000 meters. After three years of progressive training, in 2009, Xiao Yiwei finally made his attempt on Everest.
Running Out of Oxygen and Nearly Losing His Life on Everest
In March 2009, Xiao Yiwei and his mountaineering team arrived at the foot of Everest for acclimatization training to prepare for the final summit. In mid-May, the weather improved, and Xiao Yiwei and his team officially made their push for the summit. But at the 6,500-meter Advance Base Camp, the weather suddenly turned severe, with a 48-hour blizzard forcing them to postpone their summit attempt. For the amateur mountaineer Xiao Yiwei, this was completely unprecedented. “Above 8,300 meters, it’s not even a real path anymore. Below 8,300 meters, the path is at least a foot wide, letting you inch along while pressing against the rock wall. But above 8,300 meters, it’s sheer vertical wall — you can only use your crampons to grip the rocks and climb forward. I really didn’t know how to move.” Xiao Yiwei is still shaken by the experience, but the real test came during the descent.
On the way down, at 8,700 meters, Xiao Yiwei suddenly felt unable to breathe. He looked down and realized the oxygen in his bottle had run out. Although his guide was just seven meters away, Xiao Yiwei couldn’t even shout. He felt death closing in. In desperation, Xiao Yiwei pulled on the rope and gestured, and the guide finally understood. He brought oxygen up to Xiao Yiwei, and the Chengdu man was saved. Back at the 5,400-meter camp after 22 hours of continuous climbing, Xiao Yiwei finally recovered. Reflecting on his brush with death, he said, “Even if you gave me ten million, I wouldn’t come back.” Despite saying that, the experience of summiting Everest remains invaluable. When asked about the meaning of reaching the summit, Xiao Yiwei smiled and said, “You’ll understand once you’ve been there.”
Over 200,000 RMB Spent on One Summit
For amateur mountaineers, besides physical fitness, the most important thing for summiting Everest is money — at least for ordinary people, it’s definitely a “money-burning” sport.
Professional mountaineering gear is essential for every climber, and costs vary greatly depending on specific requirements. Xiao Yiwei spent over 30,000 RMB on this alone. In addition, the professional training and acclimatization climbs before Everest also incurred huge expenses, costing him about 100,000 RMB. In total, Xiao Yiwei spent over 200,000 RMB on the entire Everest summit journey, but within the amateur mountaineering circle, this is by no means a high amount. Xiao Yiwei told reporters: “Now, to climb from the northern slope, the requirements are different from before. You must have summited a mountain over 8,000 meters to get a climbing permit.” This means that for amateur climbers, they must first acclimatize from altitudes over 5,000 meters up to over 8,000 meters. While safety has increased significantly, the costs have also risen. Commercial Everest climbs give countless people the chance to fulfill their dream of climbing the sacred mountain, but they’ve also made Everest overcrowded — a very contradictory issue for these climbers.
Three Years of Preparation Cost Nearly a Million
Shengshan Company, founded by Nyima Tsering, head of the Tibet Mountaineering Team, is absolutely a gold-standard name in China’s commercial mountaineering field. Many domestic amateur mountaineers have reached the summit of Everest with the help of this company. Regarding the commercialization of Everest, Shengshan Company’s General Manager Sangzhu is arguably the most knowledgeable person in the industry.
According to Sangzhu, to climb Everest, you first need to register with a qualified company. The company provides documentation, and once it meets the requirements, they apply to the local mountaineering association on your behalf. After approval, it’s then submitted to the China Mountaineering Association. Only with permission from the China Mountaineering Association can you qualify to summit Everest. Even for those who meet the requirements, it takes about 50 days to reach the summit.
After obtaining qualification, mountaineers first go to the mountaineering school in Lhasa for three days of physical training and mountaineering knowledge. Before the summit, reputable companies will take mountaineers to climb a 5,200-meter peak for two or three days of training, then return for rest. Then, they lead the group toward Everest Base Camp. Along the way, there are staged altitudes such as 5,800 meters, 6,500 meters, 7,028 meters, 7,790 meters, and finally the last departure point for the summit at 8,300 meters. At each stage, there are set standards, and any mountaineer who fails to meet them will be eliminated, because failing to meet the standards means their physical condition and adaptability don’t meet Everest’s requirements. According to Sangzhu, preparing to summit Everest takes about three years, and all costs including transportation, equipment purchases, etc., may add up to around 1 million RMB.
Famous Quotes:
“Everest’s First Man” Sir Edmund Hillary: “Paying $65,000 and then being helped to the summit by experienced guides — that’s not mountaineering. Mountaineering is a challenge by climbers to the mountains. Many modern climbers simply don’t understand the true philosophy of mountaineering. Mountaineering has lost its sense of exploration and challenge.”
Junko Tabei, the first woman in the world to summit Everest and a Japanese national: “The value of climbing Everest is decreasing. The flood of climbers has made the path to Everest overcrowded, making the climb more dangerous and less sacred.”
Climbing Everest Has Become a Major Industry in Nepal
The famous British mountaineer Kenton Cool, who has summited Everest multiple times, once expressed mixed feelings about some of the people who come to climb: “You see a lot of people here — lawyers, bankers — they’ve been very successful in various fields of society. They come to climb just to have a photo on top of Everest.” “Maybe many people shouldn’t be here. I ask myself, are they really mountaineering enthusiasts? Do they love the mountains? They’re different — police officers, diplomats, ordinary people — my feeling is quite strange. They like climbing mountains, I guess. Everest is their dream.”
As Cool said, reaching Everest is a dream for many, but their motivations vary. Some are just after that one photo, and for Nepal’s tourism bureau, these people create excellent money-making opportunities.
The Nepalese government earns significant foreign exchange every year by hosting foreign climbing teams and hiring their guides and porters, which is an important source of its foreign reserves. High-altitude guides and porters carry an average load of 30 to 35 kilograms at altitudes between 6,000 and 8,000 meters. In terms of income, a high-altitude guide charges between 300 and 500 RMB per day. Some guides receive a fixed monthly salary of about 2,500 to 3,000 RMB.
The huge profits have given rise to many mountaineering companies that make money by helping climbers reach the summit. In terms of procedure, climbers should apply to the local mountaineering association — specifically, to local commercial mountaineering companies. After paying substantial fees, the company applies for a climbing permit from the local mountaineering association on their behalf, then deploys support staff to accompany the climbers to Everest. This includes arranging accommodation, meals, guides, support personnel, medical aid, and more, all handled by the mountaineering company. For those who are prepared to spend money to climb Everest just for photos, Chen Siqi said: “With a high-altitude guide pulling you from the front and someone carrying your gear from behind — is this still mountaineering? It completely loses the meaning of climbing. It’s just a rich guy being waited on like an old master.”
For the Nepalese government, Mount Everest is their biggest tourism project. To ensure this cash cow generates revenue as efficiently as possible, they generally do not stop climbers from ascending during the climbing season. It is said that one domestic mountaineering enthusiast was granted permission by the Nepal Tourism Board to climb Everest with nothing more than a certificate for climbing Huangshan Mountain. Such management practices have also drawn criticism from media outlets around the world this year.