The dystopian queues 29,000 feet up Mount Everest have caused tragic deaths as adventurers reach the mountain’s peak.
Every day around 500 people make their climb to the Everest Base Camp, over around 100,000 people visiting the park each year.
But only an average of 800 people attempt to summit the world’s biggest mountain every year.
It’s estimated that over 340 people have lost their lives trying to reach the top of Everest over the years and it looks like things could be getting worse for climbers.
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This is because, as the mountain grows in popularity, queues are beginning to form near the top.
In a clip uploaded to YouTube by Doctor Mike, he interviewed Sophie Grace Holmes, who is a world-record marathon runner and endurance athlete.
In the video, she said: “Most people die on Everest because of the queues to the summit. Because it’s so oversold despite it being like £100,000. You’re paying all this money, you have to live on the mountain for three months to acclimatize and then there’s a chance that you may not do it.
“I’ve got a friend that has summited, he’s got cystic fibrosis but done all the main summits of the world. It took him three attempts and he just said like he lost friends doing it and all these things and you just don’t think it’ll be you. You go out to do these things and you just think, ‘oh that won’t happen to me’.”
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Earlier this year, a British climber and his guide went missing after they were hit by collapsing ice and experts fear that overcrowding near the top of the mountain may have played a role.
The incident occurred near the Hillary Step which is just below the summit.
Recent photos show dystopian queues forming along the Hillary Step as people wait to summit the mountain.
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Vinayak Malla, who is an accredited guide with the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, said at the time: “After summiting, we crossed the Hillary Step, traffic was moving slowly then suddenly a cornice collapsed a few metres ahead of us.
“As the cornice collapsed, four climbers nearly perished yet were clipped onto the rope and self-rescued.
“Sadly, two climbers are still missing. We tried to traverse yet it was impossible due to the traffic on the fixed line.”
Everest is only climbable in the short windows of clear weather when the winds are calm, which has led to long lines of climbers forming as they wait it out in the freezing cold, often burning through their oxygen supply.