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The World's Most Dangerous Mountain
Question: What is the world's most dangerous mountain to climb? Everest? NoK2? Good guess, but no. The world's most dangerous mountain is probably one that you've never even heard of. The answer decidedly is Annapurna.
Annapurna is a peak in the Himalayan Mountains that is the 10th highest in the world at 26,545 feet. So with Mount Everest peaking at over 29,000 feet and eight other mountains at higher elevation, what makes Annapurna so dangerous?
For starters, it's the fatality rate. At 41%! Yes, 58 of the 142 climbers who have attempted Annapurna died. Compare this to the 9% fatality rate of Mount Everest and 27% for K2. What makes this statistic even more sobering is that only the most experienced climbers' attempt Annapurna while Mount Everest is often attempted by relative novices who bought their way onto the steep mountain and with the aid of numerous Sherpa's.
The conditions on Annapurna are the most unpredictable of any mountain. It has been said that skill plays a small role in your ability to peak this mountain since the dangers are not predictable even by the most experienced climbers.
For starters, it is extremely difficult just to make it to the Annapurna base camp. The trek to base camp descends 2,000 feet, then ascends 5,000 feet, and then descends another 4,000 feet. This entire route to base camp is on a steep, narrow, slippery route with many long exposed areas with sheer drops on either side of the trail.
Avalanches are by far the most common cause of death on the mountain. The majority of the climbing route is on a 40-degree incline, which is ideal for avalanches. The notorious Sickle Ice Cliff sits between 23,000 and 24,000 feet in altitude. This cliff juts out over large areas of the north face of the mountain. Unstable ice chunks the size of a house are constantly calving off from the cliff. These chunks can either land on climbers thereby causing instant death or they can start an avalanche. Unfortunately, any avalanche that occurs in this area makes its way down a large glacial basin that is in the direct path of the climbing route. Furthermore, the route crosses the glacial basin many times. Avalanches in the basin can even be triggered by less obvious reasons such as the sun warming the snow or the weight of a climber. There would be no chance of escape for anyone caught in the basin of Annapurna during an avalanche.
There are many routes up Annapurna. In fact, some routes have been created in an effort to minimize exposure to the avalanche-prone basin. However, the trade-off is that much more time is spent in the death-zone an altitude of over 26,000 feet where oxygen levels are so low that the body begins to shut down. Even the act of standing up at this altitude is difficult for most climbers. This includes even your most fit climbers who have taken care of themselves by eating foods rich in natural whole food vitamins and plant based phytonutrients and otherwise have trained to peak condition. For the vast majority, no matter how fit, considerable time spent at this altitude will ultimately result in cerebral edema, frostbite, and loss of consciousness.
The route up Annapurna is also littered with crevasses. A crevasse is a large crack that is caused by two colliding glaciers. The problem is that this crack becomes covered by snow and is invisible to climbers. When a person walks over a crevasse, the snow gives way and the person falls down between the glaciers often to depths of 100 feet or more. In the case that a person lives through a crevasse fall, rescue is possible although extremely dangerous.
A final reason for the great dangers of Annapurna is the lack of aid in the case of emergency. On Mount Everest, for example, 40 people have peaked the mountain in a single day with hundreds attempting the summit throughout the course of the season. Furthermore, dozens of climbers are spread out across the mountain camps during peak season who might be able to provide assistance in case of an emergency. On the other hand, Annapurna has been peaked just over 100 times in the last 60 years. The odds of a high altitude rescue in this remote region are basically non-existent.
Tour providers are available to lead interested climbers up Annapurna. Typical tours are 7 weeks in length and cost roughly $8,000 in addition to airfare to Nepal. Sherpa's may be purchased for an additional $2,500 each. If this trip package sounds appealing, good luck to you. You will definitely need it!
Contributed by: Dr. Linda Kennedy MS SLP ND