Podcast Series: 7 Summits Episode 10–Everest with Adrian Ballinger & Mike Hamill Interview

The Podcast on alanarnette.com

Welcome to my limited series on climbing the Seven Summits. I'll drop a new episode discussing one of the 7 Summits in detail over the last eight weeks. Today is Episode 10, Everest, with special guests Adrian Ballinger, founder of Alpenglow and Mike Hamill, founder of Climbing the Seven Summits. #7summits

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in Asia and the world, at 29,031.69 feet or 8848.86 meters, making it the highest of the Seven Summits. With seemingly unlimited attraction, climbing Chomolungma has dramatically changed over the decades.

Stradling the border of China (Tibet) and Nepal, it grows by about 0.0063-0.021 inches or 0.16 to 0.53 millimeters annually due to the northward movement of the Indian tectonic plate and a "rebound" effect caused by merging rivers. Everest is so high that it juts into the jetstream, atmospheric winds that typically travel west to east at speeds ranging from 80 to 140 miles per hour but can accelerate up to 275 miles per hour.

Through January 2024, there have been 12,015 summits (5,907 members and 6,108 hired). In other words, more support climbers, primarily Sherpas, have summited than foreigners. Yet more foreigners, 200, have died on Everest than support climbers, 117.

It has become an economic powerhouse, attracting millions into the Nepal economy, an estimated 10% of GDP, through flights, hotels, taxis, restaurants, teahouses, yak herders and massive, dominating guiding enterprises. In 2024, 80% of the Everest summits were on Nepali-owned guide company teams, compared to 20% a decade earlier. However, with that dominance comes a downside: an all-time record 18 climbers died on Everest in 2022. Twenty-six people have died in the last two years climbing Everest; of that total, 23 were clients of Nepali operators. That’s 88% of the total for the two years.

In this last 7 Summits Podcast, I briefly overview the peak and then delve into several topics with guests Adrian Ballinger, founder of Alpenglow and Mike Hamill, founder of Climbing the Seven Summits.

All Episodes

Introduction

Mt. Kosciuszko, Australia - 7,310/2228m

Mt. Blanc, France/Italy - 15,771'/4807m

Vinson, Antarctica - 16,067/4897m

Carstensz Pyramid (Puncak Jaya), New Guinea - 16,023/4884m

Elbrus, Russia - 18,513/5642m

Kilimanjaro, Africa - 19,340/5896m

Denali, Alaska - 20,320/6194m

Aconcagua, Argentina - 22,902/6960m

Everest, Nepal/Tibet - 29,035/8850m