The Himalaya by the Numbers: A Statistical Analysis - Himalayan ...

died from other illnesses). In addition, six died from avalanches below base camp, and
six died in a helicopter crash after evacuating Makalu base camp in 2002 as noted
above.
Table D-18 shows causes of death during route preparation for all peaks.
Cause of Death
Members Hired Total
Route Preparation Cnt Pct Cnt Pct Cnt Pct
AMS 13 4.8 4 3.4 17 4.4
Exhaustion 4 1.5 0 0.0 4 1.0
Exposure/Frostbite 16 5.9 0 0.0 16 4.1
Fall 72 26.7 5 4.2 77 19.8
Crevasse 5 1.9 4 3.4 9 2.3
Icefall Collapse 2 0.7 14 11.8 16 4.1
Avalanche 137 50.7 79 66.4 216 55.5
Falling Rock/Ice 8 3.0 6 5.0 14 3.6
Disappearance 4 1.5 2 1.7 6 1.5
Illness (non-AMS) 8 3.0 2 1.7 10 2.6
Other 1 0.4 3 2.5 4 1.0
Unknown 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
270 100.0 119 100.0 389 100.0
Table D-18: Causes of death during route preparation for all peaks
from 1950-2006
For members during route preparation, avalanches followed by falls were the most
prevalent. For hired, only avalanching posed much of a problem; icefall collapse was a
distant second with the majority of those icefall collapses being in the Khumbu Icefall
on Everest (six Sherpas died in one accident in 1970).
Table D-19 shows causes of death while ascending during a summit bid for all peaks.
For members, falls followed by unexplained disappearances (also likely falls) were
by far the most prevalent. For hired, there were minimal deaths during summit bid
ascents.
Cause of Death
Members Hired Total
Ascending in Smt Bid Cnt Pct Cnt Pct Cnt Pct
AMS 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
Exhaustion 1 1.6 0 0.0 1 1.5
Exposure/Frostbite 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
Fall 36 59.0 5 83.3 41 61.2
Crevasse 2 3.3 0 0.0 2 3.0
Icefall Collapse 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
Avalanche 8 13.1 0 0.0 8 11.9
Falling Rock/Ice 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
Disappearance 13 21.3 1 16.7 14 20.9
Illness (non-AMS) 1 1.6 0 0.0 1 1.5
Other 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
Unknown 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0
61 100.0 6 100.0 67 100.0
Table D-19: Causes of death during summit bid ascents for all peaks
from 1950-2006
Table D-20 shows causes of death while descending from a summit bid for all peaks.
For members, falls were by far the major cause of death, followed by exposure/frostbite,
AMS, and exhaustion. This data supports the general consensus that descending from
the summit late in the day when cold and exhausted is a particularly perilous time of
Death Analysis 99