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

900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
23.1
324
31.7
407
For all peaks without Everest, the most successful team size was 2-3 members with an
ascent rate of 37.8%, but only 2075 members that went above base camp were in teams
of this size. Teams of 6-7 members sent the most members above base camp (5311), but
had a lower ascent rate of 28.0%. The spike at team size 28-31 with a 46.0% ascent rate
is due to the three large Ama Dablam and Kangchenjunga expeditions discussed above.
For Everest, the most successful team size again was 2-3 members with an ascent rate
of 31.7%, but only 407 members that went above base camp were in teams of this size.
Teams of 10-11 and 16-19 members sent the most members above base camp (874 and
866), but had lower ascent rates (21.4% and 16.2%).
Average Expedition Duration and Days to Summit
Charts A-34a-g show average duration (the time from arrival at base to departure from
base camp) for successful expeditions (the blue lines in the charts ) and the average
number of days taken to reach the team’s first summit (the green lines) for the period
from 1970 to 2006. These charts show the times for all peaks, the 6000ers, 7000ers,
and 8000ers, Ama Dablam, Cho Oyu, and Everest. They may be used as indicator of
how long an expedition should plan to be on the mountain in order to succeed in their
summit quest. The quickest and longest time for each peak are given in Table A-36.
The quickest times should not be confused with speed ascents, which are usually done
several days or weeks after arrival at base camp and after proper acclimatization has
been completed.
70 Ascent Analysis
Members Above BC and Ascent Rates by Member Team Size For Everest
(1950-2006)
525
27.0
823
26.2
836
26.0
874
21.4
Chart A-33: Ascent rates by member team size for Everest from 1950-2006
(the horizontal scale is the member team size; the green line is the
total number of members above BC for each team size increment;
the red line is the ascent rate for each team size increment)
766
25.1
682
19.4
866
679
21.9
26.1
440
275
16.2 16.0 13.3
1 2- 3 4- 5 6- 7 8- 9 10-11 12-13 14-15 16-19 20-23 24-27 28-31 32-35
Members Above BC (left scale) Ascent Rate (right scale)
105
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0