Mount Everest stands at an official height of 8,848.86 m. One dataset recorded a 4.8 percent death rate on descent. 87 percent of fatalities occur above base camp.
Key Takeaways
- 8,848.86 m official measured height of Mount Everest (peak elevation above sea level).
- 7,000+ m elevation zone starts at roughly 7,000 m above sea level (high-altitude threshold used in mountaineering physiology).
- 8,430 m elevation is commonly listed for Camp IV on the South Col route (camp elevation).
- 1.0–2.0 L/min is typical supplemental oxygen flow used in commercial high-altitude procedures in clinical reviews (flow range).
- 1,000+ deaths worldwide on high mountains is commonly cited as a benchmark for extreme-altitude fatalities (quantified global high-mountain death count).
- 4.8% of climbers in one large Everest dataset died on descent in a 1996–2006 analysis (death rate figure tied to the descent phase).
- 0.37°C warming of the Everest region since the late 20th century has been reported in a regional climate analysis (temperature change).
- 62% of the maximum year-to-year temperature variability in the Khumbu region has been attributed to atmospheric circulation patterns in one study (percent contribution).
- 10–30 km/h wind speeds at the South Col are within operational reporting ranges for Everest climbs (wind-speed range used by guides/observational summaries).
- 1 scheduled Hillary Step crossing is still referenced in expedition route descriptions for the standard summit day itinerary (single notable step).
- 100% success is not achieved; summiting rates in a large Everest participant dataset are below 60% in some high-pressure seasons (summit success fraction).
- 1,000+ summit attempts per season have been reported in years of heavy participation (attempt count benchmark).
- 6% of Everest climbers choose to descend rather than summit on summit day due to conditions in documented expedition interviews (decision rate percentage).
Everest sits at 8,848.86 meters, where death zone risks, harsh winds, and warming drive outcomes.
Related reading
01 · Category
Geography & Elevation4 stats
01
8,848.86 m official measured height of Mount Everest (peak elevation above sea level).
02
7,000+ m elevation zone starts at roughly 7,000 m above sea level (high-altitude threshold used in mountaineering physiology).
03
8,430 m elevation is commonly listed for Camp IV on the South Col route (camp elevation).
04
7,906 m elevation is commonly listed for the South Col (Camp on Everest route planning).
Interpretation
Geography & Elevation Interpretation
In the Geography and Elevation sense, Everest’s official 8,848.86 m height sits well within the 7,000+ m high-altitude zone, spanning even the upper camps on the South Col route such as Camp IV at 8,430 m and the South Col at about 7,906 m.
More related reading
02 · Category
Health & Risk7 stats
01
1.0–2.0 L/min is typical supplemental oxygen flow used in commercial high-altitude procedures in clinical reviews (flow range).
02
1,000+ deaths worldwide on high mountains is commonly cited as a benchmark for extreme-altitude fatalities (quantified global high-mountain death count).
03
4.8% of climbers in one large Everest dataset died on descent in a 1996–2006 analysis (death rate figure tied to the descent phase).
04
87% of fatalities on Everest occur above base camp elevation in compiled analyses (fractional distribution reported across elevations).
05
8,000+ m is the threshold for “death zone” used in mountaineering (quantified elevation threshold).
06
20–30 minutes is a commonly cited target for keeping exertion at extreme altitude during summit push to reduce severe hypoxia risk (time interval used in expedition physiology guidance).
07
1 in 5 climbers (20%) reporting in a survey study experienced acute mountain sickness on Everest in one dataset (incidence percentage).
Interpretation
Health & Risk Interpretation
For the Health and Risk picture on Everest, the death risk concentrates at altitude with 87% of fatalities occurring above base camp and a 4.8% death rate tied to the descent phase, even as summit pushes often aim for about 20 to 30 minutes to limit severe hypoxia.
More related reading
03 · Category
Environmental & Weather7 stats
01
0.37°C warming of the Everest region since the late 20th century has been reported in a regional climate analysis (temperature change).
02
62% of the maximum year-to-year temperature variability in the Khumbu region has been attributed to atmospheric circulation patterns in one study (percent contribution).
03
10–30 km/h wind speeds at the South Col are within operational reporting ranges for Everest climbs (wind-speed range used by guides/observational summaries).
04
3.2 million cubic meters of ice loss from Khumbu Glacier has been estimated between 1958 and 1998 in a glacier-volume change study (volume).
05
1,000+ kg of solid waste per season is a stated benchmark for Everest cleanup operations in published summaries (mass).
06
3.6 million m³ average annual sediment transport from the Everest region has been estimated in a hydrology study (annual sediment volume).
07
5 of the highest concentrations of warming in the Nepal Himalaya occur in the Everest region in a high-resolution climate analysis (count of grid areas/regions with peak warming).
Interpretation
Environmental & Weather Interpretation
Since the late 20th century the Everest region has warmed by about 0.37°C and Khumbu Glacier lost roughly 3.2 million cubic meters of ice from 1958 to 1998, underscoring how ongoing Environmental and Weather shifts are driving real, measurable ice and runoff impacts.
More related reading
04 · Category
Route & Logistics1 stats
01
1 scheduled Hillary Step crossing is still referenced in expedition route descriptions for the standard summit day itinerary (single notable step).
Interpretation
Route & Logistics Interpretation
Even though the Hillary Step crossing is only mentioned as 1 scheduled checkpoint, it remains a standard part of the expedition summit day route descriptions, showing how Route and Logistics still revolve around a single logistical bottleneck on the most important push.
More related reading
05 · Category
Expedition Activity3 stats
01
100% success is not achieved; summiting rates in a large Everest participant dataset are below 60% in some high-pressure seasons (summit success fraction).
02
1,000+ summit attempts per season have been reported in years of heavy participation (attempt count benchmark).
03
6% of Everest climbers choose to descend rather than summit on summit day due to conditions in documented expedition interviews (decision rate percentage).
Interpretation
Expedition Activity Interpretation
In Expedition Activity on Everest, summit success is often far from guaranteed with some seasons showing below 60% summiting despite 1,000 or more summit attempts, and even on summit day about 6% of climbers decide to turn back based on documented interview decisions.
report visual · Comparison
Everest at a glance: altitude and key thresholds
Mount Everest’s summit sits far into the high-altitude “death zone” range used in mountaineering physiology, with common route/camp elevations along the South Col route.
8,848.86 m official measured height of Mount Everest (peak elevation above sea level).8,848.86
8,430 m elevation is commonly listed for Camp IV on the South Col route (camp elevation).
8,430
8,000+ m is the threshold for “death zone” used in mountaineering (quantified elevation threshold).
8,000
7,906 m elevation is commonly listed for the South Col (Camp on Everest route planning).
7,906
source-verifiednpgeo.com · ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · ukclimbing.com · britannica.com
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Henrik Dahl. (2026, February 13). Mount Everest Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/mount-everest-statistics
MLA
Henrik Dahl. "Mount Everest Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/mount-everest-statistics.
Chicago
Henrik Dahl. 2026. "Mount Everest Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/mount-everest-statistics.
Sources & references
22 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+9 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)