AUSTIN, Texas — The top of the world. It's what 381 people are trying to get to in the 2019 season alone. But experts say it's all of those people that are causing a problem.
It's been a record-setting season for people climbing Mount Everest. More permits than ever have been handed out and it's now the deadliest year on the mountain in four years.
A man who made the trek 16 years ago, Gary Guller, shares his thoughts on the year. Guller, who now lives in Portland, Oregon, lived in Austin when he climbed.
"There's no stronger pull, that the pull of Mount Everest," said Guller as he quoted Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa who was one of the first two individuals known to reach the summit of Mount Everest
Mount Everest is one of the most dangerous places in the world.
"Your body ... it's basically just dying," said Guller. "That is what happens, your body just starts breaking down, you're not as quick, you're not as sharp, you're not as focused."
That's what happens after a climber enters the Death Zone – that's the final section of the climb to the summit.
"It was my dream as a child to summit and, after that expedition to the base camp, I then went on to scale the peak six weeks later," he said.
RELATED:
In 2003, he ascended the mountain after losing an arm in a climbing accident. Guller was part of the largest group of people with disabilities to get to the base camp. Then, he was the first with only one arm to summit.
"I was very blessed, right, I stood on the summit with four of my closest Sherpa friends," said Guller. "We had no line, no climbers with us going up from Camp 4"
But, this year, the climb to the top looks very different. Pictures of climbers in a single-file line spread quickly online and the reports of climbers dying becoming more common.
Some say that, because of the overcrowding, it's even more dangerous than normal.
PHOTOS: Gary Guller's trip up Mount Everest
"When you start getting even more than 20, 30, 40 climbers there, it can be a real challenge, it can be a real issue too," he said.
The cause of the increase in death is up for debate. For some, it's because there are too many permits, others believe it's the lack of experience from thrill seekers.
"I think to lay blame on any one individual group may be a little unfair," said Guller. "This year in particular, the weather window was a little tighter, so the weather was really good for a shorter amount of time, and so that's when the majority of people made the push."
Guller said it's just a risk people who want to get to the top take.
"You know Everest and the Himalayas, there is a serious risk that can happen," said Guller. "Just the result of being at altitude."
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: