1996 Disaster

1996 is remembered as the year folly met misfortune on Everest. With 12 deaths in a single season, it was the deadliest season, that is until the 2014 avalanche and 2015 earthquake and avalanche broke all previous tolls. Inexperienced clients, delays in fixing ropes and large number of summiteers are variously cited as reasons for disaster. All these larger factors coupled with a blizzard and late summit bids would eventually cost the lives of 8 climbers on the Nepal side alone on 10-11 May. There were 4 other fatalities in that season on the Nepal side bringing the total to 12. While 12 is a pretty large number to get a perspective, it is necessary to consider that 84 people summited that season. Hence, the fatality to summit ratio for 1996 is just 1:7, way below the historical average then. So it could well be considered a safer than average year on Everest. Inspite of the difference between emotional and statistical facts, a lot of things were brought into question in the aftermath of this disaster not least of which was the attrition of the mountaineering code. There were also calls for a climbing ban, just like after every major disaster. While at least two bestsellers were published and many a documentaries and movies made, very little came out of the debate that followed the incident. "The Climb" by Anatoli Boukreev and "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer are two of the most widely read accounts of the incident. There is also the 2015 Hollywood movie "Everest" that is based on the events.