The number of climbers has seen a significant rise since then, excluding the recent Covid-affected seasons and the disastrous earthquake in 2015. In the 1990s, commercial expeditions to Mount Everest commenced, following the successful first attempt by Norgay Tenzing and Edmund Hillary 70 years ago. Since then, thousands of climbers have been enticed by the opportunity to stand at the top of the world.

How long does it exactly take to climb Mount Everest? If you’re serious about reaching the top of the world, then you’ll need to set aside a significant amount of time — don’t even attempt it without supplementary oxygen. Unless you plan to recreate Killian Jornet’s feat of summiting twice in one week, you can’t ignore the physical exertion and hefty price tag associated with an Everest expedition. Climbing Everest may be popular, but it’s important to acknowledge the sheer physical exertion and expensive cost that come with reaching such high altitudes.

If you want to keep yourself busy while waiting for your permits to be rubber-stamped, you’ll find plenty of temples, cafes, restaurants, bars, as well as stores, equipment, and tour operators in Thamel, the tourist hotspot of Katmandu. You’ll probably need to spend at least a week in Nepal’s capital city, gathering all the necessary permits and organizing paperwork. The clock starts ticking.

Once you have completed the necessary paperwork, you will fly on a plane to Lukla, where your journey up Mount Everest begins. It can take 8 to 12 days to climb from Everest Base Camp, where you will spend several weeks acclimatizing to the altitude. During this period, most aspiring mountain climbers will summit several peaks around Everest, pushing their physical abilities and getting accustomed to their reduced bodies with life.

Scaling Mount Everest: 29,032 feet, 2 – 3 weeks

Climbers ultimately arrive at Camp 4 (26,082 feet) and subsequently Camp 3 (23,662 feet) after conquering the Lhotse Face over the Geneva Spur. Following the Western Cwm, they progress to Camp Two (20,997 feet), and then to Camp One (19,685 feet) by traversing the Khumbu Icefall. The final ascent to the summit takes place through a succession of climbs to additional camps established on the mountain, occurring two to three weeks after departing from Everest Base Camp.

The line at the peak will rely on some of this and generally requires anywhere from 10 to 20 hours–one of the most physically and technically challenging parts of scaling Mount Everest is the ascent from Camp 4 to the summit. Almost everyone except for the exceptionally skilled must possess additional oxygen at this stage. People do not possess sufficient oxygen to continue at the altitude known as the “Death Zone” on Mount Everest, a foreboding designation. Camp 4 is situated directly beneath.

It usually takes the team of sherpas, along with their capable mountaineers, three to two months to guide them to the top of the world, as they have all mentioned. After descending back to Base Camp and heading back to Lukla before flying back to Katmandhu, you’ll need around a week to rest well-earned from the summit of Mount Everest.