The Happiness Quotient

On September 27th, a catastrophic avalanche slammed into base camp on 7126 meter Himlung Hamal at 3:00 in the morning. 16 people - all of them mountain workers - were buried under 4 meters of snow. 15 of the bodies have been recovered. One is still there under the snow.  As of right now, commercial outfitters are arriving at the mountain, staffing the mountain. Over 30 clients will be there soon,...

An avalanche has buried the base camp of Himlung Himal in Nepal. We examine the latest reports from this unfolding disaster. On September 27, 2026, severe reports emerged regarding a massive slide that struck the base camp of Himlung Himal. Teams were actively preparing for guided expeditions to summit the peak when the event occurred. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable...

Today on Manaslu, climbing isn't just an expedition—it’s an active conveyor belt. Nearly a thousand people are on the mountain right this second, creating thousands of pounds of waste while operators collect royalties. But this is not a eulogy for the mountain. It’s a blueprint.  **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: Henriette Pi Barbedwire Ursula Dirnberger Noelle Dud13y  J...

Surgery complete. Six of Konstantin Smirnov's fingers are gone. He believes the man whose job was to bring him down Makalu left him to die in the death zone. Today, for the first time, he tells the whole story — and he is not asking for your sympathy. **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: Henriette Pi Barbedwire Ursula Dirnberger Noelle Dud13y  John V. Mike Nicholson Geoff (...

On August 26th, the Himalaya came apart. The disaster began high along the Lende Khola near the Nepal Tibet border, then poured south into the Trishuli River system heading downstream toward the lower valleys of central Nepal. A wall of water and debris. Communities were destroyed. Roads and bridges disappeared. Hydropower facilities were overwhelmed and destroyed and people disappeared with them....

After the Broad Peak avalanche that took ten lives, the municipality where Nirmal Purja was born proposed renaming Annapurna I in his honor, to Nimsdai Annapurna. In this video I trace the epic of the mountain itself — the 1950 French first ascent and the cost it took from Maurice Herzog — and the right way to honor Nimsdai without un-naming a goddess. **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**:...

There’s a scene in 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible that tells me almost everything I need to know about the Broad Peak disaster. Ten climbers died on July 30th—but the avalanche is only part of the story. This video asks the harder question: why were they there at all? **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: John V. Barbedwire  Lindsey Cameron Henriette Pi Mike Nicholson Tom McLeod...

"So these uh fingers, they are dead and you  know they they sound like stone, like a piece of bone."  Listeners might want to check out the video version of this podcast episode, found here: https://youtu.be/xBW_6ZNYI8M The fascination with the abandonment on Makalu has resonated profoundly. It may well reshape the guiding industry forever.  Konstantin Smirnov faced the ultimate betrayal...

In 2023, the Norwegian climber rewrote the record books by summiting all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks in just 92 days, alongside her close friend and climbing partner, Tenjen Lama Sherpa. It was one of the most remarkable achievements in the history of high-altitude mountaineering. Beyond the headlines and the polarizing reception of Kristin Harila’s 14 Peaks project we explore the human cost and th...

For nearly 30 years, the climber long referred to as "Green Boots" has remained one of Mount Everest's most haunting and recognizable landmarks. Now, after DNA testing, the Government of India says the climber has finally been identified, and an extraordinary recovery mission is being considered. But should it happen? I welcome rigorous debate on the ethics, decisions, and systemic...

The investigation into the abandonment of Hillary Dawa Sherpa reveals systemic corruption within Everest’s commercial climbing industry. Evidence of oxygen fraud, staffing failures, and criminal negligence is examined in light of current investigations. **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS**: CAMP FOUR: John V. Barbedwire  Henriette Pi Mike Nicholson Tom McLeod Geoff (mountain climber) Ursula...

In this re-cap of the miraculous survival of Hillary Dawa Sherpa on Everest after he was left and presumed deceased, Everest climber Chris Thrall, who last saw Hillary Dawa at the Yellow Band at night, shares the circumstances that took place that night.  This is an investigation into the silence, and the moral crisis of Hillary Dawa's story. We ask the question the industry refuses to face:...

NEWS CLIP: "A Nepali Sherpa has been found alive after nearly a week without food or water." The world proclaimed a miracle on Everest after Hillary Dawa Sherpa crawled into Base Camp after disappearing seven days earlier. Some of us immediately began asking questions about the reality of the Everest industry. How is it that a Sherpa went missing for five days and meanwhile the ropes and...

On May 29, 1953, the first everest summit was achieved by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, marking a pivotal moment in world history. This video draws fascinating parallels between this incredible climbing feat and other historic human firsts.  We explore these history facts to showcase humanity's relentless pursuit of the impossible on mount everest and beyond, including a look at speed cl...

On May 20, 2026, Mount Everest saw 278 summits in a single day — the busiest 24 hours in the mountain's history. From Kami Rita’s 32nd summit to Kenton Cool’s 20th, the records were falling fast. But the numbers don’t tell the whole story. We follow Polish ski mountaineer Bartek Ziemski as he executes what many call a "perfect act": a no-oxygen, unsupported ascent and ski descent fr...

Everest 2026 is a pressure cooker. The route to the summit opened May 13th. And the weather window slammed shut the same day. Wind chills of negative 68 degrees Celsius. A jet stream parked directly on the summit. And 492 permitted climbers — plus their support staff — all staring at the same narrow window around May 19th. **THANK YOU TO OUR HIGH ALTITUDE SPONSORS HERE AND ON PATREON**: EVEREST SU...

The 2026 Mount Everest season has officially become a "pressure cooker." With a record 492 permits issued—amounting to over $7.3 million in fees alone—the South Side is bracing for unprecedented overcrowding. Following the deadliest year on record in 2023, experts are sounding the alarm: can the mountain handle this surge? Plus, we have an exceptional update on the Eurasian wigeon named...

Five forty-five this morning. A serac let go. And this is what it looked like. The tourism Times reported that a large serac broke off and a chunk of ice approximately 20 meters below it collapsed onto the path where climbers were moving up the mountain, striking members of a passing group.  If you would like to learn more about and support an organization dedicated to supporting HIMALAYAN mountai...

In a truly unexpected turn of events at Everest Base Camp, a lost Eurasian Wigeon, affectionately named Pemba Tshering, found itself in a life-threatening situation after being blown off course from its home in the Gokyo Lakes. This remarkable animal rescue highlights the fragility of wildlife in extreme environments, but is an apt beginning to an Everest season that almost didn't happen. The...

A body* was discovered in the Khumbu Icefall this week at the base of Mount Everest, just as the 2026 climbing season is struggling to begin. This discovery comes as over 3,000 people are gathered at Everest Base Camp, waiting to ascend the icefall. This tragic event adds to the ongoing discussions about the dangers of mountaineering in the Himalaya, especially with the increasing number of everes...

In this video we recount a tragic climbing incident in China's Sichuan province, where a hiker's selfie accident led to an accidental death after unhooking his safety rope. We also explore the story of the "bikini climber" GiGi Wu, highlighting how some seemingly innocent actions can go wrong in extreme environments, often due to the carelessness of people. This horror story se...

"I'm not doing too good at Everest Base Camp, " says a reclining Ryan Mitchell behind an oxygen mask covering his face.  Ryan Mitchell is on oxygen at Base Camp with an SPO2 of 35. And the Icefall Doctors have stopped cold in their tracks. A serac the size of a building is blocking the only route up the mountain. And 3,500 people are waiting at the foot of Everest with nowhere to go...

I want to start with a number: 31,797 kilograms. That is the amount of human waste that was removed from Mount Everest in the spring of 2025. One season. One mountain.  Can anyone save Everest? That question has never felt more urgent than right now. With the Tibet side closed, record numbers of climbers heading for the summit, and a waste crisis decades in the making — 2026 is the year that puts...

Everest is changing—faster than most people realize. For decades, the mountain has been quietly “dialed in.” Better forecasting, supplemental oxygen, fixed ropes, and accumulated experience have made it safer—even as more people attempt it than ever before. Now, a new wave of technology is accelerating that change. Drones, AI systems. and the possibility—real, not theoretical—of lighting Everest f...

From New York to the top of the world in just three days, twenty-three hours, and seven minutes . That’s not a myth. That’s Andrew Ushakov.  An American who quietly, stealthily went about his goal to climb Everest in a matter of days and  has shocked the world with his historic ascent. Mountaineering news was focused on a team of four special forces elite from England - the Mission:Everest team -...