Line seen between Everest camps 3 & 4 (left), trash left at Everest Camp 4 (right)
Line seen between Everest camps 3 & 4 (left), trash left at Everest Camp 4 (right)

MOUNT EVEREST – We’ve all seen plenty of photos, videos, and stories detailing the nightmare that is hiking Mount Everest in the 2020s. Garbage, massive lines, inexperienced climbers, and over commercialization. But what does someone who’s actually summited the mountain think? Because I haven’t climbed it, and you probably haven’t either.

Ryan Mitchell reached the summit of Mount Everest in mid-May, and he saw pretty much everything that people have talked about. He saw trash, he saw some massive lines, he saw over commercialization, and he saw inexperienced climbers. In a video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Mitchell discussed the realities behind these controversies, from where the trash is located, to where the lines occur, to where he witnessed inexperienced climbers. And he doesn’t soften it or make it look better for his own sake.

Mitchell set up the video with a fundraising effort for the Juniper Fund, an organization built to help the countless Nepali workers and laborers who make Everest summits happen every year and their families.

While the mountain climbing and expedition industry employs countless local staff and laborers in order to help support the adventures many travelers seek, the reality is that some of these workers are injured or killed in the course of this work. Unfortunately, the local governments have inadequate systems for insuring against this in the event of tragedy, and many families are lost without a source of income.” – The Juniper Fund

According to the Juniper Fund, the families of high-altitude workers that die on the mountain (48 since 2014 alone) receive just $15,000 in government insurance, most of which winds up going towards community and funeral costs. Additionally, a season of work for the highest paid guides is often only enough to support a family for two years. If you wish to donate to the Juniper Fund, you can do so here, or through Ryan Mitchell’s video.

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