Mt. Everest is a famously inhospitable environment for humans-if someone from sea level was dropped at the very top they’d be unconscious within minutes. Many dangers await those brave enough to make an attempt at the summit, and Dr. Emily Johnston visits WIRED to break down each and every way Mt. Everest can prove fatal.
Director: Wendi Jonassen
Director of Photography: Dylan Bergeson
Editor: Edward Simpson Jr.
Expert: Dr. Emily Johnston
Creative Producer: Katherine Wzorek
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Kameryn Hamilton
Production Manager: D. Eric Martinez
Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila
Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch
Post Production Coordinator: Ian Bryant
Supervising Editor: Doug Larsen
Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds
Special Thanks: Elia Saikaly and Climbing the Seven Summits
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This is definitely on my check list of things never to do.
Me too. People are crazy to do this. I will never understand it.
congrats.
I don't have that kind of money.
Just get on an airplane with window seat 😂 literally higher than the summit
I have zero desire to ever summit this mountain, or anything close to it. I’m content to live my life without needing to ‘bag that peak’. That said, as someone that NEVER cared about mountaineering in any capacity that now is working through 14ers, I can understand why some people are so drawn to it. There’s something about standing on the top of a mountain and looking out at the vastness. There’s a beauty that cannot be captured in a photo, can’t be described adequately, and cannot be experienced anywhere else. It’s beyond cliché, but the mountains really do beckon. There’s also nothing in the world like the accomplishment one feels when you do successfully summit.
Honestly climbing Everest should be restricted to people who have done multiple other challenging summits first. Right now it's basically a tourist attraction where a bunch of rich people underpay local people to carry all their stuff, lead them, test all the crossings and paths first, cook their food, pitch their camp, etc. Exploited sherpas are die way too often essentially carrying tourists up the mountain like greek gods. You shouldn't get the privilege of climbing it or K2 until you've proven yourself as a solo mountaineer.
sadly, it's the only form of employment for the folks living there
I agree. It used to be an honor for a climber to be invited on an Everest expedition. They had to prove themselves first. K2, the "Savage Mountain," will never be as commercialized as Everest. It's simply too hard for a rich amateur. They'd certainly never make it up Annapurna.
Thank 👏 you. It’s one thing to put yourself in a risky environment. But, If someone can’t climb a mountain without exploiting and putting another human being in direct risk they should not being doing it. Period. It’s never that important.
@@kimberley894 what's especially frustrating is I can already picture a certain sort of person turning bright purple at their keyboard as they hammer away at a polemic reply about how sherpas totally have free will and nobody's forcing them to sign contracts or whatever. as though nobody has ever done something that was against their best interests out of economic desperation.
It should be limited to people who haven't already submitted unless they are head guides.
A doctor and an established mountaineer? Mad impressive
Right? This woman gives Ripley a run for her money.
She's addicted to adrenalin like the rest of the climbers. She's not better than the rest of them.
@@pio7763better to be addicted to adrenaline and explore the world than to be addicted to drugs, social media etc.
That’s because only doctors can afford to climb Everest.
Definitely not an English major though lol.
I’ve watched countless documentaries on Everest, both on KZhead and studio productions, and this is the FIRST expert I’ve heard talk about the nuts and bolts of the medical changes in the body caused by climbing Everest and the public health risks at base camps!! Absolutely fascinating. More of her please!
You must've been lying about watching countless documentaries because there are tons that bring that up lol
Either you've watched very poor quality documentaries or aren't telling the truth. I've seen only a handful of documentaries on Everest, and ALL of them mention at least some of the physiological changes and dangers that this youtube video describes.
Yeah I came across a couple of videos giving stories of people who died on Everest and they didn’t go into too much detail, except that there’s too little oxygen and it’s cold.
@@fanlbcI've got a theory! This video was 8mins. Most of the stuff they've watched before were probably at least twice as long and lots of other things in the story. Like most people on internet; attention span of a gnat and not actively engaged. Need tiktok sized chunks of packaged info 🤣 to cut through the fog😬
@@deadliaski you fool
This year, I successfully did not scale Everest. I am deeply proud of this accomplishment and have high hopes of being able to repeat it next year.
And now you too can brag about this accomplishment at a cocktail party in Houston...hehe.
I'm going to be inspired by your example and make it a lifelong goal for me...
It was nice not to meet u at the summit😅
Bruh these kids think climbing a death mountain is worth it. Yall are actual NPCs
I know someone who's spent 90+ years not climbing Everest. We'll see if he can do it again this year.
This is probably one of the best interviews I have ever seen, Wired or otherwise. Well-shot, well-cut, well-produced, with a highly articulate and knowledgeable subject. Major props to all involved!
Yes. The way they included her demonstrating the pressure chamber bag was just one example of this. A treat to watch
Thinking the same. Stellar content.
Could not agree more. Dr. Johnston certainly has a gift at explaining things!
She’s fantastic. Extremely knowledgeable.
That's a man..
@@gregbrady8454 That's the vibe she is looking for
@@gregbrady8454imbecile
yep 😐
@@gregbrady8454she’s not you’ve just failed as a man
I could listen to this lady talk all day long. More Dr. Emily please! 🙂
Sorry but lady talk does nothing for me, each to his own..
Agreed!!!
"You can't just leave someone in one of these bags or they'd suffocate. Let's give it a try!" 💀💀💀
Was looking for this comment lol
Made me laugh so much lol
The elevation of these mountains is mind boggling. I hiked Mt Whitney, at around 13k ft I was taking a break every 15 steps. I can’t imagine 29,000ft even with supplemental.
just dont climb it yall!
Messner climbed all 8,000 peaks without supplemental oxygen. Guy's a freak of nature.
I love Mt Whitney
Please use meters
@@FebruaryHas30Days you can just google the conversion
I wish this video was longer, she is so brilliant and cool
Agreed, I could watch her again.
This kind of charm she has on people quickly is deeply suspicious to me
Everest should be a restricted climb. You should have to meet several stringent qualifications. It’s disgusting how filthy the mountain is simply because people can pay to gamble with their lives. I have absolutely no desire to do this. This woman is absolutely amazing though, what a badass and what an amazing life she has led!
Kind of like that such arrogant rich people are leaving the planet tho
It’s the Nepalanese government that issues the permits. The more they issue the more money they make. Not the people, the government.
True. A lot of garbage plus dead bodies. I saw it on one documentary. I was shocked at how expensive the trip is too.
Soo to climb mount everest you should atleast have climbed mountains above 6,500 before that's the rule the government made soo it's hard to get the permit
@@SaimonKarki-zf5epeverest is 8800+ m, it’s not enough and they need more physical regulations to climb
When I was a kid, I went through a phase where I was really into Mount Everest, and I started reading tons of books about it. I read the “Everest” trilogy by Gordon Korman, in which a group of kids(!) attempt to make the summit. The main kid gets high-altitude pulmonary edema, and one of the kids sits down and never gets back up. It was very graphic and scary but also educational. Now I’m very content with never attempting that climb 😅 I’m much more of a hiker than a climber anyway.
Fr really happy you read it 😭🤞
Who lets kids todo that
@beilultesfom4929 it's a novel, it's fictional
I read the “Mac Donald hall” series by the same author as a kid and his later works are… different
stop i loved those books!! was beginning to think i'd literally imagined them i never here people talk about them
All of the dead bodies along the top of Mt Everest were once highly motivated individuals.
Some should of not been there in the first place if you have no experience stay off the mountain because the mountain will spit you out.
Not many may have picked up but that model of the mountains she points to was a great idea especially in that detail
100%
I liked it!
When I saw it I started to think maybe i could get one on Amazon.😂
@@rjampiolo32 lol
Got a chuckle at, “Not compatible with life.” Make no mistake, it’s horrifying. But to hear it stated like that got me.
It's a saying that medical professionals use.
The fact that they use cadavers like Green Boots (which apparently was moved in 2014) to signal camp locations and landmarks for routes tells you all you need to know about the death zone of Mt Everest.
Dr Johnston is cool. And I hate it when my brain does things that aren't compatible with life.
Just rich people spending tens of thousands of dollars for the bragging rights of doing something “extreme” on the backs of unsung sherpas.
😂 the truth.
Yeah cause we can afford it. It’s called life experiences. Thanks.
It’s essentially a guided vacation while the sherpas do everything
I know I would die, no matter how many sherpas would help me. I am not in bad shape so given how few percent actually die, most must be preparing rather hard.
@@ekuche8335Idc how much money you have or what you do in your life, you're a fuckin' loser if you exploit people along the way.
Dr. Johnston has incredible charisma and matter of fact way of sharing the most mind blowing things. I hope she guest stars on some podcasts soon, i would love to hear more of her stories, experiences and life shares.
Gosh nobody does interviews as well as wired does. They get the right people they have them tell the right things and their graphics are just enthralling it holds your attention so easily. Kudos to everyone on this wired team
Good informative video. I will never understand the fascination with going somewhere so dangerous that hundreds of people have already been.
Ego
so they can brag to others about it
What's worse is the risk they put OTHERS at too! The guides, sherpas, animals etc. to get them there & back alive.
Kind of like outer space...
@@sun1one1space exploration has a point, scientific and otherwise. Everest is a tourist destination; pointless
Not that I was planning to summit Everest, but the fact that the reduced air pressure can cause your brain to swell and push on your brain stem .... yeah, absolutely never doing that.
I enjoy the casual hiking and mountaineering, and even though I know I’ll never be in the physical shape to do Everest, I can say with all honesty that after I learned the mess it was in, with all the trash and now all these sanitation concerns at base camps, any ounce of appeal I ever saw in that mountain is all gone. Plenty of beautiful views near by.
She was amazing by the way. Very knowledgeable!
Pollution in everest is hugely exaggerated. Locals care a lot about the mountain to the point they have refused to build roads to their villages to limit the tourists. They could be millionaires overnight if they allowed it.
@@Bothandle70it’s a nice article for msm to publish and all run with. Feel good story to attack supposed rich climbers trashing a holy spot for the locals
I can’t get over the amount of inexperienced climbers who want to climb Mt. Everest. You shouldn’t be allowed to do that!
They should show this interview to anyone or everyone if they are even thinking of climbing everest.
I ‘climbed’ Everest the safest way - via a The Conqueror Challenges. I did it in a single effort on my stationary bike and it took just under 4 and a half hours. It was hard going. I couldn’t begin to even think of doing the real thing.
I burst out laughing when she said the bit about “falling off the mountain, in the mountain, mountain can fall on you…” Yeah, reason #1,001,997 why this activity has never been on my list.
Or for $250,000 you could take a sub down 12,500 feet to see the Titanic. Wait.....What's that?...oh, never mind.
Fitting profile picture.
this video should be mandatory watching for all the tourists at base camp
Recently in Everest region and I can add that another way to die there is to slip on Snickers wrappers or empty water bottles...tragic.
Highly personal opinion: Everest (and all mountains above a certain high) shouldnt be open to public but only to professionals.
It already is? You need to apply for a climbing permit to attempt any of these lmao
@@rundown132that’s just a money barrier though. Anyone with money can go do it that’s the problem.
@@rundown132um no. Many amateurs went this year and 17 people died. You can literally do a twos econd search about it before ignorantly claiming it as truth
As a professional smart Alec I commend this to the house
Yeah you should have to climb other difficult peaks before attempting Everest instead of the only requirement being a paywall
@wired the editing at ~3:40 makes it sound like she said "High Altitude Pulmonary Edema is a continuum of brain swelling" - no way Dr Johnston said that. Cerebral edema means fluid buildup (swelling) in the brain; pulmonary edema means fluid buildup in the lungs. I'm confident that Dr Johnston said it correctly, but the editor got it mixed up I think. Otherise awesome video - thanks!
She said both and the editor put both
She literally said both. It stands to reason that if you're at such high altitudes that your brain swells with blood, your delicate lung tissues do, too.
I find it so odd that even with oxygen, your body is dying the entire time you're up there.
They should create a VR experience of climbing Everest, so "ordinary" people can see the views and enjoy the climb. It can still be as challenging and thrilling as the real deal, except people wouldn't have to play Russian roulette with their lives.
Great idea . You should be able to do it on a stair master . In a freezer if you want . With crampons on if you wish . And ski or walking poles attached …. Roped up to the equipment ….. with an oxygen mask on …. For hours and hours at a time It should be as realistic as possible .
There is VR of everest climb.
Would love to see a video like this about K2!! And its unique challenges. As it is the much second highest but deadlier and much harder mountain to climb. (25% of summiters die)
Thank you for a wonderful description of the summit along with newfound knowledge of pressure bags.
“And that is… not compatible with life” nicely put
the portable hyperbaric chamber is insane, what a medical feat. great expert
This is such an informative video, so nicely produced. And the speaker is an extremely informed and erudite individual. Thanks for the video.
I get vertigo on a step ladder. Good on ya for the people who are passionate about it and want to attempt it.
I never really interested in this topic, but i was so captivated by her knowledge and the way she explained everything, i actually made it to the end and learn something! badass doctor fr👏
the crazy thing is how mad easy it is NOT to climb Everest Edit: this Doc is awesome would love to see more content with her
I watch everything Everest. The good Doctor was clear and concise.
This doctor sure explains the medical dangers very well.
Fantastic guest and great production!
She didn't mention that cerebral edema can cause hallucinations and confusion too.
This was an excellent video!! She really detailed the changes that you can expect!! 👋👋👋👋
This was super informative, thanks! However, I still can’t understand why someone will choose to climb Everest? It looks terrifying, hostile a nightmare really 😅
Internet flexing...
You've clearly never been to a cocktail party in Houston, it's brutal.
Dancers look crazy to the people who dont hear the music.
Ego.
@@sharysegift5061 not at all, it's about performance, about achievement, about an adventure, it's about pushing the limits of humans. It is something that simple people will never understand.
this is off my bucket list
One my of bucket list items was just to go to base camp (which is QUITE a hike in itself). But her description of what it's like kind of ruined that xD stomach flu in those conditions? No thank you...
Only drink bottled water. And cooked food.
@@101yayo Yes, but I imagine it's likely a bug that goes around people, which is harder to combat. I lived in Thailand for 4 years, and it was HARD to not get the flu bug every year when it came around. Nothing like it is in the West. I wonder though if I could just choose a time when it's not peak climbing season. Since I don't want to climb Everest, I could either go just before all the climbers show up, or when they're just finished. Would need to look into it more.
@@Drillbitayler The flu is a respiratory virus. There are lots of bacterial and viral infections that can attack the digestive system, but E. coli is probably the most common. Stick to reputable tea houses and maintain good hygiene practices. As the other poster said, drink filtered or bottled water and make sure your food is cooked properly. The Himalayan Rescue Association has a clinic in Pheriche and an "Everest ER" was established in 2003 at Base Camp. Trekkers are more likely to get altitude sickness.
@@ninedaysjane2466stomach flu typically doesn’t refer to influenza, it’s just another term for stomach bug
I recently had to leave my apartment for a ground floor apartment. No more climbing.
Lucky enough to say I’ve met Dr. Emily while white water guide training in WA state with Orion guides. Such a cool person!!!! Loved this.
i need more content with her! wow, what an engaging interview
Thank you Dr Johnston. This was a very interesting video.
Great interview!
Dr. Johnston is a wonderful speaker. Really enjoyed this video. I'll have to live vicariously through Everest videos though considering that I get altitude sickness in Denver.
I'm at the age were I would never do it my self, but love watching the videos and learning about the safety and the climb by many great experienced climbers
I could listen to this lady all day.
This is the best explanation I’ve heard of climbing Mount Everest since I’ve been following the story in 2016.
A true expert. Been wanting to mountaineer for year and this is the reality behind it.
Dr. Johnston is awesome.
This is fascinating.
great video. i would have appreciated the heights displayed in meters too though.
Any thoughts I had of ever being able to train to do Everest has ended now that I know about the oxygen situation. My CHD pretty much let’s me live a normal life, and my cardiologists have always let me find my own limit. I live and backpack in the Rockies, so altitude is good for me. I enjoy skydiving, too, however I’m still conscious about how my heart condition can be impacted by various factors of everything I do. There’s no way I could ever put myself in a position to tax my heart that much with so little oxygen for so long with so much exertion. Thanks for the informative video!
great video, amazing person she is, very articulate and precise in her speaking. Tough chick.
awesome video Emily! So cool to be scrolling through and suddenly see a badass that I've had the pleasure of river rafting with!
Her knowledge and confidence is a huge turn on ❤
Worrying, it's not working for me.
this woman is incredible
I can’t even go on a long hike because the coming back part is torturous. These people are beyond.
I loved that intro of “you could fall *in* the mountain, you could fall *off* the mountain, the mountain could fall on *you*-“
Definitely for box-checkers. If you want to experience climbing above 8,000 meters, there are plenty of other peaks in the region on which you won't have to queue up with a small army to reach the summit.
Seriously the pictures of the closely-packed line of people to get to the peak like it's a theme park ride would take away some of the magic, but it would also be so much more dangerous
Is this the full video?!? Am curious to know if there’s more
Man that part about your brain trying to go down your back sounds wonderful.
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first men to accomplish the feat of summiting Mt. Everest. I believe they accomplished quite a task for humanity as a whole, and it should be left at that. The risk/reward ratio is not worth putting so many lives at risk.
That's the greatest explanation of things I've ever heard
I want her to explain everything to me. 10/10 expert educator 👏🏽 I have hella respect for people who climb knowledgeably. It COULD NOT BE ME, but 👏🏽
Great video, her wealth of knowledge and experience is top notch!!!
This lady is rad! Great segment.
Very engaging. I wouldn't climb but I'd watch her discuss her climb
Great video ❤
This is a great video
I have been to base camp and it was an experience of a lifetime. I couldn’t attempt summiting Everest as I didn’t have the required funds (it’s extremely costly!), plus I understood what it was like scaling the highest peak, and I wasn’t even close to be ready. If I decide to try it someday, I will be making myself worthy by scaling some 6k-7k peaks before.
She is amazing and admirable
Someone once said that it was like going to space and stepping out of the capsule, cuz at that altitude there IS more space than earth. That's why it is appealing. But THAT is also why it is so dangerous.
what a capable person! amazing presentation
So well-spoken. Listening to her was fun! I have NO desire to do that, though.
As an ER doctor… thank you to all of you patients who made us learn about acute mountain sickness, acute cerebral edema, and acute pulmonary edema. Not to mention the fractures, lacerations, hypothermia, frostbite, and cardiac death you subject yourselves to… all for an Instagram post for your 97 followers.
People have been climbing mountains before Instagram was a thing.
no need to go on Everest to see the beauty of our planet. There are many many places on earth that we can go to, where we have a feeling we can't describe, but unlike Everest, they are safe to go to.
You're absolutely right!
The energy of this woman is fascinating, I would love to hear her talk more!
The fact people know that people have died trying it and still decide to go is crazy. Also passing the bodies of people who just got stuck on the trail. Mind blowing if you think about it.
Amazing content. Bravo
0:49 she’s a member of the seven summits club? Do you know what year she climbed Puncak/Carstensz? Or Elbrus? Or maybe wilhelm? I can only find the main 4/7 but interesting hearing her journey on the other tricky beasts .
I can already hardly breath while watching this
Very interesting!
Very informative!!!❤
Mad respect to this woman, she truly knows so much and wants people to be safe! 😭🙌🏻 the world needs more people like her.
She forgot to mention all those equipment means nothing without a sherpa.
I just love her attitude, just hilarious.
Great communicator.
This woman is so engaging and knowledgeable, I could listen to her all day. 😁