Table 5.
Characteristics of climbs on constituent Himalayan peaks in 1970-2009, by decade. Data are no (%)
| Variable | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sex of climber | |||||
| Male | 2940 (95.5) | 8008 (93.4) | 10 237 (90.8) | 13 558 (88.5) | 34 743 (90.9) |
| Female | 139 (4.5) | 566 (6.6) | 1032 (9.2) | 1762 (11.5) | 3499 (9.2) |
| Unknown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Age of climber (years) | |||||
| ≤19 | 15 (0.5) | 34 (0.4) | 52 (0.5) | 83 (0.5) | 184 (0.5) |
| 20-29 | 1298 (42.1) | 3154 (36.8) | 2631 (23.4) | 2566 (16.8) | 9649 (25.2) |
| 30-39 | 1167 (37.9) | 3491 (40.7) | 4781 (42.4) | 5430 (35.4) | 14 869 (38.9) |
| 40-49 | 328 (10.7) | 1179 (13.8) | 2646 (23.5) | 4403 (28.8) | 8556 (22.4) |
| 50-59 | 60 (2.0) | 272 (3.2) | 834 (7.4) | 2026 (13.2) | 3192 (8.4) |
| ≥60 | 11 (0.4) | 39 (0.5) | 128 (1.1) | 688 (4.5) | 866 (2.3) |
| Unknown | 201 (6.5) | 405 (4.7) | 197 (1.8) | 124 (0.8) | 927 (2.4) |
| Season | |||||
| Spring | 1715 (55.7) | 3229 (37.7) | 4392 (39.0) | 7703 (50.3) | 17 039 (44.6) |
| Summer | 0 | 130 (1.5) | 106 (0.9) | 135 (0.9) | 371 (1.0) |
| Autumn | 1336 (43.4) | 4 25 (51.6) | 6328 (56.2) | 7202 (47.0) | 19 291 (50.4) |
| Winter | 29 (1.0) | 790 (9.2) | 443 (3.9) | 280 (1.8) | 1542 (4.0) |
| Altitude of peak (m) | |||||
| ≤7000 | 494 (16.0) | 1415 (16.5) | 1957 (17.4) | 3426 (22.4) | 7292 (19.1) |
| 7000-7999 | 1219 (39.6) | 2658 (31.0) | 2174 (19.3) | 2269 (14.8) | 8320 (21.8) |
| ≥8000 | 1367 (44.4) | 4501 (52.5) | 7138 (63.3) | 9625 (62.8) | 22 631 (59.2) |
| 8000 m peaks* | |||||
| Annapurna I | 116 (8.5) | 434 (9.6) | 350 (4.9) | 260 (2.7) | 1160 (5.1) |
| Cho Oyu | 7 (0.5) | 418 (9.3) | 2065 (28.9) | 3139 (32.6) | 5629 (24.9) |
| Dhaulagiri I | 176 (12.9) | 408 (9.1) | 614 (8.6) | 433 (4.5) | 1631 (7.2) |
| Everest | 541 (39.6) | 1753 (39.0) | 2637 (36.9) | 4003 (41.6) | 8934 (39.5) |
| Kangchenjunga | 102 (7.5) | 431 (9.6) | 279 (3.9) | 218 (2.3) | 1030 (4.6) |
| Lhotse | 113 (8.3) | 341 (7.6) | 259 (3.63) | 571 (5.9) | 1284 (5.7) |
| Makalu | 168 (12.3) | 358 (8.0) | 452 (6.3) | 389 (4.0) | 1367 (6.0) |
| Manaslu | 144 (10.5) | 358 (8.0) | 482 (6.8) | 612 (6.4) | 1596 (7.1) |
| Status | |||||
| Traditional | 3014 (97.9) | 8167 (95.3) | 9012 (80.0) | 10 395 (67.9) | 30 588 (80.0) |
| Commercial | 66 (2.1) | 407 (4.8) | 2257 (20.0) | 4925 (32.2) | 7655 (20.0) |
| Route | |||||
| Non-standard | 2411 (78.3) | 6359 (74.2) | 4420 (39.2) | 4019 (26.2) | 17 209 (45) |
| Standard | 669 (21.7) | 2215 (25.8) | 6849 (60.8) | 11 301 (73.8) | 21 034 (55) |
| Summit success | |||||
| No | 2417 (78.5) | 6741 (78.6) | 7982 (70.8) | 9224 (60.2) | 26 364 (68.9) |
| Yes | 663 (21.5) | 1833 (21.4) | 3287 (29.2) | 6096 (39.8) | 11 879 (31.1) |
| Death | 91 (3.0) | 192 (2.2) | 150 (1.3) | 134 (0.9) | 567 (1.5) |
| Mechanism of death | |||||
| Acute mountain sickness | 2 (2.2) | 7 (3.7) | 9 (6.0) | 14 (10.5) | 32 (5.6) |
| Exposure | 6 (6.6) | 12 (6.3) | 23 (15.3) | 11 (8.2) | 52 (9.2) |
| Fall | 34 (37.4) | 87 (45.3) | 71 (47.3) | 51 (38.1) | 243 (42.9) |
| Crevasse | 5 (5.5) | 1 (0.5) | 2 (1.33) | 6 (4.5) | 14 (2.5) |
| Avalanche | 38 (41.8) | 69 (35.9) | 26 (17.3) | 31 (23.1) | 164 (28.9) |
| Falling debris | 2 (2.2) | 5 (2.6) | 4 (2.7) | 1 (0.8) | 12 (2.1) |
| Other | 2 (2.2) | 5 (2.6) | 8 (5.3) | 11 (8.2) | 26 (4.6) |
| Unknown | 2 (2.2) | 6 (3.1) | 7 (4.7) | 9 (6.7) | 24 (4.2) |
| Total | 3080 | 8574 | 11 269 | 15 320 | 38 243 |
*Percentages relative to other 8000 m climbs only (23 295 total).