Here’s where it gets ironic. Everest prices have skyrocketed in the last decade. In the 1990s, climbers like Sir Edmund Hillary’s crew paid a few thousand dollars. Today, thanks to social media hype and overcrowding, the “luxury expeditions” cost up to $160,000. You’re paying for someone to carry your toothbrush and braid your hair at base camp.
And guess what? The success rate isn’t linked to how much you spend. Some go with cheap operators and make it. Some drop six figures and die in the “death zone.” (Ironic, right?) It’s not a purchase, it’s a lottery ticket tied to your lungs.
The Bottom Line is Ridiculous
So, my friend Mark? He’s selling his car and asking his dad for a loan. And I’m telling you—if you’re even daydreaming about Everest, start saving now. Put away $50 a week for twenty years. That’s roughly how long it takes to be rich enough to tell people you stood on a mountain for fifteen minutes.
Is it worth it? I don’t know. But if you’ve got $50,000 burning a hole in your pocket, you can have the worst sleep of your life, the best view of your life, and a credit card statement that will haunt you until you’re seventy. Deal or no deal?
