The Happiness Quotient

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: what is the true price of a ...

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 ladders were pulled, no rescues or searches ...

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 climbers Tyler Andrews record breakin...

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 from the summit to Ba...

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 SUMMIT:&nbs...

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 Pemba Tshering who was rescued fro...

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 mountain workers, their famili...

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 Icefall Doctors of Everest have finally ...

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 everest bodies being found.

* As o...

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 serves as a stark reminder of critical safety precautions...

"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.

The 2026 Everest season hasn'...

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 everything to ...

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 lig...

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 - who’d mad...

In this awesome episode, we speak with musician and radio host Jonathan Sarty, the creative force behind the Cold River Radio Show — a live variety show bringing music, literature, and storytelling to life in a remote mountain tourist town where culture can feel hard to come by.

We talk about the need for artistic connection in small places, and our new collaborative segment: Within the Zone.

Whether you’r...

In this episode: Prof. Sam Vaknin explains narcissism as a disruption in early childhood self-formation, leading to a lack of boundaries, empathy, and a false self. He describes narcissists as having an "empty schizoid core" that feeds on others to maintain a fantasy of grandiosity. Vaknin highlights the narcissist's ability to manipulate others through shared fantasies, exploiting their vulnerabilities. He contrasts narcissism wit...

A vast number of those under the age of 35 spend between six and eight hours a day using computer simulated games, essentially in a world far from reality. And, what's worse, the vast and expanding realm of social media are designed to bring out and leverage the worst in their users, all negative affects such as anger and malicious envy. It is a toxic environment. The core philosophy of social media is asocial. They want you divorc...

She woke in the dead of night, unsure if she’d succeed, fail… or die. Because the last person to attempt what she was doing did die. Melissa Arnot would be walking right past one of Everest’s most infamous bodies—Sleeping Beauty on her sixth, but most perilous climb, of Mount Everest. She was climbing without bottled oxygen, a feat only a handful of women have ever accomplished.

In this inspiring int...

What a world it would be if we encouraged just one human being once each day, what a world it would be, if we followed the core spirit of our being.

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