[cherry]

what I took from "Into Thin Air" was that too many richyriches with time to spare and egos to pamper were allowed to buy into expeditions, and the expeditions are costly and they need those dollars....thus, unprepared, inexp. people crowded out, or delayed other hikers....

timing is everything in high mt climbing...

[ConservativeTeen]

They are taking steps to alleviate the inexperience problem. Climbers will have to provide proof they have climbed on a mountain taller than 6500 meters. Altitude sickness is a major killer on these mountains, especially for inexperienced climbers who have have no idea how their bodies will react to oxygen deprivation.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/28/mount-everest-to-be-declared-off-limits-to-inexperienced-climbers

[IronJack]

I think that's part of it. I also think that there are a lot of irresponsible expedition leaders who don't know what to do if an emergency arises, and who will take anyone with a pulse and a fat checkbook. Then, when their clients screw up on the mountain, they panic and run to the more experienced operators, demanding that they abandon their own clients to rescue the strugglers. That endangers everyone, because it's nearly impossible to bring down a crippled climber from high altitudes.

The amazing people in all this are the Sherpas, who perform super-human tasks almost every day. Without them, there would be a lot more dead newbies.