[hellbender]

Actually, I've read that the view is pretty cluttered these days.

Among the things it's cluttered with are frozen corpses of climbers. I think one of the victims of the disaster described in the book Into Thin Air is still sitting right by the trail in freeze-dried condition.

[nascarnation]

Here’s a guy who had a 50% success rate:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/09/0927_020927_siffredi.html

[IronJack]

Yeah, he's a guy named "Green Boots." He's been there for like 10 years! I found that one of the most macabre things about the trek.

I was also suprised to find out that Everest is really not a technical climb. It's more a really rigorous hike. Not that I mean to belittle the accomplishment in any way. But K2 is a much harder "climb" than Everest. As is Denali, so I'm told.