Mount Everest, Mahālangūr Himāl, Himalayas, Sagarmatha, Nepal

According to Jon Krakauer, the era of commercialization of Everest started in 1985, when the summit was reached by a guided expedition led by David Breashears that included Richard Bass, a wealthy 55-year old businessman and an amateur mountain climber with only 4 years of climbing experience. By the early 1990s, multiple companies were offering guided tours to the mountain. Rob Hall, the mountaineer who died in the 1996 disaster, had successfully guided 39 clients to the summit prior to that incident.
The degree of commercialization of Mount Everest is a frequent subject of criticism. Jamling Tenzing Norgay, the son of Tenzing Norgay, said in a 2003 interview that his late father would have been shocked to discover that rich thrill-seekers with no climbing experience were now routinely reaching the summit:
- You still have to climb this mountain yourself with your feet. But the spirit of adventure is not there any more. It is lost. There are people going up there who have no idea how to put on crampons. They are climbing because they have paid someone $65,000. It is very selfish. It endangers the lives of others.