We take a look at the most dangerous mountains in the world and what it is that makes them so deadly
Whether it’s the tales of survival that bleed from their treacherous slopes or the visions of bravery mustered in the mind, the most dangerous mountains in the world continue to make headlines around the globe.
These mountains hold a morbid fascination for mountaineers, climbing enthusiasts and news junkies alike. I am no different. My bookshelves, Kindle and movie collection are filled with mountaineering books and movies and the tragic tales they chronicle.
It’s this fascination that has led me to examine the most dangerous mountains in the world and what it is that makes them deadly.
There has been no single empirical study into the most dangerous mountains in the world. As such, I have relied on a combination of statistics and wider reputation. The list is therefore subjective by nature, but offers a reliable cross section of the most dangerous mountains in the world.
These are not necessarily the highest, the most technical or the most remote. Sometimes, it’s just the opposite: convenience, carelessness and overcrowding can lead to higher death rates on lower and less technical summits.
From mighty eight-thousanders to lesser-known hills, the most dangerous mountains in the world come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes, it’s the weather conditions, be they avalanches, high winds or surprise storms that really make a mountain treacherous.
1. NANGA PARBAT
Elevation: 8,126m (26,660ft)
Location: Pakistan
Range: Himalaya
Don’t let this mountain’s beauty fool you: Nanga Parbat is a notoriously difficult climb and was once known as the ‘killer mountain’. Before 1990, Nanga Parbat had an astonishing death rate of 77% meaning summiteers were more likely to die than survive!
The mortality rate has since fallen, but it is still considered the third most dangerous 8,000m peak after Annapurna and K2. Until 2016, it hadn’t been climbed in winter and continues to claim lives. Beguilingly surrounded by idyllic forests and glacial lakes, the deadly mountain rises with tremendous vertical relief from the serene terrain around it.
2. MONT BLANC
Elevation: 4,808m (15,777ft)
Location: France / Italy
Range: Alps
Mont Blanc is arguably the most dangerous mountain in the world. The mountain has claimed as many as 8,000* deaths to date, it has killed more people than any other mountain and the fatalities just keep on coming.
A convenient and relatively non-technical mountain like Mont Blanc shouldn’t be this dangerous. At least that’s the logic behind 20,000 mountaineer-tourists who seek western Europe’s highest peak every year. At the height of the climbing season, 300 climbers a day attempt to reach the top leading to overcrowding and carelessness with up to 100 climbers dying on Mont Blanc each year.
3. THE EIGER
Elevation: 3,967m (13,015ft)
Location: Switzerland
Range: Alps
The biggest of the six great north faces of the Alps, the north face of the Eiger (the Ogre), like its counterparts, is known for its technical challenge as opposed to its height. At ‘just’ 3,967m (13,015ft), it is not the altitude that has claimed at least 64 climbers’ lives since the first successful ascent in 1938.
The notorious Nordwand (German for north wall) along with the north faces of the Matterhorn and the Grandes Jorasses comprise ‘the Trilogy’, a subset of the six great north faces distinguished from the others for being even harder and more dangerous to conquer.
4. BAINTHA BRAKK
Elevation: 7,285m (23,901ft)
Location: Pakistan
Range: Karakoram
The Ogre is famed for being one of the hardest peaks to climb
Baintha Brakk – also known as The Ogre – is famed for being one of the world’s hardest peaks to climb. Unheard of in modern mountaineering, 24 years elapsed between the mountain’s first ascent in 1977 and its second in 2001.
During that first ascent in 1977, made by Doug Scott and Chris Bonington, Scott broke both his legs while Bonington broke two ribs and contracted pneumonia.
There have been relatively few deaths on the mountain, but there have been countless injuries and over 20 unsuccessful attempts between the two successful expeditions. Despite the comparably low fatality rate, Baintha Brakk continues to claim lives when attempts are made and as such is widely considered one of the most dangerous mountains in the world.
You can also see the video below to know more about the dangerous mountains-
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