A resurfaced video from a past spring climbing season is once again sparking outrage online, showing a massive human queue inching toward Mount Everest’s summit—at a staggering altitude of over 8,800 metres.
The clip, now going viral, shows climbers packed tightly along the narrow ridge near the top, waiting their turn to summit. Social media users wasted no time, comparing the scene to a “Disney ride line” or a “Starbucks queue in peak hours.”
hese bottlenecks happen during narrow May weather windows when teams crowd Nepal’s south-side route, trapping people in the dangerous ‘death zone’ where thin air leads to exhaustion and risks like hypothermia. Critics blame commercialization and unlimited permits for drawing less experienced climbers amid rising popularity, with over 13,700 summits since 1953, while defenders note the weather forces everyone together.
But this isn’t funny territory.