The Hidden Face of Everest

Michael Kodas is an environmental journalist who has climbed Mount Everest twice, once in 2004 and again in 2006. His book, ‘High Crimes’ is based on the shocking trends and information he unveiled.

How were you recruited to climb Mount Everest?

There was a Romanian climber who lived in my neighborhood with his Sherpa wife. I ran into them outside my house in Connecticut and they expressed wanting to put together an expedition to climb Mount Everest and they asked if I wanted to go along.

What is it like to hike Mount Everest?

It’s a very long process. You are in base camp for ten days to two weeks adjusting to the elevation there at about 17,000 feet. Then, You have a 13-mile hike to advanced base camp which is at 19,000 feet and that’s kind of where you live. It’s basically like a small city. And you’re getting ready to yo-yo up and down the mountain to force your body to adjust to the elevation. You do that a number of times over a number of weeks and then you’re ready for your summit push.

What surprised you the most?

Everest is not the wholesome place that most mountaineers might imagine a remote peak to be, it kind of turns in to a small city. You have thousands of people there. It’s developed a range of behaviors that you would expect in a small city that’s mixing the wealthiest adventurers in the world with some of the poorest people in the world and is far away from any legal oversight. There was everything from brothels at base camp to the oxygen trade being run by a guy who took it over after being released from prison in Britain in what Scotland still calls the biggest drug bust in British history. People got their ropes cut, stuff was stolen out of tents routinely often at an altitude where it was life threatening.

You were reporting on crime while you were there. What was that like?

There were more laptops on Everest than there were stoves. Everything was online. So, if you reported anything, everyone would see it. As I was reporting these things, people were reading them and not happy about my reporting. We were in a very tightly put together community at a very high elevation with little privacy. It was an unusual situation for a reporter to be in.

What was the backlash?

The guy who invited me on the expedition was who I began to investigate. Once he read the stories, he started screaming and promised to burn my tent down or cut my oxygen tank off of me. He wanted to make sure I didn’t’ do any more reporting like that. He was threatening to kill me and stalking the leader of the expedition, there was quite a bit of violence.

What was the scariest moment of your hike?

I turned back from camp two on Mount Everest at about 26,000 feet. The scariest moment was when I turned around. I was with someone who had directly threatened my life several times. There were other times that I was intimidated, but we were in a very vulnerable position in a vulnerable location and if someone had decided to do something up there to us, nobody would ever know about it.

What lasting effects did climbing Mount Everest have on your life?

It definitely changed the way I look at outdoor activities everywhere and kind of this recognition that people have various motives for wanting to be engaged in wilderness sports. Not all of them are going to be athletic accomplishment and doing something with some like-minded people. It’s made me think in terms that I would think in the newsroom when I’m up in the mountains and asking questions that I didn’t used to ask when I was on a climbing expedition.

How do you feel about the commercialization of Everest today?

There’s so much money to be made on Everest and at this point, you’re not going to change what Everest has turned into. It’s unfortunate that money is such a huge part of it. It corrupts people and leads to crimes and activities that you generally go to the mountains to get away from. However, I’d prefer to see one mountain turn into what Everest has turned into rather than see it spread out into all of the greater ranges.

This interview has been edited and condensed.