Trek Guide
In US parks the top killers are crashes, drowning and falls, and in the Alps half of hiking deaths are cardiac, often on day one. The habits that…
By Dawa Sherpa · Sep 22, 2026
Most hikers who die on a trail are not doing anything extreme. In US national parks the leading unintentional killers are, in order, motor vehicle crashes, drowning and falls , and half of all medical deaths happen while someone is walking, cycling or…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Two men died on the same Washington State trail within two days, and both fit the profile almost exactly. On 18 September a 78-year-old hiker was found dead on the Sauk Mountain Trail after becoming separated from his family the day before. On 19 September…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The person most at risk is a man over 45, not a thrill-seeker in his twenties. The US National Park Service's validated mortality data for 2014 to 2019 records 2,149 deaths across the park system, an average of 358 a year or seven a week. Seventy-nine per…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
If you are over 35, the most likely thing to kill you on a mountain is not a fall but your own heart, and the first day is when it happens. A 2021 review in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health by Niebauer and Burtscher found…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
In US parks, drowning and driving each kill more people than falls do. Rivers look slow and shallow from the bank, and snowmelt water is cold enough to take your breath away the moment you slip in. A stream crossing on a hot afternoon can be knee-deep and…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
In the UK, the data points squarely at judgement. Mountain Rescue England and Wales handled 3,968 incidents in 2025 , up from 3,784 the year before, and around 45% came down to human factors: poor decision-making, error, inexperience, or not understanding…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Everything above is built into how our guides run a trek, because at altitude every one of those risks gets worse. We have guided since 1998 with zero client fatalities, and the reasons are unglamorous: The first days are deliberately slow. Our Everest…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Hiking is safe, and most of the danger that does exist is manageable. If you are a man over 45, get your heart checked, train for the trip, and treat the first day as the dangerous one. Respect water more than you respect heights. And settle three things…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The National Park Service recorded an average of 358 deaths a year across the park system between 2014 and 2019, from all causes, not only hiking. Half were unintentional, led by motor vehicle crashes, drowning and falls. For people over 35 in the mountains…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
The death zone and what actually happens above 8,000 metres. What a rescue costs and why your policy must cover it. Where to walk next, and why the Himalaya leads the list. An honest look at the real risks and how to manage them. Planning a trek and want it…
Travel Himalaya Nepal · News
Plan your trek
NMA-certified guides · permits sorted · 5,000+ treks since 1998.
Free guide
Permits, costs, seasons and routes — the essentials we send every traveller, plus a free, no-obligation trip quote.
↑ Swipe up
Read the full report and grab the free Nepal Trek Insider Guide — or ask our Pokhara team for a tailored, no-obligation quote.
Read more & get the free guide Plan my trip — free quote