A) Causes of the tragedy

1. Incompetent members in group not qualified for mountaineering and most without any
mountaineering skills, knowledge and experience
2. Large number of members in the group
3. Commercialization of the sport leading to making profit an important motive
4. Overconfidence on the part of leaders because of being successful on earlier occasions
5. Inexperience for leading commercial expeditions to summit on part of Fischer
6. Ill health of Scott Fisher i.e. not 100% fit for the task
7. Giving false claim of 100% success in ads by Hall increased the client’s belief in the leader
8. Presence of reporters and media coverage increased the pressure to perform
9. Overdependence of members on leaders where no members was able to proceed without
the leader and even for their rescue
10. Contrast and conflicts in the ideas between Fischer and his main guide
11. Improper preparation by clients as most were professionals busy in their career
12. Inexperience doctor in Fisher’s group and only available on voluntary basis
13. Poor acclimatization of most experienced Sherpa of in Fisher’s group because of which he
was not available for help
14. Competition between Hall and Fisher where both tried to be the first to reach summit
15. Huge amount of time and money been spent on the expedition and hence success was the
only option for them
16. Hall did not established the turnaround time and he did not abide by the generally
understood principle of turning around no later than 2 p.m.
17. Guides and Sherpas were not motivated and they felt that their contribution was not
recognized in the group. Their opinions were not taken into consideration. Group
participation was not encouraged by the leader
18. Lack of communication devices like radio
19. Remunerations were based on seniority and not on the basis of performance which
demotivated some guides
20. Hall’s strategy to climb in close proximity from Camp Four to the final summit took more
time and created bottlenecks and crowding in the narrow path
21. Communication gap and lack of coordination with group on when to turn around and hence
the group members kept on moving even after 2 p.m.
22. Used of canned oxygen even when not required resulted in its shortage and was not
available at high altitude when required
23. Lack of proper planning in estimating the time required under both favourable and
unfavourable conditions because of which less number of canned oxygen were taken

B) The Tragedy could have been averted by

1. Selecting group members who were competent enough and were fit for mountaineering
2. Proper prior planning of the resources required like canned oxygen
3. More communication devices like radio should have been there and probably with each
member to facilitate quick communication
4. Making the group members less dependent on leader which would enable them to decide
on their own strategy
5. Coordination between the members should have been encouraged by leader
6. A better strategy for climbing which would not result in wastage of time and bottleneck
7. Abiding with the turnaround time of 2 p.m.
8. Should had more experience Sherpa and guides
9. The number of group members should be less so as to enable proper control
10. Proper training of inexperienced members
11. Rewards and salaries on the basis of performance to increase participation and motivation
12. More experienced doctors for medical aid