KATHMANDU – The world’s highest peak witnessed a feat of staggering endurance this week as two serial summiteers shattered their own records atop Everest, but the climb reeks of a sponsorship circus that leaves one wondering: who’s really benefitting from this high-altitude death race?
Sources confirm that the man dubbed 'Everest Man' and the 'Mountain Queen' became the fastest to accomplish a double-header ascent from the southern base camp, completing the round trip in just 14 hours. Their previous mark was 18 hours. The new record is a harrowing 4 hours faster.
But documents leaked to this desk reveal that both climbers are tied to a Hong Kong-based lifestyle brand that has pumped millions into extreme endurance events. The company’s accounts show a suspicious spike in marketing spend just days before the record attempt. One insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “They didn’t just break a record. They broke a bank. The summit push was timed to a press release.”
Everest has become a gilded billboard. The 'Mountain Queen' has a lucrative gear sponsorship. 'Everest Man' is a motivational speaker with a book deal. Both are chasing the coveted 'triple crown' of fastest ascents on the three highest peaks, a feat that would net them a combined seven-figure endorsement pot.
Their achievement is undeniable. Reaching the summit at 8,848 metres is a triumph of will over physiology. But the race to the top is becoming a race to the bank. In 2019, Nepal issued a record 381 permits at $11,000 a pop – and that’s just the permit. Support crews, oxygen, and logistics can hit $60,000 per client.
The question is: who is the real client? The climbers or the corporations that bankroll them? Check the accounts of any major outdoor brand. Their Everest marketing campaigns often dwarf the cost of the expeditions themselves.
This is not new. In 2017, a climber called 'Speed King' became the fastest to summit from the north side. Weeks later, his sponsor announced a new line of ‘oxygen-boosting’ energy bars. The bar sales spiked 300%.
What is new is the brazenness. Our sources tell us that both record holders were literally carrying branded flags to plant at the top for a photo op that would become the cover of a travel magazine special edition. The magazine’s parent company has a corporate tie with the same lifestyle brand that funded this climb. The circle is closed.
The human cost is invisible. In 2018, a French climber died on her descent while attempting the same double-header record. Her sponsor issued a statement lauding her ‘passion’ two days later. The family never saw a cent of the prize money she’d been promised.
Call me cynical. But when you follow the money, Everest starts to look less like a mountain and more like a cash machine. And the only people breaking records are the accountants.
This is not to diminish the physical feat. It is staggering. But let’s call it what it is: a high-stakes, high-altitude marketing stunt dressed up as human achievement.
The news wires will celebrate the record. I’m looking at the balance sheets. And they tell a different story.
The summit isn’t the top. It’s just another sales target.
