Updated July 1, 2025 01:06PM
Why Do So Many Mount Everest Climbers Get Sick? I Found Out the Hard Way.
In his latest video dispatch, Ben Ayers explains why climbers and guides frequently catch the dreaded “Khumbu Cough”
After avoiding illness during the 11-day trek from Lukla to Base Camp, our Mount Everest reporter Ben Ayers came down with the dreaded “Khumbu Cough” while living amongst the guides and climbers for several weeks. The sickness got bad enough that Ayers returned to lower elevation to rest and recover for several days, before heading back.
In his latest video dispatch, Ayers explains why daily life at Mount Everest Base Camp is so hard on the human immune system.
Ben Ayers (right) is a filmmaker, journalist, and adventurer who splits his time between Vermont and Nepal. In 2016 he led an expedition to document the last harvest of wild cliff honey by Nepal’s Kulung Rai people for National Geographic.
