it really is an extraordinary combination of macho bravado and consumerism

part of me thinks they should close the damn mountain for a few years, or at least severely limit the number of people trying to scale it, but the other part of me thinks they should just leave darwin in the driver's seat

Most of the serious climbers agree that the problem is down to the cut-rate Nepalese Sherpa companies not screening clients - or Sherpas. You have too many inexperienced people climbing the mountain like it's an ordinary hike without the appreciation of the dangerous elevation. Case in point, these are the same kinds of lines you see in China where people queue to "climb" (there are stairs, but they are more like ladders than stairs) to some of the remote temples in the mountains; occasionally with the same outcome.