Safety is our greatest concern. It is in the nature of things that expeditions and adventures also involve some risk. In particular, the eight-thousander mountaineering trips can never guarantee 100% security. We are currently doing everything that is possible and permitted by the authorities in order to increase safety and will never cease to strive towards more. We have summarized and explained the key points on this topic on the Safety Page. Please click here.The basis for such statements is usually the statistical ratio of successful ascents compared to deaths over the past 60 years. Ultimately, this alone is not conclusive. For the simple reason that an expedition of today is completely different from one of the past decades. Several different factors must always be taken into account. These factors include the selected route, the season, climbing style, oxygen use, Sherpa support, being in a group or alone, other groups on the mountain or on the same route, as well as the participants‘ experience and physical condition. In general it can be said that eight-thousander mountaineering is continually becoming safer thanks to better material, better weather forecasts, better height tactics, etc.. Statistically, this applies most significantly to the “simpler” and “objectively safer” eight-thousanders such as Cho Oyu, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II, but also to the “objectively dangerous” eight-thousanders such as Annapurna, Nanga Parbat and K2. Mount Everest is probably somewhere in between. After all, it’s here that more aid materials and tools are used than on any other eight-thousander. Continuous fixed ropes, ladders, oxygen, and Sherpas more than anywhere else, increase the chances of success and reduce the death toll. Nevertheless, it is particularly dangerous because of its height and a potential falling out of the oxygen system. The Shisha Pangma has to be mentioned as a special case. The lowest eight thousander is considered easy and objectively relatively safe. The available statistics, however, do not speak in favour of this mountain. Firstly, this is due to the fact that only the central peak is climbed by most, whereas the main peak is reachable by an exposed and often dangerous connecting ridge. The climb to the central peak is thus often not credited. Secondly, no really reputable and reliable statistical data exists, since this mountain is not registered in the Himalayan Database. Undeniably, the ascent of an eight-thousander remains one of the largest adventures of our day, but it goes hand in hand with corresponding risks.