Sir Edmund Hillary's son Peter says it could be time to ban inexperienced climbers from attempting Everest - and hopefully put a stop to the deaths.
The world's tallest mountain has claimed the lives of 11 climbers in the past nine days.
Queues on Everest have made headlines worldwide, after pictures surfaced of nearly 300 climbers stuck in what's charmingly called "the death zone."
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Eight kilometres up, it's always freezing, and with only a third of the oxygen you would get on the ground, it means with every breath you're dying.
Peter doesn't want to stop people adventuring - but it could be the last resort.
"I really oppose any sort of regulations; the whole idea is the freedom of the hills, the adventure, what we really need is people to apply more common sense to do their apprenticeship," he told The Project on Tuesday night.
"But really what else can we do? I don't know if you can remove people with inadequate experience if they choose to try to pretend that they have it."
When questioned about tour groups that advertise climbing Mt Everest as a fun holiday with no experience necessary, Peter said they are a small fraction of the market but they do exist.
"It's like inviting someone to fly a Boeing 747 with no experience," he said.
"If you get caught up there you put yourself and others at great risk and that's what has happened."
Peter says knowing when to call it quits is key too.
"[Knowing when to turn back] is a very important part of it. You can always come back next week, or next year," he said.
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