Malcolm Johnson

New Hampshire Man Talks About His Everest Experience

"It was clearly the hardest thing I'd ever done."

Smiling at the summit, climbing Mount Everest's 29,029 feet is an expedition Joseph Pratt will never forget.

"The scariest part was probably the first time that you come across a body illuminated only by your head lamp," he said.

Six people died the night it was negative 40 degrees when he climbed in 2012.

Eleven have perished in the past two weeks, making it one of the deadliest climbing seasons on record.

Inexperience and overcrowding have been to blame.

"Raise the level of expertise, vet the guiding companies a bit more," Pratt said. "80 percent die going down. Not going up."

The Nepalese government is now considering imposing health checks and qualification standards.

Nepal issued a record 381 permits this season at $11,000 each, and you can bet many aren't training like their life is on the line, in their own backyards, like Pratt.

I would (do it again) if I were 10 years younger," he said.

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