Can a helicopter fly on top of Mount Everest? Helicopter to Everest Peak

Mount Everest is the pride of our whole world, and there might not be an individual who wouldn’t dream of conquering Mount Everest at least once in a lifetime. Just a glimpse of Everest can be an exciting experience in your life. With the development of technology and science becoming extremely advanced, getting anywhere in the world has become extremely easy, and Mount Everest is no exception. You can easily reach the top of Mount Everest without walking for weeks, risking your life, and spending thousands of dollars. A helicopter tour to Everest base camp is cheaper than trekking to Everest. 

A helicopter tour to Everest base camp by Himalayan Masters costs USD 1300 per person, cheaper than trekking to Everest. This trip includes three landings at Lukla, Everest Base Camp/Kalapatthar, and Hote Everest View. Our EBC helicopter tour is the best-selling package in Nepal. We have an everyday departure to Mount Everest Base Camp by helicopter. To join this helicopter tour, contact us at [email protected] or WhatsApp at +9779823636377.

The real question is if you can’t fly to the top of Mount Everest. Looking at the history and a few examples, we can claim that a helicopter ride to Mt. Everest is technically possible. The first flight to the Everest summit was made in 2015 by Didier DelSalle, and he set a world record. However, there haven’t been many flights after that. 

The typical helicopter flight to Everest involves only the Everest base camp and Kalapatthar. Furthermore, the rescue helicopter for Everest quickly flies off at 6250 m at camp I of the Everest expedition. However, any flight beyond that to the peak of Everest is rare, and a helicopter landing at Everest Peak is next to impossible.

Now, an average helicopter usually flies at a height of 3000 m, and the Everest summit lies at 8848 m above sea level. This means an aircraft will be flying almost three times its average height. So, you can imagine that flying a helicopter and landing at Everest Peak has many complications. 

Problems with flying to the Everest summit

Air pressure/density and oxygen levels

You should comprehend that the altitude of a thousand means you chase in a density and pressure of air changes, i.e., the air pressure is extremely high. Also, the air pressure drops in such a way that it is not able to lift the helicopter upward. The higher the plane is, the lower the air pressure and density are. So you should understand that the oxygen level is almost 1/3 of that of the sea level, and if you attempt to get outside without oxygen or run out of cylinders, this will be life-threatening. 

Error prevention

Since the weather and air pressure in the mountains is constantly fluctuating, the helicopter calculations and fittings will not be suitable. The test of temperature pressure can fluctuate at any time and lead to great disaster.

Harsh Weather problems

The weather in the mountains is quite unpredictable. Imagine that you plan the entire trek for more than a year and spend thousands of dollars, knowing that the visibility has been blocked due to the snowfall or clouds. Then you’ll have to make the bookings again and spend a lot of money. Predicting the weather in the mountains and flying the right way is a big challenge. 

Almost throughout the year, the entire area is freezing and filled with snowstorms and dangerous avalanches. Despite low wind pressure, the strong is usually at 75mph, which is intolerable by humans. If you had to encounter one such event, the entire helicopter to the peak of Everest is going to crash.  

Difficult terrain 

The entire mountain terrain is difficult for both walking and flying. Even though you can fly near the mountain, the steep peak makes it impossible to land a helicopter on Everest’s top. Around 10 m of flats land is required to land a helicopter and such space is impossible here. 

If you want an easy trek to Everest, look for Everest View Trek.

Need advanced Helicopter and pilot 

The helicopters you see in everyday life or the ones used for typical mountain flights cannot take you to the top of Everest. You need a specially designed helicopter that is very lightweight and able to overcome the problems of pressure. Along with that, the aircraft to the peak of Everest needs a highly experienced and confident pilot who has been flying to the mountains regularly. And even with search-modified helicopters and experienced pilots, there is no guarantee that you will be able to land. 

Can you take a helicopter to the top of Mount Everest?

As we have already discussed, landing at the Everest summit is extremely risky. However, you can fly in the Everest region up to 7000 meters. Helicopter Everest flights landing at Everest base camp (Kalapatthar are actually very common and affordable in Nepal.

Landing on Mt Everest

Landing in the Everest region is possible in multiple villages along the route. For example, you can land on a helicopter at Lukla airport or the Namche Bazaar beyond that. There are helipads for landing at all villages in the Everest region between the height of 3000 to 5000 meters, but only a few helicopters actually land at these points.

Highest landing point in Everest

The highest landing point for for commercial flights (unless it’s an emergency) is at a spot below Kalapatthar that is at a height of 5,500 meters. This is the best viewpoint for Everest where you can spend a long time witnessing the beautiful panorama of Everest and other mountain peaks around them. Another famous landing point is at Everest base camp at 5,100m. So, Yes, you can get directly into the Everest base Camp without having to trek for 10 days and land here for about 30 minutes (staying more than that causes altitude sickness).

Landing at Everest Camp I– The first camp of Everest is at 6,065 m (19,900 ft). Here is little space for a landing and only a rescue helicopter lands here in an emergency.

Landing at Everest Camp II– The second base camp is at 6400m (20997 ft) and has a larger clearance ground for landing. Among the three landing points beyond base camp, this is the most easiest one to land.

Landing at Everest Camp III- Camp III is at 7100m (23293 feet) and it’s the highest landing point for landing in Everest. Rescue helicopters use ropes for evacuation beyond this point. Camp III has around 100 feet of clearance space for landing.

How high can a helicopter fly in Everest?

The normal helicopter can fly up to 3,000 m, and they are not suitable for any tours to the Everest region, however, in Nepal. In Nepal, turbine helicopter tours are pretty famous for mountain flights. Turbine helicopters with higher engine capacities can quickly fly up to 7,200m. This means that on a regular flight, you can see the Everest summit from a distance and witness many other majestic mountains during the flight. However, flying above the peak and landing there can be really risky and not recommended. Instead, we can land at Everest Base Camp or Kalapathar. Another landing at Lukla for refuelling and the Everest View Hotel for breakfast are highlights of Mount Everest helicopter tours. 

Do you think regular helicopter Everest summits will be shared soon?

Looking at the developments of helicopters in recent years and with helicopters being available in Nepal, it doesn’t seem likely that there will be a regular flight to Everest in the near future. Also, it is impossible to create a landing space anywhere near the Everest summit. Maybe in a decade or two, regular flights to the summit will commence, and it will be pretty common. Even then, landing the helicopter at the Everest summit would be a challenging task. Check out the Luxury Everest Base Camp trek instead.

Have helicopters ever gone beyond Mount Everest?

Yes, there have been a few examples when helicopters have been able to fly beyond Everest. In 1972, an Aerospatiale SA 315 Lama could fly up to 12,442 meters for the first time, setting a world record. This record was beaten in 2002 when the Eurocopter AS350 B2 flew over a height of 12,954 meters. However, this is not a regular activity and is one of the rare historical events that came with life-threatening risks. 

Helicopter rescue in Everest

Whether it be the Everest base camp trek or the Everest expedition, helicopter rescue is quite common. For that, you need to have travel insurance that covers any casualties at a higher altitude, including helicopter rescue. The insurance policy is not arranged by your tracking agency in Nepal; instead, you need to get this insurance from your home country. Without insurance, booking a helicopter ride to Mount Everest might cost somewhere between $2000 and $4000, depending upon your location and the number of people in the group. Many trekkers, especially those headed for peak climbing in the Everest region such as Lobuche and Mera Peak, take helicopter rescue. 

Everest Base Camp helicopter tour 

Now, if you are disappointed that you cannot fly to Everest Peak, we have something equally magical for you. You can easily book Everest helicopter tours from Kathmandu and complete the entire journey in less than three hours. In fact, this helicopter ride to Mt. Everest base camp is so familiar that we might be able to arrange a shared helicopter for you. This trip offers a regular flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, landing at Lukla. Then, we will fly to Everest Base Camp. Depending on the cost of your package, you can either land at Everest Base Camp, Kalapatthar, or both. Then, the tour landing will be done at Hotel Everest View, and finally, we will fly back to Kathmandu again. Yeah, a helicopter tour is, in fact, the most comfortable and also the cheapest way to witness the beauty of Everest.

Everest base camp heli trek

This might be pretty confusing, but this is, in fact, an exciting trekking arrangement in Nepal. You can trek up to Everest Base Camp heli trek and savour all the cultural and natural beauty of the region. And, instead of walking back, you can fly directly to Kathmandu. All you can do is pass in the opposite direction, i.e., you can walk right to Everest base camp, and we will start the trek there. The aim of this journey is to give you the experience of both trekking and mountain flight in a short period of time and within your budget. Or, you can take this flight to the Gokyo Lakes and walk there.