text: Ego climbing, Everest style: A conga line of climbers ascends the Lhotse Face of Mount Everest from Camp 3 toward Camp 4 on the morning of May 18, 2012, viewed from the West Ridge. Far too many people to ascend to the summit safely, the rush of climbers led to inevitable traffic jams between the South Summit and Summit on May 19, and at least 4 climbers died in the resulting chaos. In total, 12 climbers died on Everest in 2012, making it the deadliest season on record since 1996.