Originally Posted by mikesouth

30K is way too low and its nothing like "standing in line" at any level

Climbing Gear 8-10K
bottled Oxygen 3K
Permit to Climb 11K
transporting gear to base camp 2k
sherpa, support, guide, food 40 - 80K (plus tip)
round trip flight to Nepal 1-2K

it become a hobby of the rich people who are generally poorly prepared physically for the climb

If you die on the mountain the adds are that your body will never be recovered...there are literally hundreds of bodies on Everest that have not been recovered, climbers generally encounter some of them.

The first successful climb is relatively recent 1953 IIRC