Why can’t we use helicopters to rescue climbers on top of Mount Everest?
In: Physics
There isn’t enough air for the rotors on most helicopters to work well enough.
Everest is 29,000 ft + up.
Most helicopters can’t even fly at that height, let alone hover.
[Even at much lower altitudes, helicopters basically have to take off like airplanes.](https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/27231/watch-this-mi-24-hind-attack-helicopter-make-a-super-aggressive-running-takeoff)
In one of those videos a helicopter is struggling to take off in Nepal, at only 9,334 feet.
There just isn’t enough air for them to go straight up and down.
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