I'd put this at Nobel prize level of achievement for the climbing world. Lifetime of effort plus unique talent, drive, focus. Whereas climbing Everest via the standard tourist route might be like passing an undergrad calc exam (few months of effort with someone teaching you, 80% of people could do it).
Not sure if you'd say "a lot of regular humans" have a Nobel. There are a lot of laureates out there, but I mean are they regular guys?
Having read a few accounts of what it takes to summit Everest, I would guess that the number of people who could achieve it is less than half of 80%. The excellent book Into Thin Air[0] has a lot more on this (and some thoughts on the increased tourism/commercialization of the mountain).
Not sure if you'd say "a lot of regular humans" have a Nobel. There are a lot of laureates out there, but I mean are they regular guys?