‘Bar rookie climbers from Mt Everest’
Namche Bazaar, May 28
Climbing legends have urged the government to limit the number of Everest climbers in each climbing season to avoid untoward incidents on the world’s highest peak.
Talking to this daily on the eve of the 66th anniversary of the first successful ascent of Mt Everest, climbers said allowing inexperienced tourists to scale Mt Everest would only invite disaster.
Mt Everest witnessed at least 11 deaths, most of them on the descent, while the government issued a record 381 Everest climbing permits to expedition members this season. Over 700 persons, including climbing Sherpas, attempted to climb the mountain after they found a short weather window in the third week of May.
Renowned American mountaineer-cum-author Conrad Anker suggested that limiting the number of climbers, including their guides, to 400 in the spring climbing season would help reduce risk in the Everest death zone.
Anker, who located George Mallory’s body on Mt Everest as a member of a search team looking for the remains of the British climber in 1999, said there should be in-depth study on how many people Mt Everest could sustain each season. “Like the world’s famous Boston marathon, Nepal should screen climbers and permit only those who really qualify for Everest climbing,” the climber said, adding that the government could either increase permit fee or adopt a lottery system for aspirants to allow them to attempt to climb Mt Everest.
Anker said inexperienced people were not only risking themselves but also putting others at risk. A rush of climbers in the balcony area had been a contributing factor for most casualties on Mt Everest this season,
Kami Rita Sherpa, who scaled Mt Everest for a record 24th time this season, however, said heavy rush above the balcony area couldn’t be the sole reason behind the deaths. He said overcrowding could just be a contributing factor, but there were so many other reasons.
“Ego of the inexperienced climbers comes on the top,” he said. He added that weak regulations and laxity on the part of the government were equally responsible for the mess on the world’s highest peak.
Mohan Krishna Sapkota, secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, said limiting the number of Everest aspirants would not address the problem. “Climbers, high altitude guides and handling agencies should understand their responsibilities while running Everest expeditions,” he added.
