Why deadly shadow hangs over the Everest summit

Paavan MATHEMA - As the return of cloud and frozen hurricane-force winds seal off Mount Everest for another year, questions are being asked about how to police the world’s highest peak after the deadliest climbing season in years. On average five climbers die each year on the icy, narrow, oxygen-starved paths to the 8,848-metre peak. This season, 11 people died on the treacherous slopes where mountaineers queued sometimes for hours for their turn at the top. Some veterans say too many of the new wave of mountaineer tourists are ill-prepared for what remains a major test of body and soul. Others have called for a cut in the number of climbing permits, or tougher standards for guides. As the blame game is played out, here are some of the problems facing the lucrative Everest industry — and potential solutions: Summit Days — Although final numbers have yet to be released, the number of people to make it up Everest this year could overtake the record of 807 set last year. Nepal issued 381 permits costing $11,000 each for the spring season and at least another 140 were granted for the northern flank in Tibet. As most Everest hopefuls are escorted by at least one Nepali guide, the crowds caused bottlenecks on the path to the top — especially after bad weather cut the number of climbing days. The 2018 climbers were helped by favourable weather that opened the summit for 11 days, but this year vicious winds cut the number of days to fewer than six. Five people died in 2018. This year nine climbers died on the Nepal side of Everest and two on the Tibet side. Nirmal Purja, who climbed six 8,000-metre mountains in just 31 days this season, said the route to the summit should be fixed earlier to ease the traffic. “We did that on Annapurna to stay on track. It gives teams more days to reach the summit,” he said. But Ang Dorji Sherpa of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee — which oversees the opening of the lower part of the route — said the focus should be on limiting the number of climbers as weather dictates when ropes can be set. Just as a beach is crowded on the first day of summer, the ridge to the Everest summit was clogged by more than 200 climbers on May 22 when it reopened after bad weather. Teams waited for hours in freezing temperatures to reach the top and then descend. The wait increased the risk of frostbite, deadly altitude sickness and simple exhaustion from depleted oxygen levels. The traffic jam in the Everest “death zone” has been blamed for at least four deaths this year. — AFP