Disasters threaten mountaineering

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 18, 2015 file photo, trekkers take an acclimatization hike to Nagarzhang peak above Dingboche valley on the way to Everest base camp, Nepal. Climbers are returning to Mount Everest as the climbing industry recovers from last year's deadly disaster on the world's highest peak, a Nepalese mountaineering official said Wednesday, April 1. The popular spring climbing season began last month and runs until the end of May. (AP Photo/Tashi Sherpa, File)
By Hannah Edensor


Nepal’s climbing season has encountered massive disaster for the second straight year, casting doubt over the future of another season on the world’s highest mountain.

Eighteen people died in an avalanche at Mount Everest Base Camp triggered by the April 25 earthquake, while 18 mountaineers, including 16 Sherpa guides, also died on Everest in an avalanche on April 18, 2014.

It is still unclear how the government will react.

Officials are busy dealing with the larger disaster of the earthquake that caused more than 8600 deaths nationwide.

After the 2014 avalanche, the government extended climbing permits for the next five years, but more than a month since the disaster in April 2015, there is no word on the permits.

“I’m very unhappy about how the Nepal government handled the situation,” said Damien Francois, an author, climber and cultural anthropologist from Belgium.

Tension within the mountaineering fraternity has also been high as the tour operators push for the expeditions to happen, while many among the Sherpa community that form the backbone of climbing in Nepal have withdrawn over safety concerns.

The government collects revenue for mountaineering permits, but the Sherpas are the load-bearers, carrying supplies and guiding climbers, laying out ropes and ladders on the mountains ahead of the climbing season.

“The government doesn’t understand that there need to be people in Base Camp to coordinate and organise. But the concerned people only collect the money – often into their own pockets,” Francois said.

“There has to be an end to only collecting money, collecting money, and if something like the avalanche happens, there is nobody we can turn to.”

The climbing scene has become increasingly commercialised, particularly on Everest, as the lure of mountain tourism grows.

For the professional Nepali climbers, pleasing clients is a top priority, but some companies charge more and some less.

Lower prices could mean the climbing Sherpas are less skilled.

Expedition operator Temba Tsheri Sherpa says expedition operators compete to provide the best tents, food, 24-hour wi-fi, battery chargers and gas heaters, along with oxygen and other heavy climbing gear.

In the meantime, some Nepali porters are paid a pittance but he says they will still go for an experience at climbing and to get a job later.

Porters must go up and down Everest several times, as they prepare the ladders and ropes on the mountain for clients, carrying food and oxygen and tents each time they do so.

“Because the new hordes of climbers from Asia are willing to pay a lot of money to climb Everest, the mountain has a big future,” said Francois.

But Nepali expedition operators are also now more concerned about safety in the wake of the twin disasters and warn of potential problems after the monsoon.

“We can’t say what will happen after the monsoon, as the earthquake has caused cracks that could lead to landslides,” said Jivan Ghimire of Nepal Tour Operators Association.

“It’s too early to say anything about the autumn climbing season.”

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