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Quest for records increases accidents at Mt Everest

The rise in the number of people wanting to break past records or create new ones at Mt Everest rather than just for climbing the peak has increased the risk at the highest peak of the world.

With the increasing crowd, who want to summit the Mt Everest — also termed as third pole by the British — each year, the number of accidents on the mountain has also increased.

“Due to the growing competition among climbers and lack of coordination among expedition teams, the risk of deaths at the mountain has increased,” said former president of Nepal Mountaineering Association Ang Tshering Sherpa.

In some cases, trying to be the first of a certain nation or state has resulted in dangerous situations where climbers try to reach the top before they have acclimatised and are fully ready.

Sherpa also said that rather than reducing the number of climbers, the government should now focus on developing proper criteria and rules.

“Each team should have

a radio for communication, must have access to weather reports, and must have at least one skilled Sherpa at camp 4 with reserve oxygen to launch rescue attempts should the need arise,” suggested Sherpa.

Government records state that there are more than 1000 attempts made to climb the mountain every year which is considered a major reason for the increasing crowd at Mt Everest.

However, according to Nepal Mountaineering Association’s record, the number is very low considering the thousands of people that attempt to climb popular peaks like Matterhorn and Mont Blanc in the Alps.

“The problem is not about too many people on the mountain but the attempt of too many people to reach the summit on the same day which has led to overcrowding in the highest parts of the mountain, known as the death zone,” said Sherpa.

Sherpa also said that if the government fixes two parallel ropes at camp 2 and three parallel ropes at an altitude of 8815 metres, then one rope can be used by fast climbers, another by slow climbers and the other by descending climbers which will reduce blockages and

allow climbers to overtake easily, avoiding unnecessary crowds.

The government must also make it mandatory for all teams to declare the general schedule they are following and the exact dates on which they will attempt to summit the mountain, to a central team such as a liaison officer’s team, which will greatly minimise risks during the expedition.

“These steps can help reduce the number of accidents and fatalities on the mountain,” Sherpa further said. Till date in this spring season (March–April–May), a total of 145 foreign climbers and 205 Nepali climbers have already made successful ascents of Mt Everest.

The government does not charge any royalty from Nepali climbers. However, one must have a successful record of having climbed a mountain with an altitude of at least 6,000 metres.

Meanwhile, foreigners have to pay a royalty depending on the number of climbers in a group and the season they plan to climb

Mt Everest.

For a normal group one has to pay a royalty of $25,000 during the spring season.

During spring 2011, the government received a total royalty of $180 million from Mt Everest. Meanwhile, the total royalty during autumn 2011 was about $70,000.

source:The Himalayan Times,30 May 2012