everest braces for record number of summit attempts
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Everest braces for record number of summit attempts

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Everest braces for record number of summit attempts

Unidentified mountaineers walk past the Hillary Step while pushing for the summit of Mount Everest
Kathmandu - AFP

 

 Nepal has issued a record number of permits to climbers wanting to summit Mount Everest this spring, an official said Thursday, prompting fears of overcrowding on the world's highest peak.

A record 373 foreign climbers have been cleared to scale Everest from the south side during a narrow window of good weather this month -- netting the impoverished Himalayan nation more than $2 million in fees.

Most attempt to summit the 8,848 metre (29,030 foot) peak with the help of at least one Nepali guide, meaning that more than 750 climbers will be heading for the summit in the next few weeks.

"The number of climbers issued with permits for Everest this spring is the highest ever," said Department of Tourism spokesman Durga Dutta Dhakal.

Heavy foot traffic was expected on Everest this year, with climbers forced off the mountain by the 2015 earthquake rushing to use their extended permits before they expire.

The busy spring climbing season on Everest was effectively shut for two consecutive years after a deadly icefall in 2014 killed 16 Sherpas, and an earthquake-triggered avalanche the following year claimed 18 lives.

There was a slight dip in the number of permits issued in 2016, but otherwise there has been a steady increase in the number of people attempting to scale the world's highest peak over the last decade.

The rise has led to concerns about potentially dangerous -- even deadly -- overcrowding on the mountain.

"The best case scenario for 2017 is for many good weather days to spread out the crowds," climber and mountaineering blogger Alan Arnette warned in a recent post.

"If it is like 2012 with four or even six (days) we can expect record deaths, record frostbite while seeing record summits -- a harsh scenario."

A photo of a huge traffic jam below the Everest summit in 2012 prompted calls for better crowd management on Everest, and even a cap on the number of permits issued annually. 

But Ang Tsering Sherpa, the head of Nepal Mountaineering Association, said lessons had been learned from previous years.

"If there are too many climbers hoping to go up on the same date, we will try to schedule it in a way that won't cause a jam," he said.

This season has already seen its first death -- that of experienced Swiss mountaineer Ueli Steck who died on Sunday while on an acclimatization climb.

Last year five people lost their lives on the peak, while 443 successfully summited from the Nepal side and nearly 200 made it to the top from the north side in Tibet.

source: AFP

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

everest braces for record number of summit attempts everest braces for record number of summit attempts

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

everest braces for record number of summit attempts everest braces for record number of summit attempts

 



GMT 01:18 2017 Monday ,08 May

Saudi artists seen 'pushing' boundaries

GMT 09:11 2017 Thursday ,02 November

New York City truck attack: what we know

GMT 02:35 2018 Wednesday ,10 January

"The Shape of Water" leads Bafta nominations

GMT 17:18 2017 Monday ,06 February

60 ISIS Suspects Detained in Ankara

GMT 21:49 2017 Sunday ,09 April

Sultanate of Oman condemns terrorist attack

GMT 17:26 2017 Sunday ,26 February

UN chief's envoy arrives in Cairo

GMT 07:29 2017 Tuesday ,04 April

Leadership congratulated on European victory

GMT 18:20 2011 Wednesday ,13 April

Organic eating

GMT 20:47 2016 Friday ,29 April

Palestinian writer from Gaza wins Arabic Booker

GMT 03:22 2017 Tuesday ,22 August

February20th-March20th

GMT 19:13 2016 Monday ,07 March

Chinese drama 'Wu Zetian' staged in New York

GMT 05:50 2017 Sunday ,12 February

Egypt inflation hits 29.6%

GMT 14:35 2017 Sunday ,26 February

16 churchgoers killed in road accident in Meghalaya
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday