A year after Nepal’s devastating earthquake, Everest climbers return
KATHMANDU, NEPAL— The third time Dutch climber Eric Arnold tried and failed to reach the summit of Mount Everest, he was nearly killed by a thundering wall of snow, rock and ice unleashed by the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal last year. The avalanche that coursed through Everest base camp sent him sprawling, choking on snow but alive. Eighteen others were not so lucky.
Now Arnold, 36, is among 100 or so climbers returning to Nepal after surviving the worst disaster in Everest’s modern history, determined to tackle the sacred mountain once again. Dozens are making their way to base camp, with the first trips through the mountain’s treacherous Khumbu icefall expected to begin within days.
Arnold knows the odds of success. Five years ago, bad weather forced him to turn back mere yards from the summit. Two years ago, he tried again, but the climbing season was cancelled after 16 Nepali guides were crushed to death by falling ice. Then, last April 25, came the earthquake that left 8,000 dead across the country. The deadly avalanche it spawned on Everest might have prompted others to give up their quest to climb the mountain, but not Arnold.
“I didn’t decide immediately to go back. I waited until my emotions were more stable,” Arnold said. “But Mount Everest is my big childhood dream.”
Nepali and western guide companies and climbers say that this season is likely to be one of the quietest in recent memory on Everest: According to Nepal’s tourism department, 279 climbers have official permits so far, the lowest number since 2011. Although not unexpected, it’s still a blow to a struggling economy in a country where tourism is the biggest industry and Everest’s gleaming peak is the magnetic draw.
“I think a lot of people are taking a year off, waiting and seeing what happens,” said Adrian Ballinger, an earthquake survivor and longtime guide. “I still see a huge amount of interest in Everest. The fact that there are risks in climbing Everest is part of its allure.”
These survivors are returning to a Himalayan land scarred not just by the April 25 temblor but by a devastating aftershock May 12.
Ruined houses dot the landscape, business is slow in the tea houses, and hundreds of thousands of residents are still displaced, waiting for government funds to rebuild. To make matters worse, a political furor over Nepal’s newly drafted constitution sparked a six-month border blockade by a tribal community in the country’s lowlands that resulted in gas and cooking-oil shortages.
“Last year was a very dark year,” said Ananda Prasad Pokharel, Nepal’s minister for culture, tourism and civil aviation. “Now we are waiting for a fresh start for the country.”
Reviving Nepal’s mountaineering trade is crucial to stabilizing the economy, tourism officials say. Nepal’s main climbing season brought in $26 million (U.S.) in 2012, according to Ang Tshering Sherpa, head of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, with trips to Everest contributing nearly half that.
Yet the Everest tragedies in 2014 and 2015 played out against a backdrop of rising concern over conditions on the mountain. A growing number of climbers and new expedition businesses have left a trail of environmental devastation in their wake.
Further, a recent report estimated that global warming could shrink Everest’s glaciers by 70 per cent by the end of the century.
The 2014 avalanche also exposed long-simmering resentment over the economic disparities between foreign clients and the local guides from the ethnic Sherpa community, who have demanded better insurance and safety measures.
Sherpas make between $5,000 and $12,000 for their work, depending on experience and skill level, Ang Tshering Sherpa said, while some foreign climbers can shell out up to $100,000 for a package including airfare and gear.