Everest braces for record year amid overcrowding fears
KATHMANDU, May 11 (AFP) - The tented city at the foot of Mount Everest is bustling as mountaineers brace for potentially the busiest year yet on the world's highest peak, prompting concerns about overcrowding and safety.
Since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first ascent in 1953 more than 4,000 climbers have reached the top of Everest, according to the authoritative Himalayan Database.
Recent years have seen especially rapid growth, with the mountain opening up to more people as competition between expedition organisers has caused costs to plummet. But rising numbers mean greater risk -- a higher chance of bottlenecks as larger teams lumber their way to the summit, potential shortages of oxygen tanks, and increased risk of frostbite and even death.
A photo of a huge traffic jam below the summit in 2012 prompted calls for better crowd management, and a cap on the number of permits issued. Nepal currently grants permits to all who apply and are willing to pay $11,000 to scale the 8,848-metre peak.
Most Everest aspirants will need the help of Nepali guides to reach the summit.
Spring is the busiest time of year on the mountain as the icy winds and bone-chilling temperatures are more forgiving than at other times. Even so the climbing season is short, with ascents expected to begin in the coming days and usually wrap up by the end of May or the first week of June.
Ice doctors, the elite Sherpa mountaineers who set the ropes to the summit for hundreds of paying clients to climb, are currently waiting for a favourable weather window to begin their ascent. But powerful jet streams raging around the top of Everest have expedition operators worried about the number of summit days, raising the likelihood of many climbers going up at the same time.
Mountaineering blogger Alan Arnette said that problems could arise at the end of the season due to overcrowding when desperate climbers push onward to the summit despite a narrowing weather window. “Perhaps Nepal should put a limit, like China has done or the US Park Service, for Denali,” Arnette said.