Nepal tourism department braces for ‘traffic jam’ at Mount Everest
The 2015 season was called off after 19 climbers were killed and 61
KATHMANDU: Nepalese officials are bracing for a “traffic jam” at Mount Everest this season, due to a surge in the number of climbers eyeing to conquer the world’s tallest peak. This time, there will be around 400 climbers who will embark on the journey to scale the 8,848-metre-high Mount Everest from mid-May, according to the department of tourism.
As climbers are accompanied by high altitude workers, whose number is usually more than that of climbers, there could be around 1,000 individuals on their way to the summit, creating a queue whose snail-paced movement will be punctuated by frequent halts, The Kathmandu Post reported. Expedition teams have started arriving at the base camp a month before the start of the season to acclimatise. “Everyone will be in a hurry to reach the peak when the weather clears; there is no management up there to fix turns for the climbers,” said Sonam Sherpa, who has scaled Mount Everest five times working as an aide to climbers.
Credit: www.livemint.com