MOUNT EVEREST is under assault on two fronts. One is the carnival-like atmosphere in which an increasingly crowded climbing season is putting climbers in harm’s way. The other is the effects of climate change, with the snow mass and glaciers of the mountains shrinking.
First, the overcrowding.
A recent photo of Everest showed a long line of climbers on the last stretch of 1,000 feet waiting their turn to proceed to the summit. They waited up to 90 minutes for the chance to get on top. I am surprised some entrepreneur climber, taking advantage of the long queue, had not set up a proverbial lemonade stand selling energy bars and whiffs of oxygen.
Overcrowding on a mountain is a problem in itself but when you add the fact that many of the climbers are inexperienced, not in shape, and are there only to claim the trophy, it becomes a life-threatening situaton.
Many decades ago well-organized teams of experienced mountain climbers would dare to challenge the mountain. Now commercial outfits, many fly-by-night companies, are taking a large number of inexperienced climbers up the mountain, risking their own lives and the lives of others. The current season has been one of the deadliest, in which 11 climbers have died so far.
In the rush to make it to the summit by hook or by crook, basic human decency and well-established etiquette of climbing are also being set aside. It is not uncommon for the climbers to ignore a stricken climber. Altruism, a focal point of mountaineering, is hard to find now.
In the past when a team member would get sick, some member of the team would forgo his own chance of reaching the summit to help the colleague and even bring him down to safety.
The Nepalese government is also to blame for the traffic jam near the summit. It issues an increasing number of climbing permits every year. This year it issued a record number of 381 permits. Most of them were issued to commercial for-profit outfits.
Compared to other mountains such as K2 and Nanga Parbat, Everest in not a technically difficult mountain. It requires physical endurance and expertise in climbing. It is this trap, which leads the commercial outfits to take inexperienced but rich wannabe climbers to the summit. A few years ago a blind man was led to the summit.
Mountain climbing is an arduous sport. In addition to physical fitness it requires mental alertness and split-second decision-making ability at high altitude. The amount of oxygen in the air is the same as it is at sea level but because of low atmospheric pressure only one third of oxygen is available. Lack of oxygen can trigger life-threatening complications; hence the need for supplemental oxygen at high altitude.
The global climate change is also affecting the Himalayas. Scientists say that the snow mass and glaciers are shrinking due to increase in average temperatures. On Everest the snow line has been receding. There are now small lakes and ponds on the glacier that cause an added risk and hazard in climbing. It is estimated that if the green house effects continue, one third of the glaciers will melt by the end of this century.
The melting ice has exposed the bodies of climbers who had died on the mountain in past years. It has also surfaced old abandoned equipment and climbing gear left on the mountain by previous expeditions. The Nepalese government wants to retrieve the bodies and return them to the families if the bodies can be identified. The other logistic problem is that a frozen body weighs as much as 300 pounds, creating a real problem of hauling them down across crevasses.
There is not much one can do to stop the ravages of climate change. It will require a concentrated effort on the part of the world to reduce greenhouse gases and their effects on the climate. As long as the current U.S. government continues to pursue anti-science policies, nothing much could be accomplished. The Trump Administration has just shelved the report on climate change by its own scientists. Blaming China and other countries for global warming will not solve the problem.
The overcrowding on Everest can be addressed by reducing the number of permits and weeding out fly-by-night commercial outfitters. The Nepalese government has just announced review of its existing policies regarding issuance of permits.
Mountaineering is one of the most challenging and the most lethal sports in the world. It pits a mountaineer against formidable obstacles of terrain, changing weather, fatigue, dehydration, and lack of oxygen. Add to that overcrowding and an already dangerous sport becomes lethal.
S. Amjad Hussain is an emeritus professor of surgery and humanities at the University of Toledo. His column appears every other Wednesday in The Blade. Contact him at: aghaji@bex.net.
First Published June 5, 2019, 4:00 a.m.
