Many climbers were killed in the ＂traffic jam＂ when climbing Mount Everest.
I have seen queuing to visit the World Expo and queuing to enter Disneyland, but have you ever seen queuing to climb Mount Everest?
Figure via Twitter/@nimsdai
This photo was taken on Mount Qomolangma, the highest peak in the world. More than 300 climbers lined up at an altitude of 8,000 meters, known as the "dead zone", waiting for the summit.
This photo is shocking, but it also makes many netizens voice: Maybe Mount Everest needs to be equipped with traffic lights.
A new policy is needed to limit the number of climbers in each season.
It’s time for these people to let the mountain slow down.
Nepal should double the fees. Not only to limit the number of climbers, but also to pay for cleaning up the garbage they produce. Overcharging can’t stop those people, just limit the mountaineering permit.
According to Himalayan Times, Nepal’s largest English-language media, since the spring of this year, with the warmer weather, a large number of climbers have emerged, resulting in congestion on the summit route. At present, 14 people have died during the congestion.
Kevin Hynes, 56, from Ireland, died in his tent at 7,000 meters early on Friday, having turned back before reaching the summit. The father of two was part of a group from the UK-based 360 Expeditions.
Kevin Hynes, a 56-year-old man from Ireland, died in a tent at an altitude of 7000 meters in the early hours of last Friday. He turned back before reaching the summit. The father of two children is a member of the team of British 360 Adventure Company.
The climbing company said: “It is with the greatest sadness that we have to confirm that one of our Mount Qomolangma team has passed away. Kevin was on e of the strongest and most experienced climbers on our team, and had previously summited Mount Qomolangma South and Lhotse.”
The mountaineering company said: "We are very sad to confirm that one of our members of the Everest mountaineering team has passed away. Kevin is one of the strongest and most experienced climbers in our team. He has climbed the south slope of Mount Everest and Mount Luozi.
Hynes had been accompanied by an experienced Sherpa, who had himself climbed to the summit of Mount Qomolangma South twice, Mount Qomolangma North and Makalu twice, according to 360 Expeditions.
According to the company, an experienced Sherpa accompanied Hynes to climb the mountain. The Sherpa personally climbed the south slope of Mount Everest twice and climbed the north slope of Mount Everest and Mount Makaru twice.
Sherpa: N. Sherpa (scattered on both sides of the Himalayas, mainly in Nepal, and a few scattered in China, India and Bhutan)
A mountaineer climbs Mount Qomolangma in May 2017. [Photo/IC]
His death came a week after the Trinity College professor Seamus Lawless, from County Wicklow, fell during the descent after achieving a lifetime ambition of reaching the summit.
A week ago, Seymour Lawless, a professor from Trinity College of Cambridge University in Wicklow, Ireland, fell down on the way down the mountain. Before that, he realized his lifelong ambition to climb Mount Everest.
According to the BBC, three climbers were killed in Everest on the 23rd alone, namely, 55-year-old American man Donald Lynn Cash, 52-year-old Indian Kalpana Das and 27-year-old Nihal Bagwan.
Overcrowding and safety have been a growing cause for concern in recent years, not least since the emergence of cut-price Nepali trekking companies that offer Mount Qomolangma packages for half the price of trips organized by foreign companies.
In recent years, people are increasingly worried about overcrowding and safety problems, especially after the emergence of price-cutting mountaineering companies in Nepal, which offer the package price of climbing the peak only half that of foreign companies.
The deaths occurred despite Nepal’s tourism authorities instituting, but not implementing, plans to timetable ascents to avoid congestion.
Although Nepal’s tourism department made a climbing time plan to avoid congestion, it was not implemented, which eventually led to death.
Photo shows the beautiful scenery of Mount Qomolangma. [Photo/Xinhua]
Why is Mount Everest so crowded?
If you imagine the summit of Mount Qomolangma, perhaps a quiet snow peak far away from the hubbub appears in your mind. However, the actual situation may be shoulder to shoulder and overcrowded.
This season’s summit crowds – the worst since 2012 – had been exacerbated by unsettled weather which meant there had been only five possible summit day s in May so far, compared with between seven and 12 in recent years. This had caused hundreds of climbers to converge on several notorious sections where they can only pass one at a time.
This year’s peak congestion is the worst since 2012, and the unstable weather has aggravated this situation. So far, only five days are suitable for the summit in May this year, and in recent years, the number of days is between 7 and 12. This has led hundreds of climbers to gather on several famous crowded sections, and only one person can pass at a time.
Long queues are "common"
The guide said that long queues often occur during the mountaineering season.
"It’s normally that crowded," says Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Seven Summits Treks, adding that climbers sometimes queue between 20 minutes, and 1.5 hours, in order to reach the summit.
"Crowding is very common," said Mingma, a Sherpa chairman of the Seven Peaks Tour. In order to reach the summit, climbers sometimes have to wait in line for 20 minutes to an hour and a half.
It often depends on how long the window for suitable climbing weather is.
Usually it depends on how long the weather suitable for mountain climbing can last.
"If there’s one week [of safe weather], then the summit isn’t crowded. But sometimes, when there’s only a window of two or three days, it gets very crowded" as all the climbers try to reach the summit at the same time, Mingma Sherpa tells the BBC.
Mingma told the BBC: "If the weather is suitable for a week, people will be scattered, but sometimes the climbing window is only two or three days, and it will be very crowded" because everyone wants to climb the mountain at the same time.
What is the "big traffic jam"
Experts say crowds at Mount Qomolangma have also increased in recent years because expeditions have become more popular.
Experts believe that the increase in the number of people climbing Mount Everest in recent years is due to the increasing popularity of adventure activities.
Nepal has issued 381 permits at $11,000 each for the spring climbing season at the world’s highest peak.
At the peak of mountaineering in spring, Nepal has issued 381 permits, each of which costs 11,000 US dollars (about 75,900 yuan).
Andrea Ursina Zimmerman, an expedition guide who reached Mount Qomolangma’s peak in 2016, says that many "traffic jams" are caused by unprepared climbers who "do not have the physical condition" for the journey.
Andrea Jurasina zimmermann, an exploration guide who climbed to the top of Mount Everest in 2016, said that many "jams" were caused by poor preparation of climbers, who did not have the "physical conditions" to climb the mountain.
According to The New York Times, the cause of the congestion and death of Mount Everest is not natural disasters such as avalanches, but because there are too many climbers, and most of them are inexperienced novices:
The problem hasn’t been avalanches, blizzards or high winds. Veteran climbers and industry leaders blame having too many people on the mountain, in general, and too many inexperienced climbers, in particular.
The causes of congestion are not avalanches, snowstorms or strong winds. Senior mountaineers and industry leaders blame it on too many climbers, and many of them are inexperienced climbers.
Fly-by-night adventure companies are taking up untrained climbers who pose a risk to everyone on the mountain. And the Nepalese government, hungry for every climbing dollar it can get, has issued more permits than Qomolangma can safely handle, some experienced mountaineers say.
Some irresponsible exploration companies send untrained climbers up the mountain, and these people will pose a threat to everyone. Some senior mountaineers said that the Nepalese government is eager to profit from mountaineering projects, and the number of mountaineering permits issued has exceeded the range that Mount Everest can bear.
Fly-by-night: irresponsible
It’s not easy to go up the mountain.
Norbu Sherpa has reached the summit seven times. He adds that the most dangerous part is often the descent.
Nobu, a Sherpa, has climbed the summit seven times. He also said that the most dangerous part is often going downhill.
A lot of people push themselves to the summit, but, once they reach it, "lose their motivation and energy on the way down", especially when they realize it’s a long, crowded journey.
Many people try their best to climb to the top of the mountain, but once they reach the top, they "lose their motivation and physical strength when they go down the mountain", especially when they realize that the journey down the mountain is long and crowded.
A mountaineering guide collects garbage at an altitude of 7,928 meters near Qomolangma in the Tibet autonomous region in May. THE TIBET HIMALAYA EXPEDITION CO
尼泊尔旅游局否认“过度拥挤”导致死亡发生
Nepal’s tourism authority has denied accusations that the rise in Mount Qomolangma deaths is solely due to overcrowding.
尼泊尔旅游局否认了有关珠穆朗玛峰死亡人数上升完全是因为过度拥挤的指责。
The department’s director general Dandu Raj Ghimire said other factors including adverse weather conditions had also contributed.
Tourism Bureau Director Dandu Raj Guimil said that other factors, such as bad weather conditions, also contributed to the congestion.
Mr Ghimire said 381 people had ascended Mount Qomolangma this spring but as periods of fine weather had been short, the number of people on the routes had been "higher than expected".
Guimil said that 381 people had climbed Mount Everest this spring, but the number of people on this route was "higher than expected" because of the short duration of good weather.
"The weather has not been very great this climbing season, so when there is a small window when the weather clears up, climbers make the move," Ghimire said.
Guimil said: "The weather in this climbing season is not very good, so when the weather clears and there is a short climbing window, climbers will take action."
"On May 22, after several days of bad weather, there was a small window of clear weather, when more than 200 mountaineers ascended Mount Qomolangma. The main cause of deaths on Mount Qomolangma has been high altitude sickness which is what happened with most of the climbers who lost their lives this season as well."
"On May 22nd, after several days of bad weather, the weather cleared up for a few days, and more than 200 climbers climbed Mount Everest. The main reason for the death of Everest climbers is altitude sickness. In the past, climbing in this season, most of the dead climbers were also killed. "
High altitude sickness: altitude sickness and altitude sickness
Source: Guardian, BBC, CNN, new york Times, Reference News Network, World Wide Web.
Translator & Editor: Xu Yaning
Source: China Daily.
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