When thrill turns into peril
Tragedies and mountaineering go hand-in-hand, but the definition of mountaineering has changed.
The last days of Mt. Everest’s spring window for 2019, saw 11 deaths. It attracted a rash of novice mountaineers, with experts blaming new generation guides offering cheap expedition rates.
“Everest being the highest mountain in the world makes for a good success story and people view it as a shortcut to glory and news to boast about. Climbers want minimum hard work and training and feel that Everest can be conquered without much pain. They feel money can buy them a ticket to the top and an extra buck paid to the Sherpas would mean that they could be carried to the top of the world. Reality strikes later at the mountain at which point, either they are dragged by the Sherpas or left there buried,” says Lt Col Rommel Barthwal, who successfully led a 20-member expedition to scale Mt. Everest last month.
Tragedies and mountaineering go hand-in-hand, but the definition of mountaineering has changed. “One must understand that the mountain does not distinguish between one’s gender, social and economic status. All that the mountain knows is whether you are prepared or not. This holds true not just for Mt. Everest, but also every high-altitude trek,” says B. Shekar Babu, the first Indian to climb Mt. Everest solo.
Stressing further he adds, “Each winter in a popular location at an altitude of 5000 m to 6000 m, which is less than half the height of Mt. Everest, people die due to very poor preparation. Hence, preparation is key.”
More people going on these expeditions translate to more permits and more business. But what people fail to notice is that it also involves high risk that is even costing lives. The question is, should everyone be allowed to climb any mountain they decide to?
“There is growing concern over unfit and inexperienced climbers signing up to tread the dangerous, slippery and narrow path at over 28,000 feet. Their mistakes and lack of conditioning can put the lives of other climbers at risk. We’re up in the ‘death zone’ at 26,000 feet, so even on bottled oxygen, you’re slowly dying. You can feel your energy draining out of your legs and out of your core, and you get disassociated in your mind. It gets very difficult to be up there, just to exist. It would be great if inexperienced climbers were not allowed to climb Everest,” says Manisha Payal, who returned from Everest summit recently.
However, with the boom in commercial adventure sports, skilled mountaineers are often outnumbered by tourists whose ambitions exceed their climbing skills. “The authorities are charging huge amounts of money for Everest. Instead of being so greedy, they need to be strict regarding safety of mountaineers. There must be a strict check on who is climbing, their physical condition, past experience and qualification. Climbers coming to Everest must be medically fit and possess requisite technical skills. The climbers should have climbed at least one 7,000 m peak in the last three years,” stresses Lt Col Rommel.
While there are seasoned mountaineers there are amateur enthusiasts too — hobby climbers, typically low on experience — who have gradually transformed Everest into a cash cow.
“The Nepal government, which issues the permits, doesn’t want to lose out on $11,000 in permit fees and the impact the climber makes by contributing to their economy. So it’s a win-win situation for them,” adds Lt Col Rommel.
Outlining some measures that can be taken to avoid overcrowding and fatalities, Shekhar Babu, who has spearheaded numerous expeditions, including the one where Malavath Purna went on to become the youngest girl to climb Mt. Everest, says, “The government of Nepal should regulate movement of expedition teams to allow smooth climbing and avoid overcrowding on particular days. As for the recent events on Mt. Everest, it’s unfair to blame the crowds alone for the fatalities.”
He adds that the difference in the number of climbers on the mountain in the past two years is not all that much. “In 2018, the Nepalese Government issued 347 permits while in 2019, it was 379 permits. And while the number of inexperienced climbers has risen after commercial climbing was introduced on Mt. Everest, these types of climbers have always been there, not just in the Himalayas, but in all of the popular climbing destinations in the world. Blaming them entirely is just not fair,” he says. At the end of the day, it’s just not about the physical and technical aspects of mountaineering. One also needs to take note of the mental aspects of mountaineering which only a seasoned mountaineer can prepare a novice climber for.
“The seasoned mountaineer will prepare a novice to understand that it’s absolutely fine to ‘turn back’ when the conditions on a mountain are not favourable. And that today, life has to be saved so that we can return to the mountain some other day,” concludes Shekhar Babu.