In a controversial scheme, Nepalese authorities want to increase safety on Mount Everest and hundreds of other mountains that require a mountain permit. In the future, all tour participants will be required to carry tracking devices.
The chewing gum-sized reflector from the Swedish company Recco is often sewn into sportswear, works without a battery and can return a radar signal from a search device from the same company, making location – and therefore possible rescue of fallen mountaineers – possible.
Regulation after a particularly deadly season
The new rule comes into effect a year after a particularly deadly mountaineering season in which 18 people died on the nearly 8,850-metre-high Everest. Nepal Mountaineering Association chairman Nima Nuru Sherpa welcomed the measure. He and several other expedition organizers were already using Recco reflectors, satellite telephones and portable radio transmitters. He emphasizes that missing persons in the Himalayas have already been found using Swedish technology.
But there are also many critical voices. The tracking equipment is particularly suitable for locating people buried in avalanches in ski resorts and has already saved lives in the Alps. But the detectors could hardly find people under boulders or in a deep crevice – as is often the case with missing people at 8,000 meters altitude in the Himalayas, claim the head of Nepal’s largest expedition company Seven Summit Treks, Mingma Sherpa, as well as him the American mountaineer and blogger Alan Arnette.
Criticism of “crazy rules”
Arnette compares searching for missing people with a special helicopter to finding a needle in a haystack. And an expedition organizer in the capital Kathmandu, who wishes to remain anonymous, emphasizes that electronic devices sometimes fail in the harsh conditions of the high mountains: “Authority officials make these crazy rules without a clue.”
Arnette has very different suggestions: Nepal could only admit climbers who have already climbed a 7,000-meter mountain. Or they could specify minimum qualifications for mountain guides so that they never leave their clients alone, recognize warning signs early and return early if necessary. Or they can limit group size. Many inexperienced people on the mountain would increase the risk of traffic jams and therefore the risk of death, confirms Nepalese mountain guide Narendra Shahi Thakuri. And especially at altitudes above 8,000 meters – the so-called death zone – you should stay as short as possible, because your body becomes increasingly weaker there and cannot recover.
Rich tourists more important than safety?
But such suggestions are likely to fall on deaf ears. The income of the many rich tourists is important for the poor state in the Himalayas. A climb to Everest usually costs at least 40,000 euros per person – often double that.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
