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Tag: mount everest

  • Mount Everest Shut Down After Avalanche Kills 16

    Mount Everest is one of the most dangerous locations on earth where many people die every year. Things came to a head earlier this month when a massive avalanche ripped through the Sherpas carrying supplies up the mountain leaving 16 people dead and three others wounded. In response, the infamous mountain has been shut down.

    After the shut down, sherpas began to demand better death and injury benefits from the government. Until those demands are met, most sherpas will not be leading tours or carrying supplies up the mountain. The strike has effectively canceled many planned climbs for the season. If the strike goes on for too long, it would have a negative effect on the climbing industry that puts millions into Nepal’s coffers.

    The Nepalese government won’t be the ones hardest hit by the shut down though. The sherpas themselves claim to be the ones hardest hit with many taking on the dangerous job to provide for their families. Many sherpas are the sole workers in their families and a canceled climbing season would drown many families in poverty.

    To make matters worse, sherpas are the only ones who can do the jobs they do. The Nepalese government relies on sherpas to lead climbers up the mountain who then pump money into the economy. The relationship was detailed in a video from a years back that shows how important sherpas are to those who want to conquer Mount Everest:

    Despite being so important to the country’s economy, the sherpas believe it isn’t doing enough for them. The AFP says that the country provides $10,000 in life insurance to sherpas as well as $3,000 in medical coverage. The sherpas say that this isn’t anywhere near enough as the $3,000 doesn’t even cover an airlift off the mountain in the event of injury. After the accident, the government offered the families of sherpas $400 to cover funeral expenses. The families rejected this offer and continue to lobby the government for more money.

    If you want to help the Sherpas out, climbers have set up a donation page for those wanting to send a little money their way. You can find it here. After losing a loved one, it would be even worse if the family lost everything else.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Mount Everest Climbing Season Ends Early for Sherpas

    On the heels of the deadliest day ever recorded on Mount Everest, Nepalese Sherpas are cutting the climbing season short, after 16 guides were killed during an avalanche on April 18th. Thirteen bodies have been recovered, while another three remain entombed in ice. More building-sized blocks of ice fell this week while the area was devoid of climbers, forcing the decision to cut the season short.

    Though, Adrian Ballinger, leader of the Alpenglow climbing team, doesn’t consider the slew of falling ice as a significant reason to cancel a season. “That’s ridiculous,” Ballinger said, adding “I would say only a very small percentage of teams canceled due to fear of increased danger in the icefall this season.”

    The Sherpas perished in the Khumbu Icefall, which is regarded as one of the most dangerous segments of the South Col route to Everest’s summit. The Khumbu glacier that carries the icefall moves at such speed (up to 4 feet down Everest daily) that large crevasses open with little warning, often ejecting house-sized ice boulders in its wake.

    Commenting on the avalanche-prone Khumbu Icefall, Ballinger said, “Small and large avalanches and collapses occur regularly. I have not seen myself, nor heard from any of my Sherpas, that there has been an increase in the frequency or severity of avalanches or icefalls this season – although obviously one slide had much greater than normal consequences.”

    Sherpas, native to the highlands of Nepal, are revered as elite mountaineers and experts of their local topography. The group was integral in the success of early Himilayan explorers from the West, and today the word “Sherpa” is sometimes used as slang to describe any person who serves as a mentor or guide in any capacity.

    Here is a Nat Geo clip regarding how tourism has affected the lives of Sherpas:

    Alan Arnette, an American Everest veteran renowned in the world of extreme climbing, commented that the Sherpas ended the Everest season due to safety, religious and economic reasons. With the Khumbu Icefall tragedy, some highly religious Sherpas believe that Everest is taking revenge on the climbers. Also, younger factions of Sherpas are attempting to compete with older, more experienced and well-paid outfits. The younger group wanted to show that it is able to shut down the south side of the mountain whenever they choose.

    Three days ago, the Sherpas petitioned the Nepal Ministry of Tourism to make some reforms and adjust guide benefits.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Mount Everest Avalanche: Are Sherpas Safe?

    Mount Everest Avalanche: Are Sherpas Safe?

    The recent avalanche that took place on Mount Everest and claimed the lives of 13 Sherpas has led many to wonder how safe Sherpas really are. Sherpas are known for their high-altitude fortitude but the avalanche caused many of them to pack up their tents and leave Mount Everest.

    Even before the avalanche, the Sherpas had begun to grow unhappy with their wages and felt as if they were not being paid enough for their skills and the risks they take while helping foreign travelers navigate and climb Mount Everest. The avalanche has now led the Sherpas to consider canceling all of their tours and ascents.

    On Tuesday, several Sherpa tour leaders met with government officials to discuss the problem and negotiate terms that would allow the Sherpas to feel that they were being paid appropriately for their work. If the negotiations do not go well, there may be very few, if any Sherpas who are willing to take climbers to the top of Mount Everest.

    “I would like to go back to my Sherpas and say, ‘Look, guys, I got what you wanted,’” said Phil Crampton, the owner of Altitude Junkies, a mountaineering company, in a telephone interview. “We want the Sherpas happy, we want the government happy, and we want our clients happy. The bottom line is that if at the end of the day, the Sherpas aren’t happy, we will comply and cancel our expedition.”

    While many Sherpas are hoping that the government will meet their demands so they can continue to work, there are also some who have no desire to return to Mount Everest, regardless of the pay or benefits they are offered.

    Kaji Sherpa is an experienced Sherpa who was on the mountain when the avalanche happened. Luckily, he was not killed but was injured badly and is currently in a hospital being treated for two broken ribs. Although Kaji enjoyed his career and was good at it, he said that the avalanche has made him rethink his career path and that he will not be returning to the mountain when he heals.

    “I will never return to the mountain and will prohibit my two sons from joining the mountaineering profession,” said Kaji. “There is too much risk. I will tell my children to complete their education and seek regular jobs.”

    Mount Everest Sherpas can make between $3000 to $5000 in a season. The companies that hire them can charge as much as $50,000 for a tour package. Of that, $11,000 goes to the Nepali government for a climbing license. The Nepali government has made millions on these licenses while the Sherpas risk their lives for the ascents up the mountain for low wages.

    The Sherpas are demanding more relief, a welfare fund, and better insurance.

    Do you think the government will agree to these demands and will the Sherpas return to Mount Everest?

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Mount Everest Avalanche Causes Wingsuit Stunt Cancellation

    What was to be one of the most extreme wingsuit stunts in history has now been cancelled. The Discovery Channel this week announced that its upcoming Everest Jump Live program has been cancelled.

    The event, scheduled to take place on May 11, was cancelled out of concern for the families of the recent tragedy on the world’s tallest mountain. The avalanche took the life of 12 experienced Sherpas on Friday.

    The Discovery Channel released a statement this weekend through its Facebook page:

    Post by Everest Jump Live.

    Everest Jump Live was to have been an extreme stunt in which veteran wingsuit jumper Joby Ogwyn would take a running leap right off the peak of Mount Everest. Using his wingsuit, the plan was for Ogwyn to glide down the side of the mountain for more than 10 minutes before reaching base camp.

    The event was meticulously planned. Four cameramen were to have accompanied Ogwyn up the mountain. Ogwyn himself had practiced similar stunts at the Matterhorn and the Eiger in Switzerland. The event was also heavily promoted, with Ogwyn himself appearing on The Tonight Show last month.

    Post by Everest Jump Live.

    The recent Everest avalanche is being described by experienced climbers as the worst disaster in Everest climbing history. The 12 fallen Sherpas were preparing ropes and other supplies for climbers due during the mountain’s climbing season.

    The avalance left the well-worn path up to the peak impassable. Dozens of climbers above the avalanche point were trapped on the mountain over the weekend. According to a CNN report it still isn’t clear whether expedition companies will operate their yearly Everest climbs this year.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Mount Everest: Climate Change Making It More Deadly?

    “In 1989 when I first climbed Everest there was a lot of snow and ice, but now most of it has just become bare rock.”

    Nepali climber Apa Sherpa had been quoted by Discovery News about his experiences with perhaps the most formidable mountain on Earth.

    It seems much has changed since Sherpa first tackled Mount Everest.

    “Climbing is becoming more difficult,” noted Sherpha. He said that a snowier mountain allows one to wear crampons, important traction-devices, more safely.

    “It’s very dangerous and very slippery to walk on bare rock with crampons.”

    The mountain’s increasingly bare rocks also raise the risk of climbers being struck and killed by falling rocks.

    One hundred years ago, no one would have ever expected a lack of snow to be an issue with Everest.

    Some fear that global warming is the leading factor in the loss of snow from the mountain tops.

    The lack of snow creates a host of problems that many experts fear may make the mountain even more unsafe for anyone trying to climb it.

    Not only that, but the warming temperatures could be blamed for dangerous avalanches similar to what recently killed over a dozen people.

    Researchers find that warmer weather can coincide with an increase in avalanches. If the snow on Everest is melting due to global warming, it could mean that the rising temperatures will make avalanches on the mountain more likely.

    It has already been determined that the glaciers surrounding Mount Everest have shrunk by an alarming 13 percent within the past 50 years.

    As scientists continue to monitor the changing situation with the famous mountain, persons desperate to put their name into the history books will continue to their attempts to reach Everest’s elusive summit.

    The threat of global warming means nothing to people who feel that possible death comes with the territory of trying to conquer Mount Everest.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Google Takes You Atop the Tallest Mountains in the World with Insane New Street View Imagery

    Google has taken its Google Maps team to some awesome places to capture some amazing street view imagery. Recent expeditions that come to mind include treks to the Arctic, the Grand Canyon, and under the sea. But this just might be the coolest Street View imagery yet.

    Starting today, you can check out some incredible Street View images from the tops of some of the tallest mountains in the world.

    “Now you can explore some of the most famous mountains on Earth, including Aconcagua (South America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe) and Everest Base Camp (Asia) on Google Maps. These mountains belong to the group of peaks known as the Seven Summits—the highest mountain on each of the seven continents. While there’s nothing quite like standing on the mountain, with Google Maps you can instantly transport yourself to the top of these peaks and enjoy the sights without all of the avalanches, rock slides, crevasses, and dangers from altitude and weather that mountaineers face,” says Google.

    Check out Uhuru, which at 19,341 ft. is the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro. Or Russia’s Mount Elbrus and its small encampment of huts made from Soviet-era fuel barrels.

    Seen below is the Aconcagua summit, the highest mountain in South America and the highest point viewable in Street View (22,800 ft):

    This awesome imagery is the work of years of climbing, starting in 2011 with a trip to Everest base camp.

    “This imagery was collected with a simple lightweight tripod and digital camera with a fisheye lens—equipment typically used for our Business Photos program,” says Google’s “lead adventurer” Dan Fredinburg.

    “In every one of these trips you are going up against the elements,” he told The L.A. Times. “In the Everest expedition, a plane crashed similar to the one that we were on to get in, and after that, there was three days of mudslides, snowstorms and then there was the earthquake, which was a 6.9 magnitude earthquake which was absolutely terrifying for everyone who was on the expedition as well as the locals.”

    You can start exploring the World’s Highest Peaks gallery here.