When someone does not know about Nepal, the easiest way to identify our country is Mount Everest. Even if the person has not heard of Buddha or the Himalayas, he is likely to have heard of Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Ever since it was discovered to be the highest mountain in the world, Everest has fascinated mountaineers. Even before it was ascended by Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary on May 29, 1953, there had been many failed attempts, the notable ones, like the fatal attempt by George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, still fresh in mountaineering lore. [break]
In the sixty years that have followed the first ascent, Everest has become the world’s favorite destination to set records. Climbers request for passes in record numbers every year, and being the first person from a country to climb it has become passé. The oldest person to climb, the first female amputee to climb, and the first person to make the highest base jump are just the records set this year; earlier there have been daredevil records like climbing it without oxygen, climbing in winter, staying longest at the top, and having the world’s highest cabinet meeting. It is clear from such enthusiasm that for the rest of the world, Everest still represents unrivalled adventure. But to mountaineering insiders in the country, the picture is very different.
Everest has been used and abused by its climbers, most of whom take it as no more than a stepping stone to success, the high point of their lives. In peak season, the sheer number of climbers who must wait to get through at bottlenecks has given it the name of “the world’s highest traffic jam”. The waste that they leave behind now makes a mountain of its own, earning Everest another dubious moniker of “the world’s highest dumping site”. The fatalities on this unpredictable mountain have also earned it the undesirable label of “world’s highest graveyard.” In 1999, the discovery of the corpse of George Mallory, almost perfectly preserved, brought the issue to light, suggesting that many such bodies could be scattered around the mountain.
Everest is central to the identity of Nepal.
Every attempt should be made to make Everest available to future climbers and to keep it from being buried under a pile of rubbish. Nepal needs to emulate better examples of garbage management, like in China, and ensure that all mountaineers bring back their garbage. Along with the garbage, there should also be an initiate to remove the dead bodies from the mountain. Summiteers find it extremely disturbing to encounter corpses on Everest. It is in the best interest of everyone, including the families of those who have lost their loved ones on Everest, to remove dead bodies from Everest at the earliest. Limiting the number of passes issued each year, and checking the credentials of the group to allow only experienced climbers to approach Everest are other ways that will help the mountain breathe. It is up to us Nepalis to make sure that Everest recovers from its sorry state and reclaims its image as the ultimate adventure the natural world offers.
Related story
Floating Antarctic ice goes from record high to record lows
-1767177833.webp)
