Olympic break for Everest- Off-limit for 10 days
Posted by barunroy on April 19, 2008
Darjeeling, April 18: Nepal has “requested” tour operators who organise Everest expeditions from Kathmandu not to take their clients beyond Camp 3 between May 1 and 10, but insisted that there was no pressure from China which wants to take the Olympic torch to the peak during that period.
The Kathmandu-based tour operators plan their expeditions along the southeast ridge, which is approached from Nepal, while the Chinese government will take the torch along the northeast ridge from Tibet. However, China wants to ensure that there is no high-altitude confrontation with Tibetan protesters along the way.
The 10-day break comes right in the middle of the climbing season, which usually begins from mid-April and goes on till May-end. [Inset: Mt Everest seen from just above Base Camp. AP file picture]
“I would not call it a ban, but we have been requested not to go beyond Camp 3,” said Jiwan Ghimire, the managing director of the Kathmandu-based Shangri-La Treks. Ghimire has already sent two expeditions to the Everest Base Camp, at 5,360m, this season and said the permits from Nepal’s tourism ministry contained the “request”.
The Chinese government has not announced the final itinerary for taking the torch to Everest, but it will be done on one of the 10 days. The “request”, which none of the Nepalese tour operators can dismiss, will ensure that there are no protests along the torch’s journey.
The climbing route from Tibet has already been sealed. “I do not think any one will be climbing from the Chinese side at this moment,” said Tendi Sherpa, the managing director of Wind Horse Expeditions, which is also based in Kathmandu.
Everesters here said the “request” would completely mess up the plans of a lot of climbers.
“Climbing Mt Everest is not easy. It usually takes about four-six weeks to reach the top and if there is a break in the acclimatisation process, the climbers can never make it,” Jamling Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, an Everester and the son of the legendary Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, said.
The acclimatisation requires a lot of climbing up and down among Camps 1-4, located at altitudes of 5,900-7,950m. Without it, the climbers’ health will be at serious risk, said Jamling.
The “final push” to the 8,848m peak is made from Camp 4.
The tour operators have already paid about $10,000 per person as royalty to the Nepal government for a single trek, said Tendi Sherpa. Climbers have to shell out about $60,000 (nearly Rs 24 lakh) for the trip, but may still be denied the opportunity to go near the peak. [The Telegraph | Vivek Chettri]
