Himalayas
Luggage transport to Mount Everest is delayed
Snow-covered tents stand at the advanced base camp at 6,500 meters on Mount Everest, which is called “Qomolangma” in Tibetan. photo
© Zhaxi Cering/XinHua/dpa
Too many foreign trekkers, too few yaks and jopkyos: Currently, small items such as food, equipment or medicine cannot be brought up the highest mountain in the world as quickly as usual.
Before the peak season on Mount Everest, the transport of climbing equipment is delayed. On the instructions of the local government for expedition companies, helicopters should only fly large items of equipment to the base camp of the world’s highest mountain – such as large tents or large tables.
Food, ropes, gas for cooking or medical equipment, for example, should be carried up by human porters or animals, as Tashi Lhamu Sherpa, deputy mayor of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Municipality, told the German Press Agency.
30 tons of material are stored in Syangboche
Traditionally, yaks and jopkyos trained to carry loads are used for this purpose. Jopkyos are a cross between yaks and cows from the Himalayas.
But according to Mohan Lamsal, secretary general of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, there are not enough people and animals who can quickly bring up small objects – also because many of them are working for trekkers from abroad. Around 30 tons of material from various expedition companies are now stored in the small town of Syangboche, which is also where the airport closest to Mount Everest is located, he said. In recent years, expedition organizers have increasingly relied on helicopter transport because it is faster but similarly expensive.
40,000 euros for an expedition
Expedition companies hope for an early solution. The season on Mount Everest lasts from around the end of April to the beginning of June. The Expedition Operator’s Association Nepal expects around 500 climbers from abroad who will then camp at Everest Base Camp for several weeks with around 1,500 to 2,000 local helpers who will cook for them, carry their luggage and guide them up the mountain.
After acclimatizing to the altitude, the climbers try the eight-thousanders Everest and Lhotse as well as the seven-thousander Nuptse. Foreign Everest climbers pay around 40,000 euros for an expedition, as US climber and blogger Alan Arnette calculates. Around 10,000 euros of this is for a climbing permit from the Ministry of Tourism.