70 years after the first ascent of Everest, the impact of mass mountaineering must be confronted
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Saturday, May 27, 2023
But there is one that holds extra-special meaning for many – Mount Everest, or Chomolungma as the Nepalese Sherpa people call it.
Key Points:
- But there is one that holds extra-special meaning for many – Mount Everest, or Chomolungma as the Nepalese Sherpa people call it.
- A sacred mountain for some, for others the world’s highest peak represents a challenge and a lifelong dream.
- Since then, mountaineering has become massively popular and commercial – with serious implications for the cultures and environments that sustain it.
Scaling the heights
- From 1854 to 1899 (known as the classic mountaineering period), advances in climbing technology saw ascending peaks by challenging routes become possible and popular.
- Since then, all of the world’s 8,000-metre peaks have been climbed in winter, culminating in the historic winter scaling of the 8,611-metre K2 by a Nepalese expedition in 2021.
Mass mountaineering
- Pushing to the summit may put their own lives, and the lives of other climbers and rescue teams, at risk.
- And yet the number of people attempting to climb famous peaks such as Kilimanjaro in Tanzania or Aconcagua in Argentina has increased dramatically.
- In 1992, for example, when the first commercial mountaineering expeditions on Everest began, 22 Sherpas and 65 paying mountaineers summited – one Sherpa for three clients.
- This year, however, some estimate a record of more than 1,000 people could reach the summit.
The next challenge
- They want stricter regulations and better training to protect the fragile ecosystems of the Himalayas and other mountain ranges worldwide.
- Ultimately, the future of mountaineering depends on preserving these unique mountain environments in the first place.
- Paradoxically, while it has become more accessible and popular, it has also become more challenging and complex.