Nepal Bans all Solo Ascents
The website is about the Nepal considering to ban all solo ascents up Mount Everest, the reason for that is mainly safety and environmental concerns. It is interesting that in the book Into Thin Air, both Jon Krakauer's purpose and result of the Everest climb relate to this article.
When Jon first got the call from Outside magazine, he was asked to write a report on the commercialization of Mount Everest, he took the job therefore went on the trip to Everest. As Jon mentioned in the book, commercialization of Everest back then was already causing problems, making him to be sick of Everest for a while. And as more and more people go to Everest, the already-existing problems in the 1990s escalated, now they finally get bad enough to force the government to restrict ascends.
As the author mentioned at the beginning of the book, the trip didn't end well, costing several people's lives, among them were experts who had climbed the mountain many times. Many accidents like this one all contributed to the Nepalese government's decision to ban solo ascends which have the most risk among all.
When Jon first got the call from Outside magazine, he was asked to write a report on the commercialization of Mount Everest, he took the job therefore went on the trip to Everest. As Jon mentioned in the book, commercialization of Everest back then was already causing problems, making him to be sick of Everest for a while. And as more and more people go to Everest, the already-existing problems in the 1990s escalated, now they finally get bad enough to force the government to restrict ascends.
As the author mentioned at the beginning of the book, the trip didn't end well, costing several people's lives, among them were experts who had climbed the mountain many times. Many accidents like this one all contributed to the Nepalese government's decision to ban solo ascends which have the most risk among all.
Nepal Bans any Ascents after Deadly Avalanche
Due to a devastating avalanche that happened the Nepalese government had closed down the Everest for any ascents, including Sherpa on maintenance duties. Although the Nepalese government receives millions per year on climbing permits, they are not taking care of the Sherpa who are the backbones of the tourist economy: Not a single government official was present when the dead bodies of the Sherpa were transported down to base camp. Avalanches, as mentioned in the book, happen frequently on the Himalayas. But the government hasn't taken any action to ensure the safety until people actually died.
The action of the government makes an extreme contrast with how the foreign expeditions have been treating their Sherpa. In the book Into Thin Air, stories of climbers rescuing their Sherpa are mentioned again and again, some even risked their own life to save the Sherpa's.
And now the government is banning ascends which puts the Sherpa in a even harder position. Many of the Sherpa will face unemployment
The action of the government makes an extreme contrast with how the foreign expeditions have been treating their Sherpa. In the book Into Thin Air, stories of climbers rescuing their Sherpa are mentioned again and again, some even risked their own life to save the Sherpa's.
And now the government is banning ascends which puts the Sherpa in a even harder position. Many of the Sherpa will face unemployment
This is a gap on the way back to my house that I find very irritating. It is not supposed to be there but the water runoff had carved it into the ground, exposing the ugly blue pipe. The gap annoys me because I have to step over every time I walk by, and water accumulates in the gap which can be easily stepped in at night.
But what Jon Krakauer and the team had to face on the mountains were not little gaps anymore, they were huge crevices that go down hundreds of feet. Climbers can fall in without any forewarning and lose their lives. They would be happy if they had gravel to walk on.
So I decided to just live with the small gap :)
But what Jon Krakauer and the team had to face on the mountains were not little gaps anymore, they were huge crevices that go down hundreds of feet. Climbers can fall in without any forewarning and lose their lives. They would be happy if they had gravel to walk on.
So I decided to just live with the small gap :)
The four sets of stairs leading up to the dinning hall seem very easy to climb up, at least for me, they are not a challenge at all. I usually cover 4 stairs per step and can reach the top in no time. But imagine these stairs at an altitude of 8000 meters plus, people could spend minutes or hours on them. When Jon Krakauer was climbing from base camp to camp I for the first time, a 700 meters of altitude difference on a gradual slope took him almost an entire day to climb. And as he went higher up the mountain, movements like shoveling snow even became a challenge.