The deaths of 16 ethnic Sherpas in an avalanche on Mt. Everest last week–the largest single-day toll in the mountain’s history–cast a dark shadow on this year’s climbing season. In the aftermath of the disaster, most Sherpas have left the mountain, leaving outfitters in limbo and casting doubt as to whether anyone will reach the top of the world’s highest peak in 2014.
Navigating routes up the treacherous Khumbu Icefall where the latest avalanche occurred are an essential part to each climbing season. But in the face of this latest tragedy there is a tense standoff between how to better compensate Sherpas, who do much of the dangerous heavy-lifting, and government and outfitters whose efforts have commercialized Everest by attracting deep-pocketed climbers seeking to reach the roof of the world. Sherpas, who serve climbers, porters, guides, and route-finders, have recently presented a list of demands to the Nepal government that include provisions for increases in pay and life insurance.
Would Everest be safer if it were restricted to professional climbers? For more on that, watch the following video from Book Passage where Outside magazine editor Nick Heil recounted the impact of two deadly climbing seasons on Everest.
Next at EG3, mountaineer and surgeon Dr. Ken Kamler remembers the 1996 Everest disaster, where eight climbers died in blizzard-like conditions near the summit, prompting questions about whether or not amateurs should be guided up the mountain.
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