Trekking in Khumbu

Safety is primarily a feeling. Often we don’t even realize the lurking objective danger. And if we do, then usually only if we have no other option than facing the danger. A week ago I have returned from my trekking in Khumbu, the region around Mount Everest. Eleven months have passed since the devastating earthquake in Nepal. I think that my senses were quite sharpened because it was an objective of my journey to inform myself about the consequences of the quake. I can send all the people who want to travel to the region for trekking or climbing on their way with my experience: I felt perfectly safe in Khumbu.

Memories of civil war

Namche Bazaar, in the background Kongde Ri

This was not the case during my first visit to Everest region 14 years ago. In 2002, there was a night-time curfew in Namche Bazaar starting at 5 p.m. because of the civil war with the Maoists. The soldiers of the local military station were nervous, I heard shots. It was only when we reached Tengboche monastery at 3,860 meters, that my former mountain guide Gowa Lama said: “Now we are safe. The Maoists have not penetrated higher so far.” The civil war in Nepal has been over since 2006. Ten years later we were able to hike through the impressive mountains of the Himalayas without need to think about charges to pay to rebels or about getting caught in the crossfire.

Most of the debris cleared

Stupa in front of the Hillary School in Khumjung

The earthquake on 25 April 2015 has left marks also in Khumbu, but the area got off rather lightly compared for instance with the particularly hard-hit Sindhupalchowk District. Here and there some stupas (tombs of Buddhist lamas who according to religion were reborn) with deep cracks still witness the earthquake. But most of the debris has been cleared. In many places, new buildings have already replaced the collapsed houses, which had been mostly traditional Sherpa buildings. The trekking trails are well maintained, virtually no traces of the earthquake can be seen there.

Depending on tourism

Everest, Lhotse and Makalu (from l. to r.)

Maybe I also felt so safe in Khumbu because there was much less talk about the earthquake. People in the Everest region seem to have come to terms with last year’s natural disaster and ticked it off. Probably because they were affected not that bad. The consequences of the earthquake were more indirectly: The tourism market collapsed because foreigners were worried about their safety. My impression in Khumbu: These concerns are groundless. You can travel there without worrying. The mountain guides, porters, farmers, lodge owners and shopkeepers, who heavily depend on income from tourism, will thank you: with great hospitality and an honest smile.

Run on scarce petrol

At last! Many Western governments have now canceled their general travel warning for Nepal that they had imposed after the 25 April earthquake. Instead, they are now only warning not to travel to certain regions of the Himalayan state. So the German Foreign Office called the trekking regions Langtang and Manaslu problematic areas, where access “is not possible or only with considerable difficulties”. The British Foreign Office advises against traveling  to these regions too and calls in addition the districts Sindhupalchowk and Dolakha. From the perspective of the German Government “particular caution is advised” when traveling in these or other areas that were hit hard by the quake. The US Department of State notes that “the frequency and severity of aftershocks have greatly diminished”, but encourages travelers “to consult carefully with their travel and trekking agencies for current, location-specific information and to heed warnings of potential danger”.  All those governments point to a new problem in Nepal – a political one.

Everything is short in supply

For two weeks, the border to India is next to closed due to political protests in the Terai districts. Fuel, gas, basic food, medicine – everything is running short in Nepal. “Several hotels are serving sandwiches and salad only. Many small restaurants already had to close”, Michi Muenzberg writes from the capital Kathmandu. “At normal mealtimes thick trails of smoke are billowing through the streets, as people are cooking on open fires.”

Stranded in Kathmandu

Michi Muenzberg (r.) in Kathmandu

Three years ago, the German woman, who is living in the small town of Wilthen in Saxony, traveled to Nepal for the first time. Since then, the country has become her second home. Michi founded a private aid project, “Hope for Nepal”. She arranges school sponsorships for Nepalese children and supports a children’s home in Kathmandu. Now Michi traveled to Nepal again to help the earthquake victims. But she is stranded in Kathmandu for two weeks because of the border blockades in the Terai districts.

No material transports possible

“Sure, we could rent one of the few still driving taxis, but that would generate horrendous costs so that it would be simply useless. And the transportation of construction materials could not be done this way”, Michi writes. “I feel very sorry for the people in these areas who were hoping that things turned better after the monsoon. There is an urgent need to build shelters for winter and sanitary facilities. How, in any way, can we manage this?”

Mahesh Kumar Budha

It is far from easy to survive in the highly competitive tourism market in Nepal. Under normal circumstances, but all the more after the earthquake last spring. There are hundreds of trekking and expedition agencies in Kathmandu that compete to get any clients. Most of them are small companies, and the owners often live from hand to mouth. Small entrepreneurs like my friend Mahesh Kumar Budha suffer most from the economic consequences of the earthquake. The government estimates that the tourism market has slumped by 50 percent, local operators assume that it is up to 70 percent.

No income since January

In 2003, Mahesh was my trekking guide when I did a one-week-trip to the Annapurna region to report for DW radio about the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP).  In 2011, after having worked for about 20 years for other trekking companies, he founded his own agency “Joy Treks”. His bureau is located in Thamel, the popular tourist quarter in Kathmandu. “I have had no income since January“, the 40-year-old writes to me. „Actually one group wanted to visit Nepal in May and another in June, but the devastating quake didn’t let them come.” Before the earthquake Mahesh also had enough inquiries for this fall. “But most of them are silent now, and I think it is because they are scared to travel to Nepal.”

Suicides of business men

Mahesh in front of his bureau

Mahesh has to feed his family. His four children are attending school, the eldest twins are in the tenth class preparing their final year on high school before going to college. That costs money. “The living costs in Kathmandu have also increased in recent years”, says Mahesh. “I am very worried about that all.”
He reports about some Nepalese people who took advantage of the earthquake by providing fake information to their foreign friends and clients. “But my moral, my heart doesn’t allow me to do it like them. I never had my own house in Kathmandu and I cannot post pictures of a collapsed building pointing ‘This is my house’!”
The bad economic consequences of the earthquake have also led to human tragedies. “Two of the tourism businessmen in Kathmandu (they were holding travel companies) committed suicide, and I am sure this number will increase in future days”, writes Mahesh. “Bitter, bitter!”

People like Mahesh Kumar Budha do need our support. The best way to do so is to travel to the country again. Don’t forget Nepal!

Manaslu, “Mountain of the Spirit”

The 8,136-meter-high Manaslu is probably the only mountain in Nepal, where currently almost everything is as usual in fall. “We have about 15 expeditions here, many of them small teams”, Dominik Mueller tells me by satellite phone from the about 4,800-meter-high Manaslu Base Camp in western Nepal. “All in all we have probably 120 to 130 summit aspirants.” Dominik is leading an expedition of his German operator Amical alpin, along with the mountain guide Rainer Pircher. The other members are ten clients, three Climbing Sherpas, a cook and four kitchen helpers. The Base Camp is not too crowded, says Dominik. “We have found a very nice place for our tents.” On Wednesday, the puja will be held, the traditional Buddhist ceremony to get the gods’ blessings for the climbers. Some expeditions – such as the group of Himalayan Experience that is led by the New Zealander Russell Brice – have been on the mountain for a while already.

Neither better nor worse

Dominik Mueller

“The route is already secured with fixed ropes as far as up to the plateau (on about 7,400 meters) “, says Dominik. “There was a long period of fine weather. Accordingly, there is very little snow.” Three steep steps in the icefall above Camp 1, which are ten to 15 meters high each, could become the key points of the route. Yesterday there were 30 centimeters of fresh snow. “The conditions on Manaslu are neither better nor worse than in previous years”, the 44-year-old resumes. Before reaching the Base Camp, Mueller had been hiking with his group first on the Annapurna side, had crossed the Larkya La, a 5,135-meter high mountain pass, and reached Samagaon, a village located at an altitude of 3,500 meters at the foot of Manaslu.

Even closer together

“On our way, we have seen virtually no earthquake damage”, says Dominik, “only one or two minor rockfalls, but it was not clear whether they were triggered by the earthquake or the monsoon.” Heavier damage was reported from the other side of Samagaon, in the region below the village. “The residents have already begun to rebuild. I have the feeling that the earthquake has brought them even closer together.”

Up to 70 percent fewer tourists

During the trek to Manaslu

Neither in the capital Kathmandu nor during the trek, he and his teammates felt aftershocks, says Dominik: “I feel absolutely safe. There was a very peaceful and positive atmosphere everywhere. We were extremely well received. The Nepalese people are happy about every trekking tourist and expedition climber who comes to Nepal.” The tourism market has obviously slumped much more than officially announced. “The government estimates that the number of tourists has declined by 50 percent. But the representatives of the Nepalese agencies who I met, spoke of up to 70 percent”, says the head of Amical alpin. “When we were hiking on the Manaslu Circuit, we met only seven other trekking tourists. This is as good as nothing, compared with previous years.”

Dawa Steven Sherpa

There is a jinx on it. Two spring seasons on Everest in a row remained without summit successes (I ignore those of the Wang Jing team in 2014 because they were flown by helicopter to the high camp). In 2014, all commercial expeditions were cancelled after an avalanche had killed 16 Nepalese climbers in Khumbu Icefall. This year, the devastating earthquake in Nepal triggered an avalanche from the seven-thousander Pumori hitting Everest Base Camp and killing 19 mountaineers and support staff. Once again the spring season ended before it had really begun. What does this mean for the Sherpa people?

I called Dawa Steven Sherpa. Along with his father Ang Tshering Sherpa, the president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), the 31-year-old is managing “Asian Trekking”, a Kathmandu-based leading operator for expeditions and trekkings in the Himalayas. Dawa Steven scaled Everest twice (in 2007 and 2008) and in addition the eight-thousanders Cho Oyu (2006) and Lhotse (2009). Under his expedition leadership more than 150 climbers have summited Everest. But Dawa Steven is also a tireless fighter for environmental and climate protection in the Himalayas. Furthermore he is leading “Resilient Homes”  , a project of the “Himalayan Climate Initiative” to help earthquake-affected communities to rebuild their houses and other buildings – one more reason to talk to him about the current situation in Nepal.

South side of Mount Everest

Dawa Steven, do you also notice in your company a low demand for trekking and expeditions this fall?

Yes, we definitely have less demand. We did not have cancellations from people who already booked before the earthquake. But we did notice that there are less bookings altogether. I think for the first time ever we don’t have an expedition. We had to cancel our two expeditions in Tibet because the Chinese did not give any climbing permits for this autumn. We tried to divert the expeditions from Cho Oyu and Shishapangma to Manaslu, but our clients were not interested.

What does this mean for Sherpa guides, cooks, kitchen aids, porters as well as for the owners of the lodges?

Of course that is not good news. We employ 62 Sherpas who depend on this work. If possible, we give them the opportunity to lead the treks in the Everest or Annapurna region. But of course it’s not the same level of income as they would get from mountaineering. That is not a good situation for anybody.

Rescue in Everest Base Camp

What is the mood like in the Sherpa community after two Everest spring seasons with deadly avalanches, earthquake and abandoned expeditions?

It’s not good, as you can imagine. Most of our Sherpas are ready to go climbing. We were lucky because both last year and this year none of my Sherpas and team members were affected by the avalanches. There were, thank God, no deaths and injuries in my team. But of course they saw other Sherpas and climbers being hurt and killed. A lot of Sherpas are a little bit nervous. Thankfully most of my Sherpas have a lot of experience. The older Sherpas are emotionally and psychologically strong. And that has a good effect on the younger Sherpas who have been for the first or second time on expedition and who are more nervous now about going to the mountains because all their experience has been so bad. No Sherpa comes to me and says: “I don’t want to climb any more.” But I definitely know that inside their families some Sherpas are receiving pressure from their wives, mothers and fathers telling them: “Don’t go climbing any more, just only lead trekking groups!”

How is the financial situation of the Sherpa families after these two bad spring seasons?

A lot of Sherpas have been hit very badly, because they not only lost a lot of their income. They also had to spend more money to rebuild their houses after the earthquake. Luckily we should say that Sherpas have a very strong culture of saving money. Many Sherpas have stored some money for times like this. From a financial point of view Sherpas are stronger than the rest of Nepal. They were able either to use their own money or to borrow it. People trust them because they have the income to pay it back later. In addition many Sherpas also received direct funding from previous clients who live in other countries. So Sherpas are lucky in that way because they have so much international support for them.

Since May, Nepal has a Tourism Minister who is a Sherpa. Do you now notice more awareness within the government for the needs of mountain people?

There is, of course, a better mood for us in the tourism industry because we have a Sherpa minister. But he is also challenged in many ways, because he is part of a political party which has its own agenda. He has to work with the bureaucracy which was used doing things in their own way such a long time. The minster has fast tracked a lot of things and he also understands a lot of the challenges that the tourism industry faces. So we are happy in that way, but on the other way we are also a little bit nervous now because there are talks again that very soon the prime minister and his cabinet is going to change. If the Tourism Minister will change, we will have to start at zero again.

Everest Base Camp

What is the most important thing that has to be done to improve the situation in tourism?

The first thing that the government has to do is to address the needs of the climbers, especially the ones who came for Everest, to build up the confidence so that Nepal does not just take their money like the permits for 11,000 dollars. The impression should not be given to the climbers and the rest of the world that Nepal does not care about the tourists who come to Nepal. So Nepal has to be very quick and say: “We understand, there was a big earthquake and that you had to cancel your expedition on Everest. We will extend your permit for another three or five years and will not charge more money!” That is one way to gain some confidence back and a very simple thing that the government should do. The government of Nepal has had a real, real bad reputation last year after the avalanche for not addressing the situation seriously and it is running the danger of doing the same thing this year and again losing their reputation or making that reputation even worse.

Do you fear that many climbers will switch to the Tibetan north side?

I do not only fear, I know that many have switched. For example this year, I had three climbers who went to the north side who were on the south side last year. Other climbers, who had to cancel their expedition because of the 2014 avalanche and returned to Nepal this year, are now asking me to go to Tibet next year. And I also have new climbers who have expressed very clearly that they don’t want to come to the Nepalese side of Everest, they want to go to the Tibetan side.

But you still have requests for your expedition on the Nepalese south side?

I do have requests for the expeditions on the Nepali side. And I should say I have more requests on the south side than on the north side. But more people are now asking for the China side than before.

What do you think about the media hype about this fall’s Everest expedition of the Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki?

Nobukazu initially wanted to go to the Tibetan side, but due to fact that Tibet is closed now he decided to come to Nepal. I don’t know whether he came here specifically to promote tourism and climbing again. He wanted to climb Everest anyway. But it happens to be a very symbolic move in a time when most people are afraid to travel to Nepal. I appreciate that he has come back to climb.

What would you answer people who ask you whether it is safe to travel to Nepal now or next spring?

I would say: “It is safe” because I have been to the mountains myself and I am going back up again on the 14th this month. My friends are out there, we are doing a lot of relief work. So we know: It’s safe. I don’t fear any danger. Where there is danger, it is clearly marked out. The government will not allow going to dangerous areas, like for example in the Langtang region. But most of Nepal is safe.

What is your feeling: Are you optimistic that Nepal will come back to its feet again?

Yes, sooner or later, because the Nepali people have a very different attitude than I think most of the people in the world. They never expected the government to help. They built the houses, that were destroyed now, with their own hands and they will rebuild them with their own hands again. The government may come and help a little bit as well as some international organizations will do but the majority of houses throughout Nepal will be rebuilt by the people themselves.

The Nepali people are really pragmatic. They are always smiling, they look at the brighter side of any situation. In western world everything is planned and precise, in Nepal things don’t work this way. There people shrug their shoulders and say: “Ke garne!” That’s how it is, what to do? This “Ke garne!”-attitude has become quite important after the quake because people don’t sit there talking: “Everything that I built has now gone, bla, bla, bla.” They just say: “What to do? This is life. We carry on!”

The school in Thulosirubari is going to be demolished

It was simply too dangerous. In the village of Thulosirubari in the Nepalese earthquake zone, residents and helpers of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have begun to remove the debris of the school. The building that was heavily damaged by the quake on 25 April “stands dangerously on the side of the ground where children use to play”, Arjun Gatraj, chairman of the School Management Committee, writes to me. As reported, the ground floor of the “Gerlinde and Ralf School” had collapsed, the building cannot be maintained. “These days, we have the big problem on how to destroy the main building and how to clear the rubble”, says Arjun. “We have no money for that ant the Government of Nepal is also not able to support us.”

Highly motivated

The school, that was built and maintained by the German aid organization “Nepalhilfe Beilngries”, was inaugurated in 2009. The professional climbers Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner and Ralf Dujmovits had made the construction possible with their financial support. Before the earthquake, 700 students per year attended the school. They came not only from Thulosirubari but from other small mountain villages in Sindhulpalchowk District too. The students are now taught in tin sheds, in groups of up to 70 students. “The temporary classrooms have proved to be useful”, Arjun writes. “The teaching is more or less the same as before the earthquake, but there is a great lack of teaching materials and school furniture. The children are just as excited to learn even after the earthquake.”

No family left the village

Living and learning in tin sheds

In Thulosirubari, located about 40 kilometers east of the capital Kathmandu as the crow flies, 75 people died in the earthquake, among them seven students of the “Gerlinde and Ralf School”. The villagers have overcome the monsoon – most of them in shanties with corrugated iron roofs and tarpaulins to protect against heavy rainfall. Despite the difficult living conditions, no family has left the village because of the earthquake, says Arjun. “They are struggling with the current situation. Those families who were temporary staying in Kathmandu returned to the village. The greatest concern of the people in Thulosirubari is: How can they build new and safe houses again? And who can rebuild the school for their children?” But of course they do not have the money for that. “So please help us to rebuild it!”, Arjun Gatraj appeals.

Every Euro or Dollar helps

This is precisely the goal of the fundraising campaign “School Up!” which I started in late June along with Gerlinde and Ralf. With your help, we want to ensure that the school in Thulosirubari will be rebuilt as soon as possible. The campaign had a promising start, but it is like being on expedition: If you have left the base camp, you are still far from the summit. You need patience and staying power. Once again, here are the bank details:

Recipient: Nepalhilfe Beilngries
Bank: Volksbank Bayern Mitte eG/Germany
IBAN: DE05 7216 0818 0004 6227 07
BIC/SWIFT-Code: GENODEF1INP
Intended purpose: Gerlinde and Ralf School

Every single Euro, Pound or Dollar is helping. A big thank you in advance to all donators!

Enthusiasm for Japanese climber Kuriki

The despair in Nepal must be great. There is no other explanation for the fact that the government in Kathmandu called a press conference these days only to hand out a permit for an expedition. Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki received the written permission to climb Mount Everest this fall from the hands of Tourism Minister Kripasur Sherpa. “Kuriki is climbing at a time when there is confusion in the world about the safety in Nepal after the earthquake”, the Minister said. “This will be an example for other visitors to come to Nepal which is safe for mountain climbing.” The 33-year-old Japanese climber sang the same tune: “The main purpose of my climb is to spread the message that Nepal is safe for climbers and trekkers even after the earthquake.”

Kuriki – as reported – wants to climb Everest from the Nepal side, after the Chinese authorities gave all expeditions to Tibet the cold shoulder. Today Kuriki flew from Kathmandu to the Khumbu region for acclimatization. In 2012, in his last attempt to climb Everest in fall, the Japanese had suffered severe frostbite. Nine fingers had to be amputated. Like then, Kuriki again plans to climb solo and without bottled oxygen, this time on the normal route. The “Icefall Doctors” will prepare for him the route through the Khumbu Icefall.

A handful of expeditions

On Everest Base Camp Trek

The PR offensive of the Nepalese government is neither to express a special admiration for Kuriki because of his prior Everest adventures nor to give him major support for an outstanding sporting goal. In fact, the government fears a slump in tourism market by 50 percent this fall season in consequence of the devastating earthquake on 25 April. The authorities in Kathmandu issued not much more than a handful of permits for fall expeditions. That alone would not be so dramatic, but the demand for trekking trips in Nepal, the main source of income in the post-monsoon period, was poor too.

Light at the end of the tunnel

German operators confirm to me this trend. Amical alpin recorded for the upcoming fall season a drop in bookings for trekking trips to Nepal by about 30 percent and for expeditions by 50 percent. The DAV Summit Club also estimates the market slump for Nepal to be about 50 percent. However, both agencies see light at the end of the tunnel. “For several weeks now, we can say that the demand for traveling to Nepal, especially to the Annapurna and Everest region, is increasing again”, Marcus Herrmann, product manager at DAV Summit Club, writes to me. “We expect a significant recovery of the market for spring 2016.” Amical also registered new bookings for Nepal since early August and is cautiously optimistic for next spring season. The recovery of the tourism market would be really desirable for the troubled country and its people who were hit by the disaster. In this case the government in Kathmandu might no longer be forced to organize press conferences for the handing over of permits.

Wrong impressions

The earthquake of 25 April and the numerous aftershocks have struck Nepal, which was already before the quake one of the poorest countries in the world, at the very heart. According to official figures, almost 9,000 people were killed, more than 22,000 were injured, more than 500,000 homes were destroyed, many of the roads and paths are still impassable. First the devastating earthquake drew the international attention to Nepal. But then happened what often happens after disasters: the effects of the earthquake disappears from the main headlines, therefore the public interest slows down, the wave of helpfulness and solidarity dies down. And impressions strengthen that often have little to do or even are at variance with reality.

Not just up to date

Gorak Shep near Everest Base Camp

Many people seem to think that the whole of Nepal is down and will not stand up in the foreseeable future – and that we for this reason should give the country a wide berth. Travel warnings for Nepal issued by many Western governments for Nepal, which remained unchanged for an unreasonable period, played their part. By now, most warnings were repealed or reduced – but that does not necessarily mean that they are really up to date. So the German Foreign Office still advises against “not necessary traveling to the regions that were hardest hit by the earthquake” and mentions among others the “Solokhumbu (incl. Everest Base Camp and trekking routes in the Everest region)” and the Annapurna region. Notwithstanding that the independent earthquake experts from the US Agency Miyamoto International recently gave the green light for both areas.

Ralf Dujmovits

I asked Ralf Dujmovits, the only German mountain climber who scaled all 14 eight-thousanders, about his opinion. The Nepalese government has appointed the 53-year-old, along with other top climbers, a “Tourism Goodwill Ambassador of Nepal”:

Ralf, if anyone asks you whether he should travel to Nepal this fall or not, do you advise him to go there?

Yes, absolutely! But not without ristriction. Based on the recent engineering reports for the trekking regions, I would express my recommendation a bit more differentiated. For example, trekking in the Khumbu or in Mustang is well feasible, trips in the Rolwaling area or on the Manaslu Curcuit are only possible to a limited extend. Trekking in Langtang should be postponed.

Most Western governments, including the German, have repealed or reduced their travel warnings for Nepal but still advise against traveling to some popular trekking areas. What do you think about this?

These still very undifferentiated or wrong descriptions of the situation should be adapted to the real current conditions as soon as possible. There are now reports of independent experts, who assess the areas, against which the Foreign Office warns, quite positive. The current travel warnings do damage to the already very troubled country without cause.

For this fall, the Nepalese government expects a 50 percent drop in tourism. What does this mean for the country?

Tourism is the foreign exchange earner and employer number one in Nepal. In addition to the lack of money to rebuild the country, the expected development in fall will lead to a massive slump of other important sources of income. I hope that as many people as possible will spend their holidays in Nepal.

P.S. Even at the risk that I might bug you: Please support our campaign “School up” to rebuild the school in Thulosirubari that was destroyed by the earthquake! You find the details on the right side of the blog.

Earthquake relief by helicopter

The World Food Programme (WFP) has sounded the alarm. If the “United Nations Humanitarian Air Service” (UNHAS) does not receive additional money, the helicopter relief flights for the earthquake victims in Nepal have to be stopped at the end of August. According to the WFP, which manages the UNHAS, there is a shortfall of more than nine million US dollars to continue the flights as scheduled until the end of October. The UNHAS is transporting staff and relief goods from UN agencies, the government in Kathmandu and Non-Governmental Organizations from all over the world to remote mountain areas in Nepal, which were particularly hard hit by the earthquake on 25 April and the aftershocks.

30 percent more flights

In continuous use

“The earthquake damaged or destroyed already precarious mountain trails and roads. Monsoon rains have exacerbated this problem by causing landslides”, Seetashma Thapa from WFP Nepal writes to me. “The damage to transport infrastructure has been unexpectedly high.” Helicopters are often the only way to reach the remote villages. The six UNHAS helicopters “have been used 30 percent more than was initially envisaged at the beginning of the program”, says Thapa.

Don’t lose any time!

According to the UNHAS, about 140 remote communities have been served so far. “The cargo transported has mostly been shelter materials – such as metal roofing sheets –, food, health supplies, equipment for the provision of water and sanitation facilities”, says Seetashma Thapa. “The three most-served districts have so far been Dhading, Gorkha (both located west of Kathmandu near the eight-thousander Manaslu) and Sindhupalchowk (east of the capital).” About 150,000 people are still reliant on the relief flights. Thus, there is no time to lose!

P.S. Thulosirubari is a village in Sindhupalchowk District. The earthquake has damaged the local school, which had been attended by 700 students before, so badly that it must be demolished. With our donation campaign “School up!” we want to rebuild the school as fast as possible. Please support us! You find the details on the right side of the blog.

Ceremony at Bhaktapur

When can you call it normality again after a state of emergency? Obviously it depends on the way of perception. “Nepal is safe, don’t worry! This is our clear message for today”, said Bhesh Narayan Dahal, head of the governmental department that is responsible for the preservation of the world heritage sites of Nepal, at the beginning of the week. Temples in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, which had been badly damaged by the earthquake on 25 April, were re-opened with a ceremony. But even the government seems to feel uneasy about it. There are plans to provide safety helmets for visitors. “We are urging the people to come to Nepal for holiday to help Nepal rebuild”, the new Tourism Minister Kripa Sur Sherpa said during the ceremony in Bhaktapur.

The disaster after the disaster

Trekking on the Annapurna Circuit

The country strongly relies on the income from tourism. If the tourism market slumps, it would be the disaster after the disaster. It does not need to happen. After all, there are trekking areas in Nepal that have been hardly affected by the earthquake. This applies, for example, to the Dolpo area in the far west of the country, most parts of the Annapurna Circuit, to Kangchenjunga trekking or Everest Base Camp trek that should be passable next fall too. Only the trekking routes in the particularly hard-hit regions Langtang and Gorkha should be out of the race.

Travel warnings barely updated

You won’t find a differentiated picture about the situation in the regions of Nepal on the websites of most Western governments. The foreign ministries of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Austria and Germany advise against all but essential travel to Nepal. Partially the travel warnings have remained unchanged for weeks. The advice of the US government was last updated on 1 May, Austria’s on 7 May – Germany’s on 26 May, i.e. more than three weeks ago.

I asked the German Foreign Office, whether there was any plan to publish a more differentiated assessment of the situation and if so, when. I thought it was a really clear question. But the answer was anything but clear. “The travel and safety advices and possibly travel warnings (…) are based on all available and trustworthy information that the Foreign Ministry has”, it was stated in Berlin. Travelers should be put in a position “to decide for themselves whether to undertake a journey or not. The Foreign Office is checking the travel and safety advices regularly, also those for Nepal. Current events (…) are taken into account immediately.”

Dominik Mueller: “Clients are extremely unsettled”

On Everest Base Camp Trek

If it was really like that, it would mean that there has been no development in Nepal during the last three weeks. Instead, we are getting day by day a clearer picture which areas were particularly hard-hit by the earthquake and which escaped even remotely unscathed. Furthermore Nepalese people work at high pressure to restore streets and trekking paths. “There are many regions in Nepal regions that you can travel to without any restriction and where is virtually no damage”, Dominik Mueller, head of the German expedition and trekking operator Amical alpin, writes to me. “Clients are extremely unsettled by such blanket travel warnings. This helps neither Nepal nor the travel industry and the operators. Reliable operators will not send clients to dangerous areas, but from today’s perspective, many parts of Nepal are safe and can be visited almost without restrictions.” Amical could operate all treks and expeditions in Nepal that were offered before the earthquake, says Dominik, “if clients decide to travel to Nepal.”

Don Bowie

He has just stayed there – to help. When the devastating earthquake hit Nepal on 25 April, the Canadian climber Don Bowie was in Base Camp at the foot of Annapurna. For ten years, Don is climbing on eight-thousanders. By now he has scaled three of them, all without supplementary oxygen: K 2 (in 2007), Gasherbrum I (2010) and Cho Oyu (2011). After the tremors, the 46-year-old decided spontaneously to cancel the expedition and to use his skills as high altitude climber and mountain rescuer to help the earthquake victims in remote villages of Nepal. Since then Don is almost non-stop on the road in the mountains of the Himalayan state. On the Internet, he is asking for donations to finance his relief campaign. I contacted Don Bowie in Nepal.

Don, where are you staying right now?

I am based out of Kathmandu but I am now working in many districts – Gorkha, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Sindhulpachowk, Dhading, and Dolakha.

You were on Annapurna when the earthquake hit Nepal. How did you experience the quake?

We had all just come down the day before from our high camp. We were relaxing in Base Camp when the ground started to shake. The location of Annapurna Base Camp on the north side is situated below a very steep rock cliff that has a crown of huge seracs on top of it. It was a little foggy that day, so we didn’t have clear visibility, but we heard rocks starting to come down. The entire camp started to run away from the rock fall in case the rocks rolled into our camp.

Do you feel a special responsibility to help the people in Nepal because you are a climber who has spent so much time on expeditions?

I don’t think I was motivated because of the amount of time that I have spent in Nepal, but rather the motivation came from knowing that there was an entire nation below us that was hurting and we wanted to see if we could help in any small way. With my experience in search and rescue and other valuable skills within the climbing crew, we felt that we could no longer stay on Annapurna and continue to climb with our expedition. In addition to that, we had a production crew with us that could get the message and information out about the earthquake and what was needed.

Don in a remote area of Nepal

You have organized the transport of aid supplies to very remote areas of Nepal. What is most needed in these villages?

Having feet on the ground in each one of these villages and spending time with the people, you really understand what the needs are. Depending on the town, how hard it was hit, what the region was, how heavily affected their food stores were and how destroyed the homes were, each village and town has had different needs. We have tried to address those one by one, but the most prominent need, especially in the Gorkha region, is that these people are completely cut off and isolated due to landslides, so getting any food and supplies in before monsoon hits, which is starting this week, has been our primary goal.

Are there still villages without any help from outside since the 25 April earthquake?

There are still villages that I’ve been to recently that have had little to almost no aid. There have been small helicopters that have made it into the areas, but often times there has been really high mountain villages that don’t have adequate landing zones for even the small helicopters. So there are many communities that have not received very much aid and that is why we are organizing porters and mule trains to take aid into these areas. The challenge is, however, that we need to clear the trails on the way to make them safe so people can walk from village to village without being under the threat of landslides.

How do you experience the people in the remote villages? Are they traumatized, hopeless, angry?

The Nepali people are incredibly resilient. And our experience is that we come into these small towns to give aid to these people yet they offer us tea, a meal, and even places to sleep in their broken homes. They have been extremely gracious and really often times excited just to know that people were thinking of them and people from the outside world are willing to help them. We could see that they took some comfort in that.

Are you satisfied with the cooperation with the local authorities? What could run better?

Most of our experiences have been in Gorkha and we’ve only begun to expand out to other regions. However, in Gorkha, the local government has been incredibly supportive of any effort to work and coordinate alongside them. We have even been able to assign some teams to work alongside local authority and police. The government, especially in the Gorkha region where we’ve worked the most, has had an amazing and proactive role in bringing aid to these communities in a way that we have all been very impressed with.

Danger of landslides

Nepal has launched a campaign to invite people from abroad to visit the country – now more than ever. What do you think about it?

I think that there are really still some major concerns about safety in the regions that are predominantly tourist and trekking areas. I think that once the monsoon season arrives, many of these landslides will become even worse. So we are very concerned about that. I understand that restoring tourism to these areas is extremely important for local economies, and we are working very hard with many agencies – with the WFP (World Food Programme), the UN, and the local government to restore the trails and rehabilitate the village networks for road access. For now I believe that many of the regions are severely affected. Hhowever, there are regions in the east including the Annapurna circuit which appear to be almost completely intact. I think in the fall season, these relatively unscathed regions should be able to support tourism. Also if you look at the major tourist hubs such as Pokhara and even Thamel, you get a sense that these are safe areas. My team and myself have been living in these places for some time and feel quite confident that the infrastructure can support viable tourism for the fall season. However, other regions will be slow to follow because of the amount of damage and landslides.

More help is needed in Nepal – as here in the district Sindhubalchowk

There is considerable indignation. Since British media reported that the Nepalese government put an income tax of 15 to 30 per cent on relief goods for earthquake victims, the authorities in Kathmandu are subjected to sharp criticism in the social networks. The guideline that tents and tarpaulin were custom free had expired on 3 June. A week ago, government officials had announced that relief goods could be still imported without paying taxes, but only if they would then be distributed by governmental organizations. “An organization which wants to distribute imported goods itself has to pay full customs duty”, said Surya Sedai of the Department of Customs. “This is to minimize the risk of smuggling.” Some international organizations already complained about harassment. On the internet, votes are collected for a petition to Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala to “stop levying taxes on materials imported to aid sufferers of the Nepalese earthquakes”. I talked about the topic with German aid organizations.

One hand does not know what the other is doing

Their problems with customs have so far remained within limits. “According to our staff in Nepal, there were no such occurrences”, said Sabine Wilke of the aid organization Care. “So far, we got about half of our relief supplies from abroad. The other half came from Nepal itself. This part should be now increased up to 75 percent.” That could make the matter resolve itself.
“We have no major problems. We still distribute our relief supplies and keep the government informed of it”, said Vassiloios Saroglou of AWO International, when I asked him about the new customs guideline. “Of course there was a little turmoil and some uncertainty among our partners in Nepal. Our local staff then asked the government about it. Partly one ministry did not know what the other ministry was doing. But in the end, we were not really affected. 22 trucks carrying relief supplies drove from India to Nepal without having to pay customs duties at the border.” Saroglou believes that World Vision benefits from the fact that the organization has an office in Nepal since 2009: “We are registered, we are on the spot. and we work together with local partners.”

Problems are partly man-made

It just helps if you know each other. This was confirmed by Dirk Bathe of World Vision. The organization is supporting Nepal for over 30 years. “Immediately after the earthquake, there was an organizational failure of the authorities”, said Bathe. “But then we have been negotiating intensively with them. Our supplies then reached the country custom free, were stored properly and could be transported to where they were needed.” The distribution of the relief goods were coordinated by OCHA, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the Nepalese authorities were informed.

“Some of the problems of humanitarian organizations were man-made. The government has even a legitimate interest in knowing what is coming into the country”, Bathe said. “It has happened that groups of three people appeared in Kathmandu and with any aid stuff in their baggage. That was just naive.” Nevertheless there should be no unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles now, said the spokesman of World Vision. “Because of the onset of monsoon especially the food supply becomes more and more difficult. The less bureaucracy, the better!”

European Parliament votes on Nepal resolution

A group of European parliamentarians sees it the same way. “Providing humanitarian relief to people living in remote hard-to-reach areas, which risk to be further isolated in the monsoon period, must be a priority”, says a draft resolution. The European Parliament will debate and vote on it on Thursday. It also includes the custom problem. The Government of Nepal has to ensure that relief goods “be exempt of customs duties and taxes” and has to solve “ the obstacles resulting in lengthy customs clearance and other administrative procedures”, says the draft.

Nepal urgently needs further help from abroad. According to OCHA about 300 million US dollars have been donated so far. More than 400 million dollars are still required.

Update 12 June: The European Parliament adopted the resolution on Nepal by 602 votes to 11, with 22 abstentions.

Scene in the movie “Everest”

Good mountaineering movies are few and far between. They often snatch effects, are unrealistic or just cheesy. Let’s see if the film “Everest” will be a laudable exception. Now the first official trailer of the movie has been released (see below). Laudably, the Universal Studios and the film crew appeal for donations to the earthquake victims in Nepal in the closing credits of the trailer.  There is no such appeal in the German version – a pity! The movie “Everest” will start in the cinemas in September. It tells the story of the Everest accident in 1996, when eight members of commercial expeditions died in a storm in the summit area. Jon Krakauer’s book “Into Thin Air” about the events on 10 and 11 May 1996, was an international bestseller and triggered a discussion about commercial climbing on Everest. There are many Hollywood stars in the new Everest film.

From Gyllenhall to Knightley

Keira Knightley

Jake Gyllenhaal (known i.a. from the movie “Brokeback Mountain”) plays US mountain guide Scott Fischer, who died in the storm as well as New Zealand guide Rob Hall, who is portrayed in the film by Jason Clarke (“The Great Gatsby”). Josh Brolin (“True Grit”) plays the US client Beck Weathers, who miraculously survived the storm night outdoors but suffered from severe frostbite. There are also top actresses for the female roles. Robin Wright (“Forrest Gump”) plays Weathers’ wife Peach. Keira Knightley  (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) takes on the role of Rob Hall’s pregnant wife Jan who was speaking via satellite phone with her dying man on Everest.

Riegler brothers as doubles

The mountain scenes were filmed earlier this year in Val Senales in South Tyrol. The shooting lasted five weeks. The “Everest Base Camp” of the film was on the glacier Hochjochferner, 3000 meters high. “For other shootings the stars are picked up by limousines. Here they went by glacier lifts or snowcats”, said producer Nicky Kentish Barnes. “The stars fought bravely.” But they had not to become extreme mountaineers. Eleven climbers had been engaged to double the actors in snow and ice, including the two South Tyrolean extreme climbing brothers Florian and Martin Riegler. They were not allowed to say which actors they doubled.  The climbing brothers already had movie experience. In 2012 they played in the film “Messner”: Martin, born in 1980, took on the role of Reinhold Messner, the two years younger Florian played Guenter Messner, who lost his life on Nanga Parbat in 1970.

Manaslu, “Mountain of the Spirit”

“Come back! So that Nepal can make a comeback.” So you could overwrite the appeals of those who are living from tourism in Nepal or have to do with it. The trekking and expedition operators from abroad send a signal that they want to realize most of their trips that they had planned for the post-monsoon season before the earthquake hit the country on 25 April. “The devastating earthquake has shaken the life in Nepal, but slowly life is returning to normality”, Dominik Mueller, head of German operator Amical alpin, wrote.

Manaslu expeditions take place

Neither the offered trekkings in the Khumbu region around Mount Everest were threatened nor those in the area around the eight-thousanders Annapurna, Dhaulagiri and Kangchenjunga, Dominik said. Massive damage was noticed at lodges on the way around Manaslu. But this trip would also be possible because Amical had not planned it as a lodge trekking but as a tent trekking. According to Dominik, the expedition to the 8163-meter-high Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain on earth, will be operated too. This also applies to New Zealand expedition organizer Himalayan Experience. “I am operating Manaslu as usual”, Russell Brice, head of Himex, wrote to me.

Ama Dablam

The US operator Alpenglow Expeditions offers his clients discounts for its fall expeditions to Nepal. For those who book by the end of June, the expedition to the seven-thousander Ama Dablam will be cheaper by ten percent, the expedition to the eight-thousander Makalu by five percent. “Mass cancellations of travel to Nepal will be devastating to the country’s destroyed economy”, it says on the Alpenglow website.

Problems in Langtang area

A delegation of the DAV Summit Club, that had travelled to Nepal to take an on-site look at the situation in the trekking areas, has meanwhile returned to Germany. “Trekking tourism in the Everest region can take place without stint from October”, the members of the Summit Club group said in a first report. The same applies to the Annapurna area where the earthquake damage should be repaired by October. There was almost no damage in the regions east of Everest and west of Annapurna, the Summit Club said: “However, the Manaslu region, the Langtang area and the neighboring Tsum Valley have been affected strongly. No trekkings are to take place in these regions in fall.”

Goodwill Ambassador

The new Nepalese Tourism Minister Kripa Sur Sherpa has nominated 14 well-known climbers from around the world as “Goodwill Ambassadors” who are to promote Nepal – including the South Tyrolean Reinhold Messner, the Japanese Junko Tabei (the first woman who scaled Everest), Peter Hillary and Jamling Tenzing Norgay (the sons of the men who made the first ascent of Everest) and Ralf Dujmovits (the first and so far only German climber who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders).

P.S. Sorry, that I did not post more articles during the last days. (As a sports editor) I was too busy covering the FIFA crisis. Take a look at this video that was made by the German climber Jost Kobusch a few days ago in a village in Nepal: