Mount Everest

There are things that simply cannot be understood. Like the recent decision of the Nepalese Tourism Ministry. According to the Kathmandu-based newspaper “The Himalayan Times”, the Ministry refused to issue the compulsory summit certificates to all Climbing Sherpas who scaled Mount Everest this spring season.

No expedition members

The authority refers to the “Mountaineering Expedition Regulation” which took effect in 2002. It says that every member of a successful expedition team is entitled to get a summit certificate. Within the meaning of the law Climbing Sherpas who fix ropes on the route or support clients up to the summit were no expedition members and therefore did not receive any certificates, said Laxman Sharma, Director in the Ministry of Tourism, to the “Himalayan Times”. This spring on Everest, more than 250 Sherpas had reached the highest point at 8,850 meters. They are now to be left empty-handed as well as the Climbing Sherpas on all other mountains of Nepal which are higher than 6,500 meters.

Second-class climbers?

It is the first time that Sherpas are denied the summit certificates, although the law is already 14 years old. It’s beyond me what the Government is intending. They set a bad signal. It’s a slap in the face of the Sherpas. Do those responsible in Kathmandu consider them as second-class climbers? Do they want to punish the Sherpas for earning money on Everest? In this case, the Ministry should no longer issue summit certificates to western mountain guides too.

Wang Jing with her certificate

As if nothing had happened. The Chinese climber Wang Jing has received her Everest certificate from the hands of Nepalese government officials in Kathmandu. Thus it is certified that the 41-year-old has scaled the highest mountain in the world on 23 May – officially and above all with no ifs and buts. Strange.

Amused

The Nepalese newspaper “The Himalayan Times” reports that Wang claimed in her application to the Tourism Ministry that she had been flown by helicopter to Camp 2 on 10 May but had descended to the Base Camp and again ascended after a two day rest. In other words: She would have climbed the whole route to the top. According to the newspaper an “Icefall Doctor” laughed about Wang’s claim and said that after the avalanche on 18 April, which had killed 16 Nepalese climbers, definitely no one had climbed through the Icefall. A member of Wang’s support team, who does not want to be named, also denied that the Chinese had descended to the Base Camp.

Commission recommends: Only rescue flights

The government does not seem to worry about that. “It isn’t time to go by due procedures, as Wang’s summit was considered special in a time of crisis and uncertainty”, said Joint Secretary Madhu Sudan Burlakoti at the ceremony in Kathmandu. No word about the investigation report of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) about the use of helicopters on Everest. The commission recommends a strict rule to ban rampant use of helicopters above  Base Camp, urging the authorities to permit such flights only for rescue missions – and not to transport material or even climbers to the high camps.