Much in demand: firewood for cooking and heating

If there is a season, which stands for optimism, it’s spring: Winter is leaving, it’s getting warmer, brighter, more colorful. This may entice people painting the world more beautiful than it is soberly assessed. Also the people in Nepal long for spring, in the hope of better times. 2015 was a bad year for the country. First the devastating earthquake in spring that killed according to official figures more than 8800 people. And were this not bad enough, the blockade of the border to India, now continuing for almost four months. There is still no sign of spring fever in Nepal.

Ambivalent feeling

Fuel, food and medicine are still scarce because the imports from India have been staying away. The blockade holds the reconstruction in the earthquake hit regions up. Tourism is affected too. The conditions for operators of trekking and expeditions in Nepal are far from ideal. His agency was still able to obtain fuel, ensure flights and organize food, “of course often on the black market”, Manfred Haeupl, head of the German operator Hauser Exkursionen writes to me, adding that he has an “ambivalent feeling, because we want and should send tourists, while on the other hand the locals are suffering”.

Double standards

“The booking situation is far from having recovered”, Haeupl says. “We are currently still about 30 percent below the number of bookings in 2015. The NTB [Nepal Tourism Board] does nothing to boost tourism, but has now increased the entry fees.” In contrast, the Nepalese government waives visa fees for visitors from China since the beginning of the year. Perhaps the authorities in Kathmandu should think about such a gesture to Western tourists too.

Less bookings, but uptrend

Limited sale of gas bottles

Other large German operators as the DAV Summit Club and Amical Alpin note a similar decline in bookings for trips to Nepal as Hauser does. “Compared to 2015, we have currently 26 percent less bookings for next spring “, Markus Herrmann, product manager of DAV Summit Club, writes to me. However, his company is now recording an increasing demand for Nepal traveling. “Things are once again looking up”, says Herrmann.

Via Kathmandu or Lhasa?

Dominik Mueller, head of Amical alpin, is cautiously optimistic too. Their scheduled spring expedition to the eight-thousander Makalu in Nepal is “already well booked and thus secured”, says Mueller. However, he refers to uncertainties before the upcoming season: “For us as expedition operators it’s still an open question whether China will open the border with Tibet for expeditions, so that we can organize our equipment material and also our arrival via Nepal. Of course, an arrival via Lhasa is possible too but means significantly higher costs.”

The great silence

Whereas the 2015 earthquake in Nepal made headlines around the world for weeks, hardly anyone seems to be interested in the conflict in the Nepal-India border region. The ethnic group of Madhesis, who live in the border area, initiated the blockade to protest against the new constitution of Nepal, through which they feel discriminated. The government in Kathmandu accuses India of actively supporting the blockade, the authorities in New Delhi dispute this.
At the end of November, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, he was “alarmed by reports of the obstruction, and destruction, of life-saving medical supplies and continued impact on humanitarian operations” in Nepal, urging all sides to resolve their differences. Ban underlined Nepal’s right of free transit.
I didn’t find any statement of a Western government on the conflict. My questions to the German Foreign Ministry, what they think of the problem and whether they have already contacted India on this issue or intend to do so, are still unanswered.

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.

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:

South side of Everest

The same procedure on Everest as every year? Probably not, but a reliable forecast is difficult. “There seem to be less people on expeditions and also less people trekking in Nepal”, the New Zealander Russell Brice replies to my question which influence the avalanche disaster on Good Friday 2014 and the subsequent end of all great expeditions on Everest south side will have on this year’s spring season on the highest mountain in the world. “It seems that more people want to go to North side, and less people to South side”, says the head of the expedition operator Himalayan Experience. However, Brice withdrew his tendered Everest expedition in Tibet and decided to just operate on the south side this year.

Less climbers on the south side?

SummitClimb offers an expedition to the north and one to the south side of the mountain. “It seems in 2015 more of our SummitClimb members are interested in climbing the Tibet side of Everest than the Nepal side of Everest”, the US-British climber Dan Mazur, who founded SummitClimb in 1987 and has led many Everest expeditions since then, writes to me. “The result of which might be that this could be better for those people who choose to go to the Nepal side, because it might be less crowded than in previous years.” There were “more people expressing interest in our 2015 Post Monsoon Autumn Everest Expedition”, says Dan.

A little bit of uncertainty

“Would I have more clients if the 2014 incident hadn’t happened? I’m not sure”, says Tim Mosedale. The British climber will lead an Everest expedition in Nepal this spring: “Certainly there’s a little bit of uncertainty and people are looking for extra reassurances.” Simone Lowe, head of the British expedition operator Jagged Globe, is “not seeing any appreciable difference. Of course, people may be anxious but more so, that there will not be another tragedy, anywhere on the mountain.”

The price decides

The Tibetan side

Dominik Mueller, head of the German operator Amical alpin, will lead an expedition on the Tibetan side during the upcoming season. “We don’t have less or more requests for Everest than in the previous years”, says Dominik. “Certainly some clients were considering to switch to the north side – but I think regardless of the events in 2014. At the end of the day, the conditions on the mountain play the key role.” He expects that it will take a few years to identify a real trend. Ultimately, the price will decide, says Dominik: “If China continues its policy of demanding more and more money, some operators may consider to switch back to the south side again. And those operating in Nepal may decide to stay there instead of switching to the north side.” The DAV Summit Club informed me that it  cancelled its scheduled Everest spring expedition in Tibet due to a lack of participants.

“Fickle posturing”

The US operator Peak Freaks hit the brakes for other reason and called off its scheduled expedition in Nepal. Among other things Peak Freaks refers to “the local government’s fickle posturing and vague statements regarding possible rule changes for mountaineering permits”. An untenable situation, Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineeering Association (NMA), also considers: “With less than 90 days remaining to start climbing, it’s the government’s responsibility to clear the confusion at the earliest.”