Xia Boyu

The decision of the Supreme Court of Nepal to overrule the government’s new Everest rules has cleared the way for him: the double amputee Xia Boyu from China will tackle the highest mountain on earth this spring from the Nepalese south side. “Yes, we got his permit”, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head and expedition leader of the Nepalese operator “Imagine Trek and Expedition” writes to me. As reported, the Supreme Court in Kathmandu had rejected in early March the government’s new rule not to issue permits to double-amputee climbers and blind people as discriminating. Mingma Gyalje had shaken his head at the government’s decision: “There are a lot of disabled climbers who are more capable than non-disabled.”

Sleeping bag given to teammate

Xia on the Everest south side

For the 69-year-old Xia Boyu it is already the fifth attempt on Everest. At his first try in 1975, his team had got into bad weather about 250 meters below the summit. The Chinese climbers had to spend two days and three nights at an altitude of 8,600 meters at temperatures of minus 25 degrees Celsius. The following night, at 7,600 meters, Xia left his sleeping bag to a teammate who had got into serious trouble. He paid his selflessness with severe frostbite, both legs had to be amputated.

Narrowly failed in 2016

Later, he also fell ill with lymph node cancer. But Xia did not give up his hope of reaching the top of Everest. He began climbing again with prostheses – and returned to Everest in 2014. Because of the avalanche disaster in Khumbu Icefall killing 16 climbers Xia had to return home then empty handed, as well as in 2015 after the devastating earthquake in Nepal. In spring 2016, Xia failed due to bad weather about 100 meters below the summit. “If I was alone, due to my old age and the forty years I had fought for my dream, I might go up without considering the consequence”, said Xia Boyu in an interview with aponetv.cn. “But when I looked back, five Sherpas were looking at me. They have families. So I decided to retreat.”

Hari Budha Magar to Everest only in 2019

The double-leg amputee Hari Budha Magar had actually also planned to climb Everest this spring. However, the Nepalese postponed his plan for one year because of the new expedition rules in his home country. The 38-year-old had lost both legs above the knee as a soldier of the British Gurkha Regiment in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2010.

Mingma Sherpa

No question, Seven Summits Treks polarize. On the one hand, there are the critics who accuse the Nepalese expedition operator of attracting clients with dumping prices at the cost of safey. On the other hand, there are apparently many climbers who, despite all critical voices, book at Seven Summits Treks. No matter on which eight-thousander, almost always the agency of Mingma Sherpa crops up with the biggest expedition team. “I am very successful in my business because my clients believe in me,” the head of the company tells me in Kathmandu. In 2011, Mingma was the first Nepalese to complete his collection of the 14 eight-thousanders. “I wanted to show that we Sherpas are not only good porters or mountain guides, but also real climbers.” In 2013, his younger brother Chhang Dawa Sherpa followed the example of Mingma. They are the only brothers so far who stood on all 14 eight-thousanders. Chhang Dawa also works as an expedition manager at Seven Summit Treks.

“Everest chance for all”

South side of Mount Everest

Mingma defends himself against the accusation that he distorts prices by offering cheap expeditions. “I do not dream of doing the big business,” claims the 39-year-old. “I offer cheaper prices because I want to give many more people, who don’t have enough money, the chance to climb Everest. When I myself tackled the eight-thousanders, I also had little money.” The Sherpa also doesn’t want to stand for saving money at the cost of safety. “If someone dies, it is either due to the conditions on the mountain or the physical condition of the climbers. It does not matter if they paid $ 20,000 or $ 100,000.”

“More staff, more safety”

Even the big size of his expedition teams doesn’t cause less safety, means Mingma. “If I have only three members and three Sherpas on the mountain, I can hardly do a rescue operation in case of emergency,” says the head of Seven Summits Treks. “But I have 100 clients and 100 Sherpas on site. If anything happens, I have enough manpower to rescue climbers. My clients are safer than those who have spent $ 100,000.”

“Not everyone is a Moro or Steck”

Nepal’s first climber on all fourteen 8000ers

Meanwhile, his agency offers also an Everest expedition for $ 130,000. “There are people who don’t care of money,” says Mingma. “They have the money, we have the service. We offer in those expeditions more in every respect.” One or two clients booked this luxury version this year. On their website, Seven Summits Treks had described the members’ profile as follows: “You have strong economics to compensate for your old age, weak physical condition or your of risks.” Mingma sees nothing reprehensible in this: “We have enough time on the mountain to check them on our way from Camp 1 to Camp 4. Then we know who can go to the summit and who cannot.  If people are in bad condition, we advise them to go back and try it next time.”

I argue that such people do not belong to Everest due to their lack of mountaineering skills. “Not all clients of commercial expeditions are alpinists like Simone Moro or Ueli Steck,” replies Mingma. “They don’t need to have climbed a seven-thousander. Two or three 6,000-meter-peaks are enough experience for Everest. We have plenty of time up to Camp 4 to teach them.”

“1,000 an more at the same time, no problem”

Queue on Everest

The boss of Seven Summit Treks doesn’t favour ​​rules for the highest mountain on earth anyway. “Everyone wants to go to Everest,” says Mingma. “If they have enough energy, they can go. I think, it’s better that everything is open. We live in the 21st century, people know what they are doing.“ It doesn’t cause any problem if hundreds of climbers are en route on Everest at the same time, means Mingma Sherpa. “We can manage an unlimited number of climbers on the mountain. If there are more than 1,000, we just supply different routes with fixed ropes. Then it’s no problem for them climbing there at the same time.”

Enthusiastic welcome für Ralf Dujmovits (r.)

A joint week in Nepal is behind Ralf Dujmovits and me. As reported before, we inaugurated the first two parts of the new school building in Thulosirubari, a small mountain village about 70 kilometers east of Kathmandu, which could be built thanks to our aid project “School up!”. And we laid the foundation for the second construction phase. In Kathmandu I conducted some interviews – you could already read those with the expedition operators Arnold Coster and Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, more will follow shortly. Ralf took the time to meet old acquaintances and to visit some of his favorite spots in the capital. The 56-year-old is so far the only German mountaineer who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders. Only on Mount Everest in fall 1992 he used bottled oxygen. Later he tried seven times to climb the highest mountain in the world without breathing mask, seven times he failed to reach the summit – most recently in spring 2017 at 8,580 meters on the Tibetan north side of the mountain.

Ralf, we are now here in Kathmandu, not far from Mount Everest, about 160 kilometers as the crow flies. Is it not itching you a bit?

Not at all, at the moment. I have completed this story for me. Of course, I follow what’s happening on Everest. This is still very exciting. But for myself, I have closed the chapter Everest. 

Ralf, in the background Mount Everest

You have followed the events on Everest for decades and also experienced what has been going on there. How do you assess the development of recent years?

It seems that more and more people are coming to Everest. Actually I expected the number to decrease after the serious avalanche disaster in 2014 when 16 climbers died in the Khumbu Icefall. I thought that people would realize the dangers especially on the south side, in particular more and more climbers in a certain way jamming up to death. But apparently the opposite happens. The agencies speak of good booking numbers. Especially the Nepalese agencies are very active. I think it will be busier than ever before.

Does what’s going on on Everest have anything to do with climbing?

Of course, real climbing falls on the wayside when so many people try to climb on fixed ropes at the same time. People evaluate climbing differently. Maybe one or the other perceives climbing with 30 or 40 others within 50 meters of fixed rope as exciting. But that’s not my way. However, I think that’s up to each. And as long as the regulations to limit the number of climbers do not work, even actually do not exist, the situation will not change.

Queue on Everest

This discussion has been going on for years, not to say for decades. Do you think there will ever be rules that will make Everest less busy?

I am very skeptical because the Government of Nepal is not taking the problem seriously. It’s all about money. The rules that were issued most recently with the aim of excluding disabled climbers were completely wrong. Later the government had to withdraw this regulation. That was really no way to find a solution. I think it’s just about asking and proving whether people have been on a seven-thousander or maybe even on another eight-thousander before coming to Everest. I mean that’s the only way to reduce the number. But as long as some Nepalese agencies take every client who has the wherewithals, the situation will not change.

In recent years the Kangchung side of Everest, the eastern flank of the mountain, was completely deserted, and the attempts on the North Face or the Southwest Face could be counted on the fingers of one hand. It almost feels as if top climbers stay well clear of Everest.

Among so called “real” climbers it is almost frowned upon to be on Everest. The more modern destinations are unclimbed, difficult six-thousanders and challenging routes on seven-thousanders. In Pakistan, there are ten still unclimbed seven-thousanders. I think the younger, ambitious climber will find their destinations there as well.

Ralf in Everest high camp (in 2014)

Is it possible to speak of guaranteed safety on Everest when so many people ascend on the same route, even if they lay two parallel tracks?

There has never been a guaranteed safety. But even what is called a “99 percent safety” in the brochures does not work if so many people are en route at the same time. There are some bottlenecks on Everest, e.g. the “Yellow Band” (at 7,500 meters below the South Col) or the exposed summit ridge. Traffic jams will continue to occur there. And these jams remain a great danger in case of sudden changes in weather, which can never be ruled out.

Do you think that many climbers switch to the north side of Everest for safety reasons?

The tendency for more people climbing Everest from the Tibetan north side is noticable. Some big operators have switched to the north. Kari Kobler has been over there for a long time and does really a good job. The Chinese take their task very seriously, both as organizer of the base camp and in terms of mountain infrastructure. On the north side, the regulations are taken more seriously. It’s not just about money, but also about the climbers’ safety. Therefore, I can currently only advise: Go to the north side!

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

His secret of success? “Actually this is my job, because I run a company. So I need to lead my clients to the summit,” Mingma Gyalje Sherpa tells me as we sit opposite each other in a café in Kathmandu. In recent years, the 31-year-old has blossomed to the high-flyer among the Sherpas. In fall 2015, he succeeded the first ascent of the West Face of the 6685-meter-high Chobutse in Rolwaling, his home valley – and he did it alone. It was the first solo ascent of a Sherpa in Nepal. Even as an expedition leader, he made headlines. In 2017, no one climbed so often above the magical 8,000-meter-mark as Mingma. The head of the expedition operator “Imagine Trek and Expedition” entered the death zone six times: on Dhaulagiri, Makalu, K2, Broad Peak and twice on Nanga Parbat. Four times he reached the summit (Dhaulagiri, Makalu, K2, Nanga Parbat), the fifth ascent on Broad Peak is disputed. “I will return to this mountain this year,” Mingma announces. “Actually I am quite sure that we made the summit. But this time, I want to reach the highest point of Broad Peak without any doubt, on the one hand to end the debate, on the other for my own satisfaction.”

Better conditions in fall

On Nanga Parbat in summer 2017

Also on Nanga Parbat, Mingma had made a second ascent in last year’s fall because he had not been sure whether he had really found the highest point in bad weather during his first summit attempt in summer. More than three months later, he reached the summit beyond doubt with several clients. “Conditions were much better in September than in summer,” says Mingma. “Perhaps it is really the formula for success in the future to tackle this eight-thousander later in the year.”

First Lhotse, then Everest

Everest (l.) and Lhotse (in the middle)

At the beginning of April, Mingma will set off for a Lhotse-Everest expedition. First, he wants to lead two Chinese clients to the 8516-meter-high summit of Lhotse, then seven Chinese to the top of the 8850-meter-high Mount Everest. As in the previous year, the Sherpa is looking to be successful early in the season: “I am quite sure that we will be the first team on the summit of Lhotse. We are planning to reach it at the end of April or in the first week of May.” He then wants to turn to Everest that he has already scaled five times (with bottled oxygen). The prospect of a crowded normal route does not deter Mingma. “It’s okay for me,” says the expedition leader. “We take only very experienced Sherpas and make sure our teams are not too big.”

Good Climbing Sherpas cost money

Mingma on the summit of K2

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa does not like expedition operators who offer dumping prices. “Low budget means low safety. If you want to have experienced and well-trained Climbing Sherpas and thus more safety, you also have to pay them better,” says Mingma, who himself has a mountain guide certificate of the UIAGM (International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations). “The discounters should know that they are dealing with the people’s life. Actually, we need minimum standards for expedition operators, but I’m skeptical that we’ll ever get them.”

“Other rules are required”

Mingma puts little hope in the government. The new rule, which has meanwhile been overruled by the Nepalese Supreme Court, no longer to grant permits to double amputees and blind climbers, is discriminatory, says the Sherpa: “There are a lot of disabled climbers who are more capable than non-disabled.” Other rules are required to reduce the number of summit aspirants on Everest, finds Mingma: “So if someone wants to climb Everest, he must have scaled another eight-thousander before. Or he must have at least the qualification of climbing 7,000 meters.”

Goal: All 8000ers without breathing mask

Solo on Chobutse (in 2015)

For now Mingma Gyalje Sherpa puts his personal ambitions as a climber on the backburner. But that does not mean that he has given up his big dream. The 31-year-old wants to become the first Nepalese who has scaled all 14 eight-thousanders without bottled oxygen. “There are still three left in my collection,” says Mingma, meaning Mount Everest, Gasherbrum II and Shishapangma. If we add Broad Peak (see above), it would be four. “This year, I have to focus on leading my clients safely on Everest. That’s why I can not do it without breathing mask. But maybe I’ll try it in 2019.”

Arnold Coster

The Everest spring season is on. This Saturday, eight “Icefall Doctors“ will be celebrating a puja in the base camp on the Nepalese south side of the highest mountain in the world, a Buddhist ceremony, during which the gods are asked for their blessing. Next week, the Sherpas, who are specialized in this task, will prepare this year’s route through the Khumbu Icefall. At the beginning of April the first commercial teams are expected in the base camp. “I’m wondering how busy it will be on the south side with every year we see the numbers increasing significantly,“ says Arnold Coster, when I meet him today in Kathmandu. “And I wonder how many actually switch to the Tibetan side.“

Only one new operator in Tibet

Tibetan North side of Mount Everest

In truth, only the expedition operator Altitude Junkies of the British Phil Crampton has been added, says Arnold: “It sounds in the media as if a lot of people are switching but I think most of the regular companies will be there, but with bigger groups – including myself.“ The 41-year-old Dutchman will lead an internationally mixed team of twelve clients. Already last year, Arnold was en route on the Tibetan north side. “The main reason why I climb in Tibet is that it’s too busy in the Icefall on the South side. There are too many people who are too slow and it’s easy to get stuck in a traffic jam.“ Moreover, the objective dangers on the north side are much lower, says Coster, adding that after heavy snow fall, there is only, if at all, a low avalanche danger on the way up to the 7,000-meter-high North Col. “On the south side, however, you are constantly in danger in the Icefall, but also in in the Western Cwm by avalanches if there is a lot of snow. And even in the Lhotse Face.“

Three times on the summit

Arnold on expedition

Coster has been living in Nepal since 2004. He is married to Maya Sherpa, one of the country’s most famous female climbers (my interview with her will follow later). They have a daughter aged seven. This spring, Arnold will lead his 15th Everest expedition. He has been on the summit at 8,850 meters three times – more than any other mountaineer from the Netherlands. “My job is taking care of the people and not going to the summit myself,“ says Arnold, pointing out that he has been already eight times on the 8,748-meter high South Summit of Everest. “Very often I climb with my group but I turn around with somebody who needs help.“ In spring 2016, however, any help came too late for two of his clients. Within 24 hours, a Dutchman with whom Coster was a friend and an Australian woman died – even though both had reached the South Col after their summit attempt. In social networks, Arnold was subsequently accused of not informing the families of the deceased in time.

Liaison officer passed on sensitive information

In the Khumbu Icefall

“That is not the truth. The truth is that I got an emergency contact for all of my members. So as soon as I called this emergency contact, and I did that, I felt that my part of the job was done. And they should spread the news between friends and family. That part didn’t happen, but I got accused of that,“ says Coster. “At this point I was busy on the mountain with the rescue of other team members and with the recovering of the victims.“ According to Arnold, the liaison officer in the base camp was responsible for the fact that the families learned about the death of their relatives from the internet. The officer had nothing better to do than to reveal internal information from the radio in an interview, says Arnold.

“Quite silly“

Coster does not favour the new rules for expeditions in Nepal. As reported, the government had decided not to grant permits to double amputees and blind climbers and to prohibit solo climbs. Meanwhile Nepal’s Supreme Court overruled the permit ban for disabled climbers. “The rules are quite silly because those people don’t cause the problems on Everest,“ says Arnold. “The big problem on the south side are unexperienced people.“ It would make much more sense, finds Coster, to demand for example from Everest aspirants to have climbed previously at least a seven-thousander in Nepal: “Then you can check it because the records are in the (Tourism) Ministry. And you also don’t lose the income, because tourism is one of the biggest sources of income in Nepal.“

The main reason that proposals like this come to nothing is that the Nepalese government has changed every six to eight months since the end of the monarchy in 2008, says Coster: “There is a new government now and people hope for – and I also hope – that this government is gonna stay the full term. It doesn’t even matter who is there. As long as people stay, we’re gonna make a plan. But if people are always changing, how can we make a plan?“

Newly car-free zone in the tourist quarter of Thames

P.S. You may be wondering why I am currently visiting Nepal. Tomorrow, in Thulosirubari, 70 kilometers east of Kathmandu, the first two buildings of the new school will be inaugurated, which could be built with your donations for our aid project “School up!“. In addition, German climber Ralf Dujmovits and I will lay the foundation for the second construction phase. Then I will report on the celebration in the small mountain village. In addition, I use the opportunity to conduct some interviews on the upcoming climbing season in the Nepalese capital. I will publish these interviews by and by in the blog.

South side of Mount Everest

The government of Nepal has to revise the controversial new mountaineering rules for Mount Everest and other mountains in the country higher than 6,500-meters. The country’s Supreme Court supported the position of several plaintiffs who found that the new rules were a discrimination against disabled people. Among other things, the government had decided at the end of December with immediate effect not to issue permits to double-amputee climbers and blind people. The complainants had stated inter alia that Nepal had signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and that the new rules clearly contradicted these rights. This opinion was followed by the five judges of the Supreme Court.

“Summited a bureaucratic Everest”

Hari Budha Magar wants to scale Everest

Hari Budha Magar was one of the mountaineers who, according to the new regulations, should not have received a permit this spring. The 38-year-old Nepalese, who had lost both legs above the knee as a soldier of the British Gurkha Regiment in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2010, actually wanted to climb Everest in 2018 from the south side. After the decision of the government, which he sharply criticized, he had initially suspended his plan. “Now, we have summited a bureaucratic Mt. Everest,” Hari wrote on Facebook after the decision of the Supreme Judge in Kathmandu. “Thank you Supreme Court, you are our hope to get justice. This is true example of Nepalese judiciary system, keep it up! I hope Department of Tourism will implement this Supreme Court order. Let’s climb real Mt Everest together!”

Part one of the new rules is tipped, part two continues for the time being. The government had also prohibited future solo climbs of the highest mountains. Nobody has so far filed a suit against this rule.

North side of Mount Everest

Stricter waste rules apply immediately on the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest. “With the number of climbers is increasing rapidly, more and more waste is produced by climbers in mountaineering activities,” says a statement from the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA) to the expedition organizers I have received. “Protecting the ecological environment it’s our duty and obligation, also benefit our next generations.” In May 2017, workers and volunteers had collected on behalf of the Tibetan authorities four tons of garbage at altitudes between 5,200 and 6,500 meters on Everest.

Eight kilograms of garbage per climber

Garbage collection on the Everest south side

Starting from this year, each expedition group has to pay a garbage deposit fee of US $ 5,000. The expeditions are obliged to bring back eight kilograms of waste per climber from the high camps back to the base camp. For every kilo less $ 20 will be charged, for every kilo more ten dollars credited. At the end of the expedition, this will be offset against the previously deposited amount. From now on it is also only allowed to leave prayer flags on the summit when old flags of the same length are brought down. This should be supervised by the liaison officer in the base camp, it said.

Permits only to renowned operators?

The CTMA had announced to revise the mountaineering rules for expeditions. It was expected that also the rules for commercial operators in terms of safety and climbing style would be tightened. This reform is still pending, discussions within the CTMA are still ongoing. Well-informed sources say that the Tibetan-Chinese authorities are considering, among other things, reducing the number of expeditions in Tibet in the coming years and issuing permits only to experienced and renowned operators.

Mount Everest

No more permits for solo climbers, blind and double amputees – following the argument of the Nepalese government, this makes the highest mountains in the world safer. A look at the facts shows that a sledgehammer is to be used to crack a nut. For example, let’s take a look at what’s happening on Mount Everest. The Himalayan Database (now freely accessible to all, thus also to the government of Nepal) has so far recorded 1967 expeditions to the highest mountain in the world. Of these, only six – say 0.3 percent – were classified as solo expeditions.

Only Marshall’s solo attempt in 1987 ended fatally

Reinhold Messner’s ascent in summer 1980 on the Tibetan north side was the first and only successful one so far. In summer 1986 and spring 1987, the Canadian Roger Gough Marshall tried in vain to climb through the North Facel. In the first attempt he made it to 7,710 meters – in the second to 7,850 meters; on the descent, he fell to death from 300 meters above the Central Rongbuk Glacier. In winter 1992, the Spaniard Fernando Garrido abandoned his solo attempt on the Nepalese south side at 7,750 meters.

In addition there are the two failed attempts of the Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki in fall 2016 (up to 7,400 meters on the North Face) and in spring 2017 (up to 7,300 meters) on the Tibetan north side. His other “solo” attempts on the south side and on the West Ridge are not listed as solo climbs, because he had ascended on the route through the Khumbu Icefall which had been prepared by the “Icefall doctors”, in some cases other members of his expedition had joined him up to Camp 2.

0.3 percent climbers with handicap

Kim Hong Bin who lost all his fingers is among the listed disabled climbers

The number of disabled mountaineers on Everest is statistically negligible too. According to the Himalayan Database, there were only 44 climbers with a handicap among the 13,952 registered Everest expedition members, this is 0.3 percent – all types of disabilities are grouped here, e.g. also Kuriki’s nine amputated fingers. 15 of the listed disabled mountaineers reached the summit at 8,850 meters. Two died: in 2006, the visually impaired German Thomas Weber (at 8,700 meters on the Northeast Ridge probably due to a stroke after he had returned just below the summit) and in 2014 Phur Temba Sherpa, whose disability is not specified in the database (he died in the avalanche incident in the Khumbu Icefall on 18 April 2014).

So if you add the deadly fall of solo climber Marshall, we have a maximum of three deaths from the “risk group” identified by the government of Nepal – which is about one percent of the total of 290 dead on Everest so far.

Double amputee sticks to his Everest plan

Hari Budha Magar wants to scale Everest

Hari Budha Magar is one of the mountaineers who, according to the new regulations, will not receive a permit this spring. The 38-year-old Nepalese lost both legs above his knees as a soldier of the British Gurkha Regiment during a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2010. On Facebook, Hari described the decision of the government of Nepal as “discriminating”  and a “violation of human rights”. He is not willing to give up his plan. “I’ll look at all of the options,” said Budha Magar. “If I need to climb from Tibet I’ll do that, if I need to go to the courts I’ll do that.”

Hari received public backing by the US Ambassador in Nepal. “Ability not perceived ‘disability’ must guide rules on who can trek Mt. Everest,” Alaina B. Teplitz posted on Twitter. “Climbers like Hari Budha Magar shouldn’t be banned because of false assumptions about capabilities.”

Dal Bhat

The fact that this news pops up every year is almost as certain as the lentils in the Nepalese national dish Dal Bhat: The government in Kathmandu wants to change the mountaineering rules on Mount Everest. The emphasis is on “wants to”. In the end, there is always nothing more than this statement of intent, because the proposed amendment gets stuck in any department – or the current government is replaced by a new one. The Ministry of Tourism is now announcing for the umpteenth time that the rules for granting Everest permits will be tightened.

Déjà-vu

Erik Weihenmayer, who in 2001 was the first blind climber on Everest

The Kathmandu-based newspaper “The Himalayan Times” reports that “people with complete blindness and double amputation” should no longer be allowed to climb the highest mountain in the world – nor “those proven medically unfit for climbing“, whatever that means. These reform proposals were already on the table in 2015 and in 2016 and fizzled.

Summit certificates again for Sherpas?

South side of Mount Everest

New age limits for Everest summit aspirants are reportedly not planned. So it would remain the ban for under 16-year-olds. For seniors, there would be no restrictions – unless they are “proven medically unfit for climbing”? After all, it is allegedly to be established in the “Mountaineering Expedition Regulation”, which is in force since 2002, that in the future, every Sherpa who reaches the summit will receive a summit certificate of the government. These certificates were denied for the first time in 2016, because, as it was said then, 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.

According to the “Himalayan Times”, the amendment now has still to pass a finance and infrastructure committee (why?) before the cabinet (supposedly) wants to take the final call. My recommendation: Wait and eat calmly Dal Bhat! The next announcement is certain to come.

Ang Tshering Sherpa

The numbers fill Ang Tshering Sherpa with confidence. “We hope that mountaineering in Nepal will revive very soon,” says the President of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) when we meet at the International Mountain Summit in Bressanone in South Tyrol. According to his words, expeditions to Nepalese mountains higher than 6,500 meters, which are managed by the government, have already achieved 87 percent compared with the time before the devastating earthquake in April 2015. Climbing on mountains lower than 6,500 meters, managed by the NMA, has even fully recovered. Trekking is between 40 and 50 percent again, depending on the region, the head of the NMA says: “We need to let the world know that the best way to help Nepal is by visiting. Each and every person who spends time in Nepal will help to revive the economy and rebuild the infrastructure.”

Less but true liaison officers

Mount Everest

As NMA president Ang Tshering has to work on several construction sites related to expeditions. For example, the case of an Indian couple that made headlines all over the world, because they had obtained their Everest certificates by fraud, faking the summit pictures of other climbers. “We need to monitor more strictly and seriously those climbers who are not good for climbers’ image,” says the 62-year-old. The Nepalese liaison officers are no big help. They usually take their money that the expedition teams have to pay, are not seen at the base camps, but confirm afterwards that team member have reached the summit. “We asked the government to send only one liaison officer per mountain, not 30 or 40 on Everest or other mountains,” says Ang Tshering.

Everest aspirants should be more experienced

Ang Tshering (2nd f.r.) with Reinhold Messner (l.)

But it is difficult to implement such reforms because “unfortunately the government is changing every six or eight months. You have to convince them. And when they are about to understand, they change again.” That is why the discussion about new mountaineering rules for Mount Everest is already lasting for such a long time, says the head of NMA, adding that the reform is urgently needed: “Everest is the highest mountain in the world and it is not easy to climb. Either they climb in the European Alpes or the Nepalese mountains or elsewhere abroad, they do need more experience.”

“Mountaineer only interested in price”

Like others, Ang Tshering sees the problem that especially new expedition operators from Nepal are attracting clients offering dumping prices: “They are picking up people who have not any knowledge about climbing, how to use the equipment. Such agencies are spoiling the tourism industry.” The NMA president is also head of Asian Trekking, one of the country’s leading expedition operators. “We must not compromise the safety conditions ot the other Nepalese operators who are well prepared, well organized and more experienced than the new companies who have no knowledge about expeditions”, says Ang Tshering Sherpa. “Climbers, however, are only looking at the price, they don’t look at the safety conditions. This is the problem.”

Got stuck and disappeared

Exacty! In September 2015, Tourism Minister Kripasur Sherpa (who meanwhile has been replaced) had already brought fairly accurately these amendments into play. Like almost all Everest reform proposals of previous years this one also got stuck somewhere on the long and arduous journey through the governmental authorities and disappeared. And this year’s Everest spring season began without new rules.

Dawa Steven Sherpa

“Every time new bureaucrats come in they bring their own interpretation of policies and introduce new rules: almost always new restrictions. It’s how they feel empowered and that they are leaving their mark”, Dawa Steven Sherpa, managing director of the Nepalese expedition operator “Asian Trekking”, writes to me. “And as usual the rule will be rolled back and a compromise will be reached. The sad thing is that there is a way to do all this through engaging in dialog with the stakeholders and come to the inevitable compromise without making international headlines and without making the Nepal Government look backwards and foolish.”

No more solos?

South side of Mount Everest

According to the “new” draft, helicopter flights above Base Camp are to be allowed only for transport of climbing equipment and rescue. The latter has always been so; the former had been admitted by the government for the first time this spring.
But what does the proposed rule mean that every Everest climber must be accompanied by a mountain guide? Will it be valid only for members of commercial expedition or really fpr all climbers? In this case solo climbs like Reinhold Messner’s legendary one on the north side of Everest during the monsoon in 1980 would be excluded forever on the south side of the mountain.

Peculiar irony
Oh, and the government wants to enshrine that Sherpa summiters also receive an Everest certificate. What a peculiar irony! Until this year exactly this was common practice – until the Tourism Ministry suddenly stated that Sherpas according to the rules were no regular expedition members and therefore had no claim to get summit certificates. And now they try to make us believe that certificates for Sherpas are something new? Honestly, I don’t know if I should laugh or cry. This “mosquito bite” is really itching.

P.S.: Now I’ll leave for a short trip to the sea. In the middle of next week I’ll be back for you.