Mount Everest

If it is about its own income, the Nepalese government can’t take a joke. According to the newspaper “The Himalayan Times”, the Ministry of Tourism has fined Nepalese expedition operator “Seven Summit Treks” 44,000 dollars for forging a permit for Mount Everest. In spring, the authority granted a permit to an expedition led by the Chinese Sun Yiguan and managed by “Seven Summit Treks” to climb the highest mountain on earth. The original document was issued for twelve member. Later a fake version appeared in which an Australian and a Chinese climber had been added.

Mingma Sherpa rejects guilt

Mingma Sherpa

Since a permit costs 11,000 dollars per expedition member, the government lost 22,000 dollars in revenue. The double amount has now been set as punishment. The Ministry of Tourism also called on the police to identify the fraudsters. They’re facing seven years in prison. Mingma Sherpa, head of “Seven Summit Treks”, denied all blame and assured that his company would help bring the guilty person to justice. A former employees was responsible for the fraud, said Mingma, pointing out that his company is Nepal’s largest expedition organizer and transfers a huge amount of money for climbing permits season after season. “We don’t even think about doing such acts.”

Janusz Adamski

This was not a good week for Janusz Adamski. First, the Nepalese government seized his passport and informed the Pole that he would be not allowed to enter Nepal for mountaineering in the next ten years. And now, the Chinese authorities made the 48-year-old the scapegoat for not issuing any permits next fall for the three eight-thousanders in Tibet. Adamski, who “illegally” scaled Mount Everest from the north side and then traversed to the south side on 21 May, was responsible that the rules and regulations had to be “adjusted and improved”, informed the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA). To ensure that the problems were solved in time by 2018, there would be no climbing permits for fall 2017, said the CTMA.

Moro also without permit for his Everest traverse

Janusz points to Mount Everest

Adamski did not have an Everest permit from the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism, but only a CTMA permit allowing him to ascend and descend via the Tibetan north route. After his descent from the summit on the Nepali south side, the Pole said that neither the authorities in China nor those in Nepal issued permits for a cross-border summit traverse. “It is not the climbers’ fault that the officials are not interested in issuing such permits,” Adamski wrote on Facebook and recalled Simone Moro’s Everest traverse in 2006, also without permit.

In fact, the Italian had tried in vain for years to obtain an approval for his project from the Chinese authorities. Simone had ascended with a Nepali permit on the south side and descended to Tibet. Later Moro told the Chinese authorities that he had lost the way and run out of oxygen on the summit. And when he had realized he was missing the way, Simone said to the liaison officers, he had been already too low to go back. Moro got away with a fine for an illegal climb.

Negotiations are possible

Nobukazu Kuriki

But there have also been “legal” Everest traverses with permits, e.g. in 2007 by the British David Tait and the Sherpa Phurba Tashi. And also the Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki proved in the just finished Everest spring season that it is possible to negotiate with the authorities. Originally, the 34-year-old had planned to climb from the Tibetan side via the North Face to the summit. But then he changed his plan: Nobukazu ascended from the Nepali south side to the West Ridge, from where he wanted to cross into the North Face. In the end, it did not happen. However, the Japanese returned to his home country without having got any problems with the Chinese or Nepali authorities.

Indications for the decision already in March

But is Adamski’s illegal traverse really the reason for the cancellation of the fall season on the Tibetan eight-thousanders? I think it is more of a pretext for the Chinese authorities. As early as mid-March it was clear that they would not issue any permits for Everest and Shishapangma, and probably only about 50 for Cho Oyu. “Obviously there will be a kind of event in Tibet this fall. The Chinese are afraid that there may be unrest and therefore want as few foreigners staying in Tibet as possible,” told me then Dominik Mueller, head of the German expedition operator Amical alpin. At that time, hardly anyone outside Poland was aware that the first Polish Everest traverse was planned. Janusz Adamski, by the way, informed on Facebook today that he had agreed not to speak in public about the accusations against him until his departure from Nepal.

Mount Everest

Actually, the first summit successes on Mount Everest had been expected for the past weekend. However, the Sherpa team that wanted to fix the ropes up to the highest point on 8,850 meters on the Nepali south side of the mountain had to turn around because of strong winds. And now it’s snowing. Snowfall is also expected for the next days. After all, the weather forecast for this week predicts little wind in the summit area. Maybe something will be still possible. This does not apply to Ryan Sean Davy. The 43-year-old South African was caught in Everest Base Camp without permit and sent back to Kathmandu.

Only trekking permit

He is now threatened with a fine of $ 22,000 – twice as much as the permit would have cost – and a ten-year ban on climbing in Nepal. In addition, the passport of the South African was seized. Davy had only a trekking permit. Apparently, he had already spent several weeks on Everest. In his own words, he had climbed twice through the Khumbu Icefall and reached an altitude of 24,000 feet (7,300 meters).

Little remorseful

He had lacked the money for the Everest permit “because of hidden costs”, the South African writes on Facebook, adding that he was ashamed in front of those who had supported him. The word “mistake” is missing in Davy’s long justification. Instead, he complains about expedition operators who “have no time for wanna be Everesters with no money so someone turned me in. I was harassed at basecamp to a point that I honestly thought I was going to get stoned to death right there. I’m not even exaggerating. I was treated like a murderer.” In other words: All are evil, but I am not. My compassion is limited.

Only three liaison officers

The South African was caught by an official of the Nepalese Tourism Ministry. According to the Kathmandu-based newspaper “Himalayan Times”, only three liaison officers have been staying in Everest Base Camp this spring – with some 50 expeditions there it should have been about 50. This is also one of the grievances on Everest, which have been complained about for years, but nothing changes.

Kuriki (2nd from l.) in Everest Base Camp

Actually, both wanted to return to the highest mountain on earth next fall. But the Chinese put a spoke in their wheels. The authorities in Tibet will not issue any permits for Mount Everest in fall 2017. For this reason, the Japanese Nobukazu Kuriki as well as the Spaniard Kilian Jornet join the crowd of those who want to climb Everest from the Tibetan north side this spring. The 34-year-old Kuriki has already arrived in Chinese Base Camp at 5,200 meters. Kuriki has announced that he wants to climb up to 7,500 meters on the normal route. Subsequently, he wants to try again to climb through the North Face, solo and without bottled oxygen.

Seventh attempt

Kuriki in the Everest North Face last fall

Last fall, Kuriki had capitulated at an altitude of 7,400 meters before the snowmasses in the wall. It had been his first attempt on the north side of the mountain. Previously, he had failed five times on the Nepalese south side, always in fall. In an attempt via the West Ridge in 2012, he had suffered such severe frostbite that nine of his fingers had to be amputated, only stumps were left. “It’s not over yet,” Kuriki announced almost defiantly before his now seventh attempt.

Speedy to the summit?

Kilian Jornet on Everest in 2016

Kilian Jornet still has all his fingers. The 29-year-old Catalan had failed last fall at his first attempt on Everest. Kilian had originally planned to climb the highest mountain in a single push after acclimatization, from the Rongbuk Monastery (located about 30 kilometers from the Advanced Base Camp below the North Col), speedy, without bottled oxygen and Sherpa support. However, this had not happened. According to his own information, he had ascended with his companions on the normal route up to 7,950 meters when the snowmasses on Everest had stopped also him.

With his girlfriend

Kilian Jornet

His plan has not changed. For the time being it remains Jornet’s secret how he wants to realize his speed ascent if so many summit aspirants will be on the mountain as this spring. Again Jornet is accompanied by the Spanish top climber Jordi Tosas. The team also includes Kilian’s girlfriend, the Swedish mountain runner and ski mountaineer Emelie Forsberg. Their trip will start next weekend.

Tibetan North side of Mount Everest

Climbing on an eight-thousander in Tibet is getting more expensive, not only on Mount Everest. According to documents available to me, the Chinese Mountaineering Association (CMA) has significantly increased the prices for the climbing permits on Everest, Cho Oyu and Shishapangma, on average by more than 30 percent. Since the beginning of the year, the CMA claims 9,950 US dollars per mountaineer for the climb of the highest mountain on earth in case of four or more team members. So far the Everest Permit cost about 7,000 dollars per head. 7,400 dollars are now due for Cho Oyu, 7,150 dollar for climbing Shishapangma from the north side and 7,650 dollars for an ascent from the south side of the mountain. For smaller teams of up to three, the permit costs are even in a five-digit range: 19,500 dollars per person on Everest, 12,600 dollars each on Cho Oyu and Shishapangma.

Prices converge

For comparison: The Nepalese government requires 11,000 dollars for Everest in spring and  1,800 dollars for the other eight-thousanders in the country. However, this is the “naked” permit, while in Tibet some services are included, such as transportation to the base camp or the services of the liasion officer. Nevertheless, slowly but surely the expedition prices in China and Nepal are converging.

Market of the future

China has obviously discovered mountaineering as a growth sector. No wonder, after all more and more Chinese buy into commercial expeditions – not only in the local mountains, where they are forbidden to travel with foreign agencies. “China is the future market,” Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head of the Nepalese operator “Dreamers Destination”, writes to me. “The Chinese have now started travelling and climbing in foreign countries.”

By train to base camp

Construction work along the road to Cho Oyu

The Chinese authorities are investing massively in infrastructure in Tibet. The road from the capital Lhasa to the 5,200 meter high Everest Base Camp – formerly on many sections only a dirty road  – has meanwhile been paved completely. “As a tourist attraction, it’s one of the coolest roads I’ve seen anywhere on the planet,” the US expedition operator Adrian Ballinger enthused in spring 2016.
In the town of Gangkar, also known as Old Tingri, a huge mountaineering center is to be built by 2019, including a landing site for helicopter rescue flights. In Tingri, also an incineration plant is currently being built, the Swiss expedition operator Kari Kobler writes to me. Within three to four years there should be a railway connection close to Shishapangma Base Camp, Kari adds.

Unpredictable policy

North side of Everest in the last daylight

The 61-year-old is an old hand on the Tibetan side of the Himalayas. Kobler has been organizing expeditions there for many years. Kari believes that the big changes will take place only in the coming years. “Up to now Everest has been very quiet, and we had an almost familiar relationship on the north side,” says Kobler, referring to the lower number of peak climbers, “only about 30 percent of the guests on the south side”. However, corruption is still a big problem, says Kari: “It’s incredible how autonomously Chinese politicians are operating in Tibet.” Shouldn’t the Tibetans be autonomous in China, according to the official version of the government in Beijing?
Despite higher prices and political uncertainties, Kobler does not think about switching to the Nepali side. The objective dangers are larger on the south side of Mount Everest, says Kari: “From my point of view, it is only a matter of time before something bad happens again. That’s why I prefer the unpredictable policy to of unpredictable dangers.”

A mountain in Gokyo Valley

You can’t just set off. If you want to climb am mountain in Nepal you should check the rules beforehand, otherwise you might experience a nasty surprise. Like the three Spanish climbers, who recently opened new routes on two six-thousanders. They were under way without permits, now the authorities in Kathmandu are investigating the case. They are facing a stiff fine and a 10-year-ban from mountaineering in Nepal. My compassion for the Spaniards is limited. I find their justification (“We are not pirates, we have left our money in Nepal at all”) flimsy. If you follow this argumentation, you could bilk any national park fee worldwide. Nonetheless there have been some construction sites the Nepalese “mountain management” for a long time, which are allegedly worked on but whose status does not change.

Absent liaison officers

Ama Dablam

Thus, the now practiced system of liaison officers is very much in need of reform, not to say that it must be abolished. “When 15, 16 or perhaps 17 expeditions on the same mountain have all shelled out for an liaison officer and not one of them is present it just seems completely underhand and verging on fraudulent”, British expedition operator Tim Mosedale wrote on Facebook after his Ama Dablam expedition this fall. Not enough, his liaison officer asked for more money during the de-briefing, says Tim. Only when he threatened with a formal complaint, she signed the necessary forms. The expedition leader was particularly upset because, as reported, Lhakpa Thundu Sherpa had been killed by ice debris and another mountaineer, who also belonged to his team, had been injured. “Indeed even if the liaison officer had been present when we were dealing with the complex rescue and recovery operation last week she wouldn’t have been any help at all”, Mosedale wrote. For months, a proposal by the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) is on the table. “We asked the government to send only one liaison officer per mountain, not 30 or 40 on Everest or other mountains,” NMA President Ang Tshering Sherpa told me recently.

Incorrect coordinates, wrong names

Another major construction site is the opening of allegedly or really still unclimbed mountains in Nepal. In spring 2014, the government in Kathmandu had published a list of 104 “virgin” mountains, which were then opened for expeditions. It turned out that the given satellite coordinates were partially wrong or inaccurate. An assumed first ascent of a six-thousander in the Rolwaling Valley this autumn turned out to be a repeated ascent because the mountain had previously been listed under a different name.

No continuity

A Khumbu mountain near Lukla

In addition, there are still plenty of mountains in Nepal that have not yet been recorded on the official lists as possible destinations for mountaineers. If you discover such a nameless mountain and want to climb it for the first time, it becomes really difficult. The Ministry of Tourism has still no regular procedure for obtaining such a permit. What one person responsible has promised can be revoked by the next. There have already been such cases. And they will surely continue to occur, considering how often the government is changing in Nepal. The current cabinet is already the seventh since early 2011.
Against this background, the fact is hardly surprising that we still wait for the overdue reform of the expedition rules (which would then also apply to Mount Everest), laid down in the “Tourism Act”. Every year it is announced that consultation has begun. As a rule nothing follows – or the next change of government.

Simplify procedures

What could help? In a first step the bureaucratic burdens should be purged. I talked about the problem with an Austrian mountaineer who has often been on expedition. He, for example, proposed to “turn the logic”: Instead of a list of mountains in Nepal, which are allowed to be climbed, should be a “blacklist” of forbidden summits, he says. All others mountains would then be open for climbing, and the permits could be given – as now – with fees according to the altitude of the mountains. If uniform and lasting procedures are desired, it would also make sense to entrust the NMA with issuing all permits for expeditions in Nepal. So far the NMA is only responsible for expeditions on mountains with an altitude up to 6,600 meters. The higher peaks are managed by the Ministry of Tourism. With the described consequences.

Broad Peak (with shades of K 2)

You have a visa for Pakistan, a climbing permit for an eight-thousander, you have organized everything. You travel to Islamabad and at the airport you learn that you are a persona non grata and have to leave the country. That’s exactly what happened to the Australian-New Zealand climber Chris Jensen Burke (she has both citizenships) and the Nepalese Sherpa Lakpa Sherpa. “The reasons why are stranger than fiction and I won’t put the detail here,” Chris wrote in her blog. Obviously she fears to risk alienating the Pakistani authorities if she is quite clear.

Never again to Pakistan?

Chris Jensen Burke

Lakpa Sherpa is looking at the black side too. “It seems I cannot go to Pakistan ever,” the 25-year-old told the Kathmandu based newspaper “The Himalayan Times”. “I spent several months preparing myself for the K2 expedition, but I now feel I have been betrayed for no reason.” Among others, Lakpa stood four times on top of Mount Everest, twice on the summit of K 2. This summer season, Lakpa wanted to become the first climber who scaled K 2 three times.

Chris Jensen Burke had planned to climb Nanga Parbat and was also registered for Broad Peak. The 47-year-old has scaled nine eight-thousanders so far, most recently Annapurna in early May.

Better reputation

Porters in the Karakoram

According to still unconfirmed information that I received from Pakistan, the authorities have not only refused Chris and Lakpa the entry, but at least three other climbers. There is speculation in the climbers’ scene that the country’s government wants to give a sign against the common practice of western expedition operator to employ rather Sherpas from Nepal than Pakistani staff. In recent decades, the Sherpas have gained a better reputation than their Pakistani counterparts, not just as high altitude porters, but as mountain guides too. “The costs for Nepalese porters are a bit higher but the advantages prevail,” says, for example, a bidding for a 2017 K 2 expedition of Swiss operator Kobler & Partner. “So as long the Pakistani Government allows expedition teams to hire sherpas from Nepal, we will gladly make use of this opportunity.”

“Alpine Club doesn’t care about their people”

Muhammad Ali (l.) and Simone Moro on top of Nanga Parbat

“In my opinion, the Pakistani Alpine Club is largely responsible for this situation,” said Muhammad Ali “Sadpara”: “They show no interest in their alpinists, neither in improving their skills and work conditions.” According to Ali, who last February belonged to the climbers who first climbed Nanga Parbat in winter, Sherpas now dominate 80 percent of the business, “and it will be 100 percent soon.” Actions such as those against Chris Jensen Burke and Lakpa Sherpa could be an indication that the government of Pakistan wants to take countermeasures.

Harassment because of cricket job?

Or is it simply pure arbitrariness? Last year, South African Mike Horn had complained that his team had been stuck in the town of Skardu for more than two weeks before they were allowed to travel to K 2. The team had been sent back at a military check point, despite valid visas and permits. Only when his friend, the former Pakistani cricket star Wasim Akram, stepped in, they finally could move on, said Horn. Mike’s suspicion: His team was delayed because he had coached an Indian cricket team before.

Two reasons to celebrate in Nepal: Just in time for Losar, the Tibetan New Year, an end of the supply crisis in the Himalayan state is on the horizon. After more than four months, leaders of the Madhesi ethnic group declared their blockade of the border with India ended. The Madhesi, who live in southern Nepal, felt disadvantaged by the country’s new constitution. Meanwhile, it has been changed in some respects. The blockade had paralyzed Nepal. The reconstruction work after the earthquake in spring 2015 had come to a virtual standstill. Fuel and building materials as well as food and medicine had run short because the imports from India had been staying away. Since the weekend, tank trucks are rolling towards Kathmandu again.

Many cancellations

Happy Losar!

The trekking and expedition operators will be delighted too. Due to the blockade, they had been forced in some cases to organize fuel, flights and food for their clients even on the black market. The spring season is just around the corner – high time for the Nepalese Government to accelerate: The official decision to extend the validity of the 2015 climbing permits is still missing. After the earthquake, climbers from all over the world had prematurely terminated their expeditions. “I had seven expeditions of around 100 mountaineers last year”, Tashi Lhakpa Sherpa, executive director of the Nepalese operator Seven Summits treks, told the website Republica. “Around 50 percent of them have already cancelled their Nepal visit, saying that they won’t have sufficient time for preparation even if the permit is extended.”

Even last year, the Government of Nepal was pretty relaxed in this matter. Only when most climbers were already in the country, they had announced that the 2014 permits remained valid. Even two years ago, the season on Mount Everest had been over before it really began, after an avalanche in Khumbu Icefall had killed 16 Nepalese climbers.

South side of Mount Everest

Backing for the Nepalese authorities: The International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) “fully supports the decision to propose more stringent measures for climbers wishing to scale the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest (29,029ft / 8,848m)”, as it said. These measures will include individuals having to prove they have already scaled a peak higher than 6,500 meters, thus eliminating the possibility of novice climbers scaling the mountain. “Everest should become a mountaineers’ mountain again”, said UIAA president Frits Vrijlandt.

“Restore a sense of dignity and glory to Everest”

“We support the requirement restrictions on age (denying access to those under 18, and over 75) and the minimum requirements regarding physical and mental ability to assure you are able to climb by yourself or with a partner. If you have to be hauled up the mountain you don’t really belong on Everest.” Vrijlandt said that the Nepalese authorities “have Everest’s best interests at heart”. The UIAA president was in 2000 the first climber from the Netherlands who scaled Everest from the Tibetan North Side and in 2003 the second from his country who completed the Seven Summits.
The UIAA said that they and the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) “believe implementing these measures will drastically improve safety on an increasingly overcrowded mountain, lessen pressure on guides who are often reduced to risking their lives assisting ill-prepared climbers and restore a sense of dignity and glory to Everest.”

Plea for self-responsible climbing

The new Everest rules have still to be implemented into the Mountaineering Expedition Regulation, which is part of the Nepalese Tourism Act. But I think, the country’s new government is currently facing more pressing problems that have to be solved than dealing with Everest climbing, for instance the still continuing blockade of Nepal’s border to India. Even in case the new measures on Everest come into force before the beginning of the next spring season, the question remains how to ensure compliance with the regulations. The Tourism Ministry will hardly establish training grounds where the Everest aspirants have to prove their climbing skills before granting them permits. Thus the expedition operators will have to ensure that their clients comply with the conditions to climb Everest. The operators would be well-advised to transfer the responsibility to the clients themselves, because in the end every climber who wants to scale Everest should be self-responsible for his decisions on the mountain. That would be a major step forward.

South side of Mount Everest

The Nepalese government has triggered a medial avalanche. A week ago, Tourism Minister Kripasur Sherpa mentioned the possibility of stricter rules on granting permits for Mount Everest. The government is considering age limits – from 18 to 75 years – and a reduction of permits for disabled climbers. “The disabled or visually impaired people usually need someone to carry them, which is not an adventure”, Sherpa said. “Only those who can go on their own will be given permission.” The American Erik Weihenmayer, in 2001 the first blind person ever to climb Mount Everest, is outraged. The statement is an overreaction that represents the biases, prejudices and superstition that are very prevalent in Nepal government, Erik writes on Facebook: “It’s a shame that the Minister of Tourism is using the tragedies of the last two years to scapegoat the tiny number of disabled climbers and enact a policy that won’t fix the problem. Frankly, being faced with additional challenges, disability, age, etc. forces a climber to be more prepared and make more cautious decisions.”

First Kibi, then Everest

Andy Holzer

The blind Austrian climber Andy Holzer agrees. “I think very few climbers on Everest are prepared so exactly for their very special challenge Everest as the disabled adventurers with their personal teams are or need to be”, the 49-year-old writes to me. “The real problem is more the climbers who put on their crampons for the first time on Everest and are quite surprised about it.” In spring 2014, Andy was on the Nepalese south side and this year on the Tibetan north side of Everest trying to climb the highest mountain on earth. But both times he returned home empty-handed: in 2014 because of the avalanche incident in the Khumbu Icefall, in 2015 due to the consequences of the 25 April earthquake. Last year in Nepal, he met Everest aspirants who proudly proclaimed that they had already climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and Everest would now be their second of the Seven Summits, says Andy: “Such facts rather make me wonder. Considering this, I can also understand that not everyone at any time should go to Everest.”

Competence should decide

The New Zealander Mark Inglis, who was in 2006 the first ever double leg amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest takes the same line. “I think if you have a look at the analysis of the data over the years it’s not the disabled or the elderly perhaps that are the problem but it’s the inexperienced”, Mark told the Canadian broadcaster CBC. “It’s about a person’s competence on the mountain and that’s the thing that we really need to get sorted.” He assured that no one had carried him up Mount Everest: “To suggest that all disabled need to be carried up is completely wrong and the only people that should be going there should be people that can do it under their own steam.”

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!”

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.

South side of Mount Everest

This decision was really overdue. The Nepalese government finally decided that the permits to climb Mount Everest in 2014 remain valid until 2019. Shortly after the avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall on 18 April 2014 that had killed 16 Nepalese climbers, the spring season de facto had been terminated. More than 330 foreign climbers left the highest mountain in the world, without having set foot on it. Even then government officials in Kathmandu announced that the permits for the 39 expedition groups would retain their validity for five years. However, the words were not followed by deeds. Instead, there were rumors about government plans to extend the permits only for groups. The climbing scene was outraged rightly. If in this case e.g. only one climber would have used the permit of 2014 to climb Everest in 2015, the other group members not in attendance would have been empty handed. Now, this regulation is apparently off the table.

Cheaper? No way!

Everest base camp

The climbers who had to leave Everest last year, could “come back with any company they want over the next five years”, said Nepalese Tourism Ministry spokesman, Mohan Krishna Sapkota. It seems unlikely that many Everest aspirants from last year will travel to Nepal to join the next spring season that will start in one and a half week. I think many awaited the government’s decision regarding the permits. Finally they had paid per person $ 10,000 for 2014. In any case, they’ll have to pay $ 1000 in addition now, because the government specified the fee for each Everest climber, regardless of whether he is traveling alone or in a group, at $ 11,000 form 2015 onwards. The authorities in Kathmandu sold the new regulation as discount, many media followed and spoke of “dumping prices” for Everest expeditions. This may be true for solo climbers, because they paid $ 25,000 so far. However, for groups of more than seven participants, and that’s the rule on Everest, it is more expensive since this year: $ 1000 more per member, as mentioned before.

Waiting for decision on helicopter flights

Also referring to the back and forth of the Nepalese government on the issue of the permits, the operators Peak Freaks from Canada and High Adventure Expeditions from the USA had canceled their Everest expeditions 2015. The US operator Alpenglow Expeditions switched from the Nepalese south side to the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest. Last year, the organizers had also requested to be allowed to use helicopters to transport materials to Camp 1 or 2. So far, the government has remained silent. “My feeling is that they will say no”, Guy Cotter, head of the New Zealand expedition operator Adventure Consultants, wrote to me.

Money yes, permit no

Denis Urubko

The native Kazakh Denis Urubko, who is now a Russian citizen, wants to climb the 8611-meter-high K 2, the second highest mountain in the world, for the first time in winter, in Alpine style, on a partially new route from the Chinese north side of the mountain, in a team with the Polish climber Adam Bielecki and the Basque Alex Txikon. Denis’ a month long crowdfunding is completed.  The result: 11,205 US $, three quarters of the target sum of 15,000 dollars. “The biggest value for me is your trust and faith. It is more important than any money”, Urubko said thanking the sponsors. “Faith not only in our team and project, but in people’s ability and desire for new discoveries!”  The financial gap is closed, another has opened, which is likely to be harder to close – five days before the scheduled departure. “Chinese authorities denied us. We have no permit”, Denis wrote on Facebook.

Final sprint before Christmas?

K 2 is one of two eight-thousanders which have so far resisted all attempts of winter ascents. The other is the 8125-meter-high Nanga Parbat in Pakistan. There, the Pole Tomasz Mackiewicz has already completed his acclimatization. Tomek spends the fifth winter in a row on that mountain, this time he wants to climb it solo. He shares the base camp on the Diamir side with the Italian Daniele Nardi who forms a team with the Frenchwoman Elisabeth Revol as he did before on Nanga Parbat in winter 2013.

Daniele’s crowdfunding on the Internet will continue for four more days, so far it has run with moderate success: 1,362 € (until 17 December), not even ten percent of the planned total of 15,000 €. Nardi can only hope for a pre-Christmas final sprint of donations. After all, Daniele does not have to worry about the permit.

Update, 19 December: Meanwhile, the three climbers who want to try K 2 in winter assume that the start of the expedition will be postponed by two or three weeks due to the problems of getting a permit by the Chinese authorities.

South side of Mount Everest

Maybe it will turn out to be not quite as bad as it looked first. A report of the Himalayan Times about the Everest permits has upset many mountaineers worldwide – including myself. The report said that the extension of last spring’s Everest permits by five years would apply strictly to groups not to individual climbers. Means: If even one member of an expedition would scale the mountain, permits of the other group members would be cancelled. After the avalanche accident in the Khumbu Icefall last April that had killed 16 Nepalese climbers and led to the premature end of the spring season, the government had announced that the 318 departed climbers could use their permits even within the next five years.

“It is next to impossible to regroup the same climbers for new expedition, as they reside in different parts of the world”, the Himalayan Times quoted Dambar Parajuli, president of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal (EOA). “It’s a time to facilitate climbers rather than creating hurdles in the name of regulation.” Reportedly the members of an expedition operated by Himalayan Experience had already lost their Everest permits because Chinese climber Wang Jing, who used the group permit, had reached the summit on 23 May, after she had been flown to Camp 2 by helicopter.

Brice: Wait and See

I asked the New Zealander Russell Brice, owner of Himex, for a statement about the permit topic. “I had a meeting with the EOA yesterday and apparently all the new ministers in the Ministry are in verbal agreement for the five year individual permit”, Russ writes to me. “At the moment the document concerning this is at the Legal Department, from there it goes to the Finance Department and then to Congress. So there are still a few parts to the process to be considered before we will know the definite outcome.”