It's crowded at the top. So crowded in fact that it has
become dangerous. Not at a summit conference but at the
world's highest peak: Mt. Everest.
The challenge of reaching the 8,848-meter (29,028-foot) high
peak attracts many mountaineers and has claimed the lives of
many climbers who met their deaths on the way up. The
mountain was conquered 48 years ago for the first time by
Sir Edmund Hillary, and since then it has attracted
mountaineers from around the world. As protective devices
become more sophisticated the number of climbers has grown
over the years to the point where a problem of overcrowding
has evolved.
Not long ago a record of 40 climbers in a single day was
set. The problem is that the climbing route is not a
multilane highway but a steep and narrow path with
tremendous drop-offs on both sides. When 40 climbers use the
same narrow path, some descend while others are still
ascending, forming a dangerous traffic jam. Based on reports
via satellite telephone, long lines formed on the dangerous
ridge lines and climbers trying to overtake others ahead of
them used some elbowing to get to the front of the line.
The overcrowding has already taken its toll. Five years ago
14 people died when members of several climbing teams got
trapped high on the mountain as a result of sudden
snowstorms. Last month inclement weather left climbers
stranded on the summit ridge line; this time the death toll
was lower with just four casualties.
In recent years there has been a trend among climbing teams
to try to break various records. This year the oldest
climber, a 64-year-old American; the youngest, a 16-year-old
from Nepal; a one-armed American and a blind American
reached the summit.
Climbing Everest is not cheap. The mountain is located in
Nepal and the Nepalese government charges at least $70,000
for the right to climb, which is why Nepal has not lodged
any complaints about the problem of overcrowding: more
people means more money flowing into the royal palace.
