Deadly traffic jams at the top indicate danger to climbers

US News

by Dana Kennedy

Climbers must negotiate heavy traffic jams, a sprawling, filthy base camp – and increasingly death – as they attempt to reach the world’s highest Instagram hotspot.

Renewed attention is being paid to crowded conditions on Mount Everest, where two missing climbers are believed to have died this week after part of an icy ridge collapsed.

Social media Videos It appears to show a line of hundreds of stranded climbers following Tuesday’s tragic incident in which British climber Daniel Patterson, 39, and his Nepalese guide, Pas Tinggi Sherpa, 23, were dragged down the mountainside by a solid chunk of ice. The snow hanging on the edge of the abyss suddenly fell, BBC reported.

The clips were just some of dozens of images of the apparent continuous rush hour rush to the top of the world. More than one clip on X in recent months shows climbers screaming as they watch bodies slide past them.

Patterson and Tingey were among a group of 15 people that reached the summit of the world’s highest peak at 29,032 feet. They are still missing as of Saturday.

In a separate incident, Kenyan climber Joshua Cheruiyo Kirui, 40, was found dead and his guide Nawang Sherpa, 44, remained missing after they disappeared from the mountain on Wednesday.

“Mount Everest: the highest, dirtiest, and most controversial place on Earth.” North wrote on X. “Humans go over corpses, leave people to die, and ignore cries for help, making the place dirtier with pollution and human waste; All for the glory of the summit. When will it stop?!”

Indian mountaineer Rajan Dwivedi, who successfully scaled Mount Everest at 6 a.m. on May 19, wrote on Instagram: “Mt. Everest is no joke, it is actually a very dangerous climb.

“I believe so far (more than) 7,000 have reached the summit since the first ascent in May 1953. Many of them end up with frostbite, snow blindness and various types of injuries that are not counted in any database,” he wrote in a post including vAn idea of ​​the endless winding line of climbers ascending and descending Where they captured one of the rare weather windows.

“This shows the video that was taken [sic] What we encounter on a single rope line and negotiating intersections during upstream and downstream traffic! The main reason is the weather window to avoid ferocious jet streams that can reach speeds of 100-240 mph!! For me, the descent was a nightmare and exhausting while there was a large line of climbers ascending to make the most of the weather window.

Overcrowding on Mount Everest has been a problem for years, but the world’s largest mountain has become a growing source of concern for officials in recent years.

The popularity of Mount Everest has not diminished, despite the many accidents and deaths on the mountain.

The season is at its peak right now, with hundreds of climbers crowding shoulder to shoulder along the Hillary Step.

Vinayak Jaya Malla Mountaineering Guide He witnessed the collapse of the corniche Last week after successfully reaching the top and then starting to decline.

“After climbing to the top, we crossed the Hillary Step, the traffic was moving slowly and then suddenly a cornice a few meters in front of us collapsed. There was also a cornice below us. “Mala wrote. “When the corniche collapsed, four climbers almost died but were tied to a rope and rescued. Sadly, two climbers are still missing. We tried to cross but that was impossible due to traffic on the fixed line.

“Many climbers were stuck in traffic and were running out of oxygen. I was able to start making a new route and the descending traffic would start moving slowly again.

Dwivedi said he had “mixed emotions” after the climb.

“I saw several climbers in a precarious position hanging on the rope, and the Sherpas were struggling to pull them down,” he wrote, adding that he saw some climbers in a “drowsy/zombie state.”

He added: “They were shaking and crying, which caused a traffic jam.”