Mt. Everest 2019, Spring season deaths - Nepal Government blames the weather

Mt. Everest. dailymail.co.uk

Mt. Everest, long line to the summit. globalpunjabtv.in

The Mount Everest climbing Spring season having been over, now the blaming game has begun to take shape over the death of more than 11 climbers on the higher slopes of Everest in May over a short period. Tagged as the  deadliest season since 2015 by the international media and by many mountaineering clubs, the accusing finger points at the Nepal government that issued permit for the climbers far beyond the limit, considering the short weather windows available this season at the high slopes of the Himalayan peak. A traffic jam was created   above 8000 meters in the ''death zone'' when many climbers wanted to go for the summit at the same time under short favorable weather condition. and can be dangerous above 8,000 metres, known to climbers as the “death zone”.
 Refusing to accept the blame the Nepal government claims that the large number of deaths of climbers on Mount Everest this season
 is not solely because of the “traffic jam” on the world’s highest peak. They said the contributing factors were high altitude sickness, hypothermia, etc caused by adverse weather. The Nepal tourism ministry said the toll was  nine.  “Our attention has been drawn to the wrong information about deaths on Everest conveyed by national and international media,” said Dandu Raj Ghimire, director general of the department of tourism (DoT), adding that “traffic jam” did not cause the deaths. The DoT has stated that it had issued 366 expedition permits in 2017 and 346  in 2018. This year it was  381 and it is not a big difference.  This false information will hurt our image and mountaineering sector badly.

Tit Bits:

01. Since 1953, 4400 people have climbed Everest in the climbing season-  March to June.

02. Since 1922,  over 200 mountaineers have died on Everest.

03. George Mallory was  the first British to have died on Everest decades ago in 1924. His body was recovered on first of May 1999. His climbing partner, Andrew "Sandy" Irvine's body is still unknown. It was not confirmed weather he and Irvine had reached the peak and death occurred while descending.  Mind you, the  standard of mountaineering gear  was very poor in those days.

04. In the years 2015 to 2018 less than 6 climbers died on Everest. 

.nairaland.com

05. Four Indians died on Everest at an altitude of 8,848-metre  and two each died on Kangchenjunga and Makalu, bringing the total death toll of Indian climbers in the Himalayas to 8.
06. Over the past two decades the average casualty on Everest has remained about six.

07. Part of adverse weather condition on the Nepalese Himalayas was triggered by the cyclone Fani that had struck India and Bangladesh. In the aftermath 20 tens at the camp were blown away by heavy winds.

08. By mid May the work on fixing bolted rope was completed. The first feasible weather window was 19 and 20 May. But majority of climbers preferred the second weather window 22 to 24 May. 

09. A maximum of 250 climbers lined up on 23 May. and this caused the traffic jam. There is a need to improve crowd management.

 10. Besides long wait, many climbers risked their lives, as they were low on oxygen.

globalpunjabtv.in

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48423738
https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/mount-everest-jam-not-sole-reason-for-deaths/cid/1692383