Recently, a video shows that the ice shelf broke after the "big traffic jam" on the Hillary Step on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest, and two people fell off the cliff, which attracted attention.
According to the Southern Metropolis Daily, on May 21, local time, there was indeed a "big traffic jam" on the Hillary Steps on the Nepalese side of Mount Everest, which is a very steep iceberg ridge located at 28,839 feet (about 8,790 meters), only a few hundred feet from the summit. After the "big traffic jam", the ice shelf where the climbing team was standing broke and at least five climbers fell from the mountain wall.
According to local media reports, many of those who fell have been rescued, while two others are still missing: Daniel Paul Peterson, 40, from the United Kingdom, and Pas Tenji Sherpa, 23, from Nepal. The Nepal Tourism Authority later issued an announcement saying that it was still arranging for guide companies and other expedition teams to carry out search and rescue.
On the 22nd local time, the guide company where the two missing people belonged to after the "big traffic jam" revealed to local media that "the probability of survival of the two people is very small, and the north wall of Mount Everest where they fell fell vertically descended 11,000 feet (about 3,353 meters) to the glacier." ”
According to Nepal's Himalayan Times, the two missing people are members of 8K Expeditions.
Travel bloggers experience a moment of horror
According to the Metropolis Express, Chris, a young travel blogger in China, climbed Mount Everest at 6 a.m. on May 21 and witnessed the incident.
He recalls the experience: "At around 6:30 on May 21, climbers who had reached the summit of Mount Everest retreated one after another, and those who were rushing to the summit met at the Hillary Steps. ”
Because the Hillary Staircase is narrow, it is where the climbers and the descenders meet. Chris was standing on Hillary's steps at the time of the collapse.
"At 6:40, the traffic jam got worse and worse, and the whole team couldn't move, so I waited here for about half an hour before the team gradually started moving. By the time I got to this location, I didn't realize the magnitude of the problem. ”
At 7:17 a.m., Chris had just finished photographing Makalu Peak (note: the fifth highest peak in the world) when he found that "the snow under his feet suddenly collapsed by about 20cm, which was particularly scary, and a large piece of snow directly in front of me fell directly into the cliff." ”
"Everyone was frightened, and the people around me started screaming, and I thought everyone was afraid of avalanches, but I didn't expect that there was a large area on the right hand side, and someone fell off the cliff." He said.
(There is a large collapse of the steps, image source: Courtesy of Chris)
"The flat road is gone, the collapse is very noticeable. After about five minutes, three people gradually climbed up from both sides of the collapse, but I heard that two more people did not climb up. ”
According to the Beijing News, a climber who was at the scene at the time said: "I heard that the two people who died in the fall were tied together, but they were not attached to the safety rope. The Sherpa guide analyzed the cause of the collapse of the road section: the sun was very high and the temperature was high, and it was possible that the snow was sunburned and caused the collapse.
There are already 4 climbers this month
Confirmed dead in Nepal
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on the 23rd, officials of the Nepal Tourism Authority said that rescuers found the remains of a Kenyan mountaineer on Mount Everest on the same day. So far, three climbers have been killed while climbing the world's highest peak on the southern slope this spring.
Kim Lal Gautam, an official at the Nepal Tourism Board's Everest Base Camp office, told Xinhua that rescue teams found the body of 40-year-old Kenyan climber Cheruyot Kiroui a few meters below the summit of Mount Everest, and his Nepalese mountain guide, Nawang Sherpa, is still missing. Kirui and Sherpa disappeared on the 21st.
According to Southern Metropolis Daily, the Kenyan climber is a banker from the Kenya Commercial Bank. The Commercial Bank of Kenya posted an obituary on social media on the 23rd local time to express its condolences and mentioned that the banker was "the second Kenyan to climb Mount Everest".
Later on the 23rd local time, the Nepal Tourism Authority announced again that another Nepalese mountaineer, Binod Babu Bastakoti, was killed on Mount Everest. According to local media reports, Binod Babu Bastakoti climbed to the summit of Mount Everest on the 22nd local time and subsequently died on the way down. His remains were found above Camp IV at an altitude of 26,000 feet (about 7,925 meters).
In addition, two Mongolian climbers went missing after reaching the summit of Mount Everest earlier this month, and were subsequently found dead, according to local media reports.
The Chinese Embassy in Nepal has reminded
Be cautious about participating in high-risk tourism programs
According to a previous report by the Qianjiang Evening News, there are two regular routes for folk climbers on Mount Everest, one on the Tibetan side of the mainland on the northern slope and the other on the Nepalese side of the southern slope, the latter attracting more folk climbers. Senior mountaineering enthusiast Hans said that only the Tibet Holy Mountain Exploration Company provides mountaineering services on the north slope, and the general exploration company does not have the business qualification, and the climbing cost is as high as 460,000 yuan, and climbers are required to have mountaineering experience above 8,000 meters above sea level; In contrast, there are no less than 40 expedition companies that provide mountaineering services on the southern slope, and the climbing cost is about 300,000 yuan. ”
According to Xinhua News Agency, as of the morning of May 22, more than 500 climbers, including Nepalese guides, had climbed Mount Everest from the Nepalese side this spring.
Every spring is the most important window period for climbing Mount Everest, and it is also the most popular period for commercial mountaineering activities in Nepal.
On April 1 this year, the Chinese Embassy in Nepal reminded Chinese citizens in Nepal to be cautious about participating in high-risk tourism projects. Reminder said that recently, a number of Chinese tourists were seriously injured while participating in rock climbing, paragliding and other events in Nepal. The Chinese Embassy in Nepal reminds Chinese citizens in Nepal:
1. Be cautious about participating in high-risk tourism projects such as alpine hiking, paragliding, rafting, rock climbing, bungee jumping, etc., understand the project requirements and local meteorological, geological, hydrological and other conditions in advance, and carefully assess your own health status and risk tolerance.
2. If you really need to participate in the relevant projects, please abide by the relevant laws and regulations of Nepal, choose a regular travel agency project management agency, hire a professional guide and porter, pay attention to personal safety, avoid acting alone, and inform relatives and friends of the itinerary in advance.
3. It is recommended to purchase travel insurance such as travel accident insurance in advance, and carefully check the rescue measures and dispute resolution clauses in the event of an accident to ensure that the purchased insurance can cover high rescue and diagnosis and treatment costs.
4. Please strictly obey the guidance of professionals, receive technical training, master life-saving knowledge, and effectively protect your own safety and legitimate rights and interests. In case of emergency, please call the police and contact the embassy for assistance.
As one of the key pillars of Nepal's national economy, tourism accounted for about 10.3% of the country's GDP in 2019, according to new data released by the World Travel and Tourism Council. Behind the booming tourism industry is a booming mountaineering industry in Nepal.
Nepal is one of the countries with the highest peaks in the world, and in order to obtain a permit to climb within the country, every foreign climber needs to pay a certain fee, with Everest being the highest, with a per capita fee of US$11,000 in spring.
According to Reuters, Nepal earns about $4.4 million a year through the issuance of climbing permits, with Mount Everest contributing the most. According to statistics, in 2019, the Nepalese government received US$5.07 million in revenue from the issuance of mountaineering permits, while Mount Everest alone contributed US$4.05 million, accounting for about 80%.
Editor|Sun Zhicheng Du Bo
Proofreading|Zhao Qing
The daily economic news is synthesized from Southern Metropolis Daily, Xinhua News Agency, Beijing News, Metropolis Express, Qianjiang Evening News, etc
National Business Daily