by The days may be numbered for the giant dome tents, massage parlors, yoga areas and en suite toilets at Everest Base Camp as Nepali authorities vow to tackle the sprawling slums that are blocking the site.
Wealthy climbers have managed to enjoy increasingly poor facilities at Base Camp, paying thousands of pounds for trips that promise large tents equipped with comfortable beds, armchairs and even flat-screen TVs. Mountaineering companies competed to provide more luxurious facilities for their well-heeled clients.
It’s been a long time since Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary first climbed Everest in 1953, with the New Zealander noting that “when you’re climbing at a high altitude, life can become bad enough”.
Nepali officials say that glamping has gotten out of hand and they have drawn up new rules that will cut off the most luxurious part of the mountaineering market. They are focusing in particular on the size of the tents allowed.
Local people from the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu municipality, which has jurisdiction over Everest Base Camp and other camps in the region, drafted the regulations.
They want to limit the size of tents allowed, especially the huge community dining tents and the toilets attached to individual tents.
The number of tents that tour companies can pitch will also be reduced in an attempt to reduce the size of Base Camp, a massive setup that crawls across rock, snow and ice.
Dawa Steven, a British-educated sherpa, environmental activist and tour leader told adventure website ExplorersWeb: “I share the concerns of the locals about the future of the Everest region. [They] trying to stay back on the march at Base Camp.”
Locals also want to restrict the use of helicopters to fly supplies and climbers not only to Base Camp but to Camps 2 and 3, which lead up to Everest’s 29,032-foot (8,848m) summit.
Under the new rules, helicopters will only be allowed to rescue stricken climbers and for the emergency evacuation of those suffering from altitude sickness or injuries.
Officials hope that by restricting helicopter flights, expeditions will have to return to the old method of hauling supplies up into the mountains: yaks.
“The idea is to spread economic benefits to the local yak herders and porters,” said Mr Steven, who is also secretary of the Tour Operators Association.
“The practice of yak herding is slowly dying due to lack of incentives. It also creates other problems, such as having less dung for cooking and heating.”
Above the tree line in the Himalayas, dung is the main source of fuel for the villagers.
However, some critics fear that the new rules could lead to problems of their own.
The only drawback is that many climbers will have already paid for their trips, and with the Everest climbing season about to begin, they may be disappointed that the level of luxury they were looking forward to has been significantly downgraded. with him.
Everest has also struggled with a litter problem for years, with climbing expeditions leaving behind tents, oxygen canisters, food containers and other equipment.
A local environmental NGO, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee, said expeditions produced 75 tonnes of waste during the climbing season last year, including more than 20,000kg of human excrement.
Last month, the Nepali authorities agreed that all climbers must carry their own waste down from Everest using plastic bags.
Thousands of bags will be available for purchase at Base Camp and will be checked upon return, officials said, as they try to combat the unsightly and unsanitary problem of climbers relieving themselves in the open. The bags contain chemicals that solidify human waste and make it largely odorless.
These are called Wag bags, an acronym for Waste Mitigation and Gilling. The authorities want to ensure that the bodies of mountaineers who die on the ascent or descent of Everest are also disposed of properly. Tour companies will be responsible for recovering the bodies of climbers, guides, porters and sherpas.
Nepal’s army is preparing to launch an operation to retrieve dead bodies from Mount Everest and nearby Nuptse, a 25,790-foot (7,861m) peak near Everest.
Rakesh Gurung, director of Nepal’s tourism department, said: “The Nepalese army, in cooperation with the local authorities, is preparing for the next mountain clearance campaign and it is expected that at least five dead bodies will be recovered from Everest and Nuptse. “
