Mount Everest, the worlds tallest peak is witnessing heavy crowding that has also led to the death of several climbers including mountaineers from Britain, Kenya and Nepal taking the total death toll to seven this season.Additionally, this week has also witnessed certain turbulent incidents including an ice collapse in one of its most dangerous zones. Death speculations triggered as mountainers remain untracedA few days back the British climber Daniel Daniel Paterson and his Nepali guide Pas Tenji Sherpa had gone missing. Climbers were seen being forcefully dragged down by the cornice. As per certain reports in media, the expedition organiser, Mount Everest adventure company 8K Expeditions shared the information on their Instagram post that they had been unable to locate the two mountaineers who had climbed to the summit with a group of fifteen people. They specified that the two climbers were caught in a sudden cornice fall during their descent near the Hillary Step. Even after the search efforts, they had remained untraced. View this post on Instagram A post shared by LAKPA SHERPA 🇳🇵 (@lakpa_mountaineering)In another incident, Kenyan climber Joshua Cherujyot Kirui was found dead while his guide, Nawamg Sherpa remained missing. The last time I shed tears was on the morning of 1st June 2011 when my elder brother called me to inform me of the passing of my father.I have found myself shedding tears this morning after confirmation that my brother @cheruiyot_ak has rested on the mountain. No one can ever… pic.twitter.com/FSj9aSPQKq— Mountain Stories (@j_muhia) May 23, 2024Videos of congested Everest go viralOne of the viral videos shows how Mount Everest peak, located at the crest of the Great Himalayas of southern Asia, at an elevation of 29,032 feet, is seen completely congested. These videos of the queue up Everest and the aftermath of the cornice collapse that killed a couple of people...Theres something about this that sums up so much of whats wrong with the world.😮 pic.twitter.com/S2qv1oBAOG— tern (@1goodtern) May 24, 2024Overcrowding, a grave issue that needs attentionPeople from across the world are extremely passionate about climbing the tallest peak. The thrilling experience, sending chills done the spine, continues to draw several travellers to the Himalayas leading to overcrowding. This is further creating undue pressure at the peak, which is already considered one of the most sensitive zones. According to some reports, several climbers, numbers varying from around 150 to 200 had reached Mount Everest on May 19 and 20. Many climbers who have had an experience of climbing the mountain have said that the summit is too too crowded and dirty and needs to be protected like a sacred place. There is an urgent need to put a certain upper limit to the number of people who can visit the peak to prevent issues like littering and environmental degradation which could hamper the structure of the region leading to avalanches and cornices. Nepal government faces condemnationThe expeditions to Mount Everest are a major source of revenue for Nepal but it has been facing criticism from Western climbers who have alleged that it allows anyone to climb on condition of paying a $11,000 permit fee.
