Everest Base Camp, Nepal, April 25, 2015. (Photo: Azim Afif via AP)
Is it just me? Does anyone else find it grossly unfeeling and selfish for wealthy European and American trekkers to continue their assault on Mt. Everest in the wake of the worst earthquake to strike the area in 80 years? With
- an estimated 8 million people affected
- a rapidly rising death toll of over 4,000 people
- thousands of families sleeping outside in Katmandu
- limited food and medical supplies
- transportation issues
couldn’t the resources and energy of these climbers help in the recovery of bodies, the comfort and solace of survivors, in any number of ways help a country devastated by this 7.8 earthquake?
Photo: Omar Havana, Getty Images
With guided service costing $10,000 or more, it is obvious that the clientele on the mountain have cash to spare. In addition, it is a safe assumption that these climbers are at their peak of physical fitness. And what of the Sherpa that guide them and schlep their shit up and down the mountain for them? How many Sherpas have families down below who are missing or sleeping on the ground without the benefit of expensive tents and sleeping bags? And if those highly skilled and fit Sherpas were released by their wealthy clients, think of the value they could add in rescue efforts throughout the effected areas of Nepal!I was appalled to read in my local newspaper, The Idaho Statesman, that a local climber had escaped injury at the base camp and was preparing for his second attempt to climb the mountain. To be clear, Boise mountaineer Charlie Linville is not a rich man. He is a survivor and a hero, having lost a foot in the war in Afghanistan in 2011. His climb is sponsored by the Heroes Project.
Perhaps I am jumping to conclusions. (I hope I am.) Perhaps Linville and team are preparing to come down the mountain and make their second attempt on Everest at another time. But that is not how I read the article. I am appalled at the notion that any climbers might continue up the mountain at such a dangerous time, when aftershocks are still changing the topography of the ice and the mountain, and while people below camp are enduring such misery.
Am I nuts?
Rangewriter 
I don’t know a lot about climbing. I have feelings that go both ways. I think that this type of climb can take years in the planning and time can have a great impact on if/when a person might be able to go again. Are the Sherpa’s needing the money to survive? Is that their family’s main income? Have they been in touch with their families already? I understand it being dangerous to continue with the aftershocks. And I understand that everyone who can help rescue should be used. What would the climbers resources be once they returned? Would they still have stamina to really help? Would they be using the resources – food, water, etc. – that the survivors in the valley need more? I think there are a lot of questions so that it’s not a cut and dry decision of what is best.
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Hi Shelly, thanks for voicing some of the questions that went through my mind also. I’m sure the Sherpas need the money now more than ever. And yes, a trip that one might have planned and saved for over a lifetime would be hard to interrupt. But, how hard, compared with the loss of life, the loss of homes, the loss of communication and transportation throughout the country? It just seems like a frivolous venture at this particular time.
I do, however, recognize that even if trekkers came back down or aborted their trips, they could feasibly cause more trouble than if they simply stayed put. In the best of worlds, the clients, coming from relative wealth, would flock to Red Cross and international aid sites to see if their muscle could be of used and if not, they would get out of the country as soon as that became viable. They would pay the full price of their booked adventure and call that a contribution to Nepal, to the Sherpas who serve European interests and depend upon European trade.
You are right. It is not a cut and dry decision. Thanks for that correction.
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I didn’t realize climbers would still attempt to summit, I naively assumed this would end the climbing season on Everest. Don’t know what to think about this…just praying for the thousands of people killed, harmed and affected.
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That’s what I would have assumed, as well. As Shelly, below, points out, there are many aspects to consider. I perhaps shouldn’t rush to judgement…but…
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No, Linda. You’re not nuts. Too often, people have their own grandiose goals and ideals that involve walking over or around anyone that gets in their way. I will share your post to drive more into the conversation. Cheers!
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Thanks, my friend.
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Linda, I think “60 Minutes” did a report on how maltreated the Sherpas are by these new travel brokers and their clients. They are schlepping more stuff to cater to the elite who can afford the money and endanger everyone with carrying so much baggage. More people have died as a result and the Sherpas are paid very low for these efforts to shepherd novices up the mountain. So, this is happening without the earthquake, which makes your point even more compelling. Good post, BTG
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A friend, Mick Bromley/Wilderness Trekking, specializes in treks to Nepal, and he’s sent two updates this week. I’ve written him (just now) to ask permission to share the newsletter verbatim… There’s surely one good person in that industry, and it’s surely tearing him apart not to be there helping right now.
Will be getting a post ready soon with his update and recommendations for anyone who wants to help…
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Thanks, Lisa. I might have known you’d have inside connections. Looking forward to an update.
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He’s one of the nicest and most conscientious people that I’ve ever met. Hopefully he’ll read my email soon and give permission. The post is ready to go! z
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I´m not even sure people should ever be climbing Mount Everest at any time before the garbage mountain they leave behind them is cleaned up. A system needs putting in place to ensure this natural wonder is kept as clean as it deserves. It´s a problem that needs tackling once and for all.
Climbers seem to be mirrroring the problem big business has bequeathed the planet. “Let someone else clean it up” appears to be their answer. This article reveals the extent of the problem: https://paulmullins.wordpress.com/2015/03/08/littering-everest-nature-toilets-and-waste-on-mt-everest/
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You know, you cut right to the heart of the issue! Not only is the timing exceedingly insensitive, but the entire phenomenon is frivolous goal for people who can’t create their own mountains to define inner strength and success. That said, I do know that an entire economy has grown up around the vogue climbing industry in Nepal. Thanks for the link. I’m off to read it right now.
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Your questioning causes me to consider “dependency” In spite of which activity, it’s tenuous when dependencies are built.
People in other cultures often change their lives to accommodate “sources of resources”. We raise the bar for those exposed to our “grand gesture” and when our resources go back home, it means another unwelcome adjustment for these folks. Do we help at all?
Sherpa families are at a loss when physicality dictates their beloved can no longer guide. However, to add to the burden, this ex-guide can then be a health burden for the family.
Then Africa… Young people from different African countries are FINALLY speaking up about the supposed do-gooder missions. Do those visitors actually contribute? Is it more for their souls, disguised in goodness? (Like churches sending teens over for a few weeks…???)
Then I recently gained an insight thanks to the Vanuatu people after Cyclone Pam:
I talked with Sefo my South Sea Island friend from Rotuma. I told him how concerned I was about only being able to send a bit of cash to Vanuatu. What about true helping?
He said, “Amy, the people who know the best recovery efforts necessary for survival will be the islanders. Meanwhile, yes Aide is and will be very much appreciated, but it’s the islanders who will know what to do first. Plant! They’ll know what soil to use. They’ll know which crops grow fastest. This cyclone may be a bad one, but it’s certainly not the first they’ve lived through.”
“Hurricanes repeatedly tore down our homes in Rotuma, too, and ruined crops as I grew up. Still happens…except we have sturdier homes now. We just go to work and recover. No aid. We plant.”
So just last week, I wrote my Cdn friend who’s been in Vanuatu setting up Wifi the past few years. I asked how things were. “Still digging out” he said. “Some smaller islands need drinking water.” Supplies are getting there, he confirmed.
I held my breath and asked, “Is there was any planting going on?”
“Yes, he said, “It’s amazing. The people are planting as they clear.”
Yes! Island people are planting. Not those of us who offer our financial and temporary help…but islanders who know the basics needed for their recovery.
I wonder what will be the first recovery step taken by the Nepalese people.
Apologies for the length of this, Linda, but I believe in humanity. And I believe in giving. I trust recipients know how to make the best decisions and how to use our giving to their best advantage.
We don’t have to judge it. We just have to keep out of their way.
Oddly enough, I wrote about giving just a couple of hours ago. I need to give. In my way. It feeds my soul:
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Wow, thanks for the share and the in depth comment. I have heard many reports of misguided help from the outside in. My friend Lisa over at http://playamart.wordpress.com/ often reports on the beach erosion that occurs after high tides in her adopted home of Manta, Ecuador and of the local response and outside solutions that tend to simply muck things up further.
I know that financial aid is the most effective aid. But even with financial aid, WHO administers that aid? It is usually administered from the outside, Red Cross, UNESCO, etc. And money from outside of course comes with strings attached and expectations that must be met.
I’m a little confused, Amy. Do you support the climbing/trekking industry in Nepal? What is the form of giving that you are advocating for Nepal? Sorry I’m a bit daft.
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Right on, Linda. Not only is the situation there totally screwed up, but the media attention clearly shows the two-class system. EVEN NPR uses stories of Western Climbers as hooks to make the stories from Nepal more appealing. Sad sad sad. I would say let’s close down the mountain – after cleaning it up. Call it a World Heritage site and just admire it from below.
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Yes! Along with the cleanup to Timbuktu, add clean up to the mountain (BY the climbers) and make it a World Heritage site. That would be the ideal. But how would we replace the huge amounts of income (speaking relatively) that support the climbing/trekking industry there? What would the Sherpa families do? Host visitors to the World Heritage site? Would those visitors pay the exorbitant fees that climbers do? I know, something like 90% of those fees goes into the pockets of European/American middlemen, but would even that remaining 10% continue to support people in this poor country? What would be the consequences of increasing the level of tourism to cover the lost income of the few wealthy patrons? It’s an interesting question, I think. How would these people support themselves w/o Everest interest?
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You are clearly not nuts Linda; I saw Sherpa a couple of nights ago and while director Jennifer Peedom shows restraint and balance, her opinion about Sherpa exploitation come through clearly. I’ve just reviewed it on mine.
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Thanks! I’ll have to put that one on my to watch list. But it will probably just make me mad and turn me into a ranting lunatic.
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