NEW DELHI: Kanchha Sherpa, the only real survivor of the mountaineering expedition that first conquered Mount Everest, just lately expressed his considerations about overcrowding and air pollution on the world’s highest peak. In an interview in Kathmandu, the 91-year-old Sherpa stated that the mountain, which is taken into account God by the Sherpa neighborhood, deserves respect.
Kanchha Sherpa was a part of the staff that accompanied New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay to the summit in 1953.
He instructed that lowering the variety of climbers can be helpful for the mountain whereas highlighting that giant crowds collect on the summit. Sherpa emphasised the necessity to tackle the overcrowding problem.
Over time, Mount Everest has witnessed hundreds of climbers trying to succeed in its peak, leading to elevated congestion. In the course of the spring climbing season final yr, 667 climbers efficiently scaled the mountain. Nonetheless, this inflow of climbers additionally introduced in a big variety of help workers to the bottom camp between March and Could 2023.
The rising inhabitants on Mount Everest has raised considerations about waste administration. Regardless of guidelines requiring climbers to carry again their very own trash and tools or threat shedding their deposit, the enforcement of those laws has been ineffective.
“It is rather soiled now. Individuals throw tins and wrappings after consuming meals. Who’s going to choose them up now?” Kanchha stated. “Some climbers simply dump their trash within the crevasse, which might be hidden at the moment however finally it would move right down to base camp because the snow melts and carries them downward.”
For the Sherpa neighborhood, Mount Everest, referred to as Qomolangma, holds nice non secular significance because the goddess mom of the world. Earlier than embarking on their climbs, Sherpas historically carry out non secular rituals to pay homage to the mountain. Kanchha Sherpa emphasised the significance of respecting the sacred nature of the mountain and criticized climbers for smoking, consuming meat, and littering on its slopes.
Kanchha Sherpa, who was a 20-year-old boy when he joined the Hillary-Tenzing expedition, reminisced concerning the historic achievement. Though he and his fellow Sherpas had been unable to proceed past the final camp as a consequence of a scarcity of permits, they celebrated the profitable ascent with tea and snacks upon listening to the information on the radio. “All of us gathered at Camp 2 however there was no alcohol so we celebrated with tea and snacks,” he stated. “We then collected no matter we may and carried it to base camp.”
The route that Hillary, Tenzing, and the Sherpas established from the bottom camp to the summit remains to be utilized by climbers immediately. Nonetheless, the part from the bottom camp to Camp 1, which passes by the unstable Khumbu Icefall, undergoes yearly adjustments. Kanchha Sherpa now resides in Namche village together with his household, the place they run a small resort catering to trekkers and climbers.



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