Nepal The mountaineering season is regarding to start and the Govt Mountain climbers has announced new rules, including mandatory carrying of GPS trackers.
The new rules were introduced following 18 people died in one year.
Nepal this year has asked climbers to carry a GPS tracker to ensure their safety. During the spring trekking season from March to May, Nepal plans to make it mandatory for climbers to use mini-trekkers that will not need to be carried on and off.
Last year, the highest number of people died on Mount Everest. There were 18 deaths. At least five bodies were also found on the world’s highest mountain.
According to officials, the trackers can be worn in a jacket and do not require batteries. Trackers can be detected 20 yards and more in the snow when tracked with a hand-held detector.
Rakesh Gurung, Director of Mountaineering at Nepal’s Department of Tourism, told AFP that “trackers have been made mandatory for climbers this year so that in case of an accident, their location can be accurately identified.” Can’t.
Last month, authorities announced that climbers climbing Mount Everest will now be required to bag their waste and bring it back to base camp following reaching the summit. Officials in Nepal finally wanted to take action once morest the litter left by the climbers.
The new regulations have been introduced following growing complaints regarding the volume of human waste on mountain passes. Due to extreme cold, this waste does not decompose naturally.
Eight of the 14 highest peaks in the world are located in Nepal. According to Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism, as of May 14 last year, the government earned $5.8 million from mountain tourism and $5 million from Everest alone.
Professional climbers and some companies that manage mountaineering expeditions have long used advanced trackers to monitor mountain climbing and provide data to sponsors. However, the new GPS trackers mandated will be simpler to use and have limited features. Their size is no bigger than a USB stick. These will work without shackles and can easily be kept in a jacket.
These trackers cost between eight and 12 pounds and will be provided by the adventure management company. After descending from the mountain top, they will be retrieved by the climbers and reused.
Last year, Sagarmatha National Park, where Everest is located, saw 60,000 tourists, six of whom attempted the summit. Mount Everest is littered with tons of trash, including empty cans, bottles, gas canisters, abandoned climbing equipment, plastic and human waste. Due to this garbage, the mountain has been called the ‘highest garbage dump in the world’.
It is reported that the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is buying regarding 8,000 garbage bags from the US to be distributed among climbers, Sherpas and support staff. Two bags will be given to each person. These bags can be used multiple times.
These bags contain chemicals that turn human waste into a solid material and significantly reduce its odor.
Jonathan Reilly, director of the British expedition company that organizes trips to Everest Base Camp, told the Telegraph newspaper: ‘To dump rubbish on Mount Everest is ridiculous.’
‘My question is, are the climbers going to bring the waste bags down the mountain or are they going to throw them away, just like dog walkers throw away plastic bags of dog waste? This would be worse than the current situation as the bags would make it impossible for the waste to dissipate naturally.
‘I suspect there will be some climbers who will throw the bags away following using them instead of bringing them down the mountain.’
Similar measures have already been successfully implemented on other mountains such as Mount Denali in Alaska and have reportedly been welcomed by companies that manage Everest expeditions.
The rapid growth of the adventure industry on Mount Everest has led to fierce competition and safety concerns. Weather conditions are less favorable leading to dangerous obstacles and climbers face increased risks as they have to wait in harsh weather conditions and consume less oxygen. There were also concerns regarding operators taking inexperienced climbers over 8,000 meters into the dangerous ‘valley of death’, increasing the risk to everyone on the mountain.
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Due to the near-impossibility of rescue at altitude, trackers have been introduced, hoping to make the recovery of injured climbers safer and more effective.
After visiting the high peaks of Nepal in October last year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate end to the use of conventional fuels. He highlighted the alarming rate of Himalayan glacier melting due to rise in global temperature.
Antonio Guterres, who visited the base camps of Mount Everest and Mount Annapurna, highlighted the devastating effects of using conventional fuels, including record melting of glaciers, natural disasters such as rockfalls, mountain avalanches and rivers and streams. Threats to cultures due to sea level rise include:
In the words of Antonio Guterres: ‘I am here today to raise my voice from the roof of the world to stop the madness.’ The glaciers are retreating but we cannot. We have to end the era of conventional fuels.’
Earlier in 2023, a report by the Nepal-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development said that Himalayan glaciers might lose 80 percent of their area if the Earth warms by four degrees Celsius in the coming decades or centuries.
“Now we must act to protect people on the front lines and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” Guterres said.
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2024-07-22 01:29:55
