Mountaineer Doug Scott founded the CAN charity. Photo: Bob Smith/grough
Britain’s first Everest summiteer has called for radical measures to stop what he calls the ‘madness’ now occurring on the mountain.
Mountaineer Doug Scott, along with Dougal Haston, posted the first successful ascent of the world’s highest peak by Britons in 1975.
In a speech in Nepal, he called for a series of major changes to the system for high-altitude tourism in the country, to prevent what he called man-made tragedies on Everest. He said the widely posted photograph taken by Nirmal Purja of huge queues of people waiting to ascend the Hillary Step near the summit of the mountain sent shockwaves round the world.
So far this year, 11 people have lost their lives on Everest.
Scott has called for more stringent restrictions on those granted permission to climb the peak, along with better control of companies running expeditions.
The Cumbria-based climber, who is also the founder of the charity Community Action Nepal, told a gathering in Kathmandu last week he had spoken to numerous Sherpas and mountaineers before drawing up his proposals. He had deep concerns about the uncontrolled commercialisation of Everest, he told the meeting of Nepalese policy makers, travel industry professionals and international media.
There is also a wider problem of untrammelled tourism in the country he said.
“My personal experience recently in the Everest region is that there are so many trekkers they are backing up along the trails,” he told the audience. “It’s hard to take a photograph now without another trekker getting into the shot.
“A disappointed friend of mine visiting in April found the tea and lodges to be like fast food joints, where they want to get people in and out as fast as possible.
Doug Scott addresses the Kathmandu gathering. Photo: Claire Souch
“Everest and other 8,000m summits – pre 1986, there was one expedition per season per route, which was wonderful, with time and space to be there communing with the mountain as well as with each other.
“In those days you just had to wait for an opening. After 1972 we had to wait again until October 1975. But we didn’t mind waiting. It was part of the experience. Now, people are impatient and want to rush to achieve their goals and move on.
“All have seen Nix’s (Nirmal Purja Magar) recent images from Everest where now the climber may be one of a thousand people at the base of mountain. And with 500 people on the mountain with no chance to commune with the divine in nature, nor with one’s inner self.
“We must respect the fact it is the highest – a world heritage site, considered to be of outstanding universal value and to many, the abode of the gods, and in particular Miyolangsangma, the deity of the Sherpa communities.
“We have to discuss not only how to protect this sacred mountain, and all mountains, but also protect what is sacred to mountaineering. Respecting the style of the first ascent.
“Given the large number of people now being attracted to reaching Everest summit by the original route and the increasing number of deaths, it seems inevitable that the number of permits will have to be limited after deciding the carrying capacity of Everest as is done on Denali, the highest peak in North America.
“But how to protect the mountain from the tyranny of numbers and at the same time accommodate those who have come to rely on Everest and other popular mountains for their income?”
Scott said, working in collaboration with local people, environmentalists and the government, he proposed that: quotas should be introduced for Everest and the number of permits reduced.
Permits for Everest should only be given to experienced climbers who have climbed at least one, if not two, 7,000m peaks elsewhere in Nepal first. This would have the positive effect of dispersing the economic benefits of mountain tourism to other mountain areas of Nepal, not just those living in the shadow of Everest.
He said it would further ensure that people attempting to climb Everest have the competence to climb safely and an understanding of the challenges of climbing in the Himalayas.
Everest permit fees should be increased, he said, for the general wellbeing of the mountain and the people who live around it and work on it.
“Peak royalties should help to improve the working environment of the local guides by ensuring full insurance cover and also setting up a welfare and compensation board to cover accident and death in support of bereaved wives and children.”
The mountaineer said commercial agencies operating on Everest should be properly accredited to reduce the number of companies which charge unrealistically low fees and deploy inexperienced staff.
“These staff may be unable to control fee-paying clients with little or no experience who ‘rush on when they should turn back’,” he said.
A fairly remunerated mountain rescue group should be established from an elite core of Sherpas and other local mountain guides who could stand by to assist with rescues. This same group could be employed to fix ropes at the beginning of each season and to remove them at the end of each season.
Sherpas and other guides should be paid well for collecting, sorting and recycling rubbish and waste from the mountain and glaciers.
Given the progress Nepal is making in so many other areas, Doug Scott said he remained confident a solution can be found to resolve the challenges on Everest.
He told the audience: “It can be done, and with the resourcefulness and resilience of the Nepalese people, it will be done.”
Scott’s charity Community Action Nepal has been operating in Nepal for more than 20 years. It works with local communities in the mountainous areas of Nepal, raising their standard of living and strengthening indigenous community-based culture.
Scott and other fellow mountaineers initially identified the need to improve the economic working practices of expedition porters, and this led them to realise that the communities they came from also faced major social problems which needed to be tackled.
CAN has constructed a number of porter shelters in the high and remote mountain areas to improve the working conditions of porters, and has worked with many local communities to build and staff schools and health posts, improve sanitation and support income generation.
Max Cohen
11 June 2019As a seventy eight year old I was at school in 1953 and a visit to Everest has always been a lifelong ambition.l haven't managed it ,,,yet.l haven't given up .
It has always held a fascination for me which in recent years has been dented .
The Himalayas should be treated with the utmost respect which is not the case anymore.
I agree with Doug Scott unreservedly.
Max.Cohen.
Albert
11 June 2019What a load of rubbish from Doug Scott. There is no evidence to support the suggestion that inexperience is a factor in Mt Everest deaths. Some of the victims were among the most experienced climbers in the world. Turning the mountain into a holiday spot for rich climbers or very wrong. Every aspiring climber must get a chance, and that means limiting the number of times a person climbs the mountain. It's ridiculous that some ppl have climbed the mountain six or even more time to achieve what? There must also be a limit on the number of clients each expedition can take per season. Doug talks about respecting the mountain, yet says nothing about some habits and behaviours that disrespect the mountain. The Sherpas complain of too.mich sex and partying at base camp. Whether you agree with their beliefs or not, they believe these bad habits are contributing to the death toll. There is nothing technical about Everest which would make experience essential. On a good day any fool can climb Everest. But luck always plays a part. Avalanches and high altitude sickness are largely to do with luck and how your body copes on that particular day, and even experienced climbers have succumbed to these hazards.
Paul Hesp
11 June 2019'Tourism destroys what it seeks', to paraphrase the German author Enzensberger. The Everest industry is a spectacular example.
Tim Hetherton
11 June 2019It should be a condition of climbing Everest that you are not allowed to tell anyone you've done it. This should weed out the mid life crisis sufferers who have never achieved anything and are desperate for something to brag about
J.Howard
11 June 2019Everest is turning into an Adventure Theme Park "Have you done The Everest Experience? No experience, fitness or acclimatisation required - just loadsamoney and a large ego!"
Bhausaheb
11 June 2019Finally we need to control Large number of climbers.
Alan Green
12 June 2019I agree with what Doug Scott says. One issue that he does not cover is the number of dead bodies left on the mountain. It is said that it is "difficult, dangerous and expensive" to bring the dead down. With the first two, I would have to agree. However, if you look at the fees charged by the expedition companies, and the number of paying clients, it should be feasible for them to fund the retrieval of the bodies. The question of to what extent other people (in this case it would presumably be the Sherpas) should put themselves at risk is different.
matthew dalby
13 June 2019In response to Albert.
You seem to know very little about the subject. Most of the recent victims are not among the most experienced climbers in the world, unless some of the guides or sherpas who work on the mountain were among the victims. Are you confusing this years tragic events with the tragedy on Nanda Devi which has almost certainely claimed the life of one of Scotland's most experienced climbers, Martin Moran, or the fact that some very experienced climbers have died on Chomolungma while pioneering new routes not on the standard "tourist" route.
Most of the people who have reached the summit multiple times have done so while leading clients, so restricting the number of times a person can climb the mountain won't reduce the number of people on the popular routes, unless it puts a stop to commercial expeditions by severely limiting the number of experienced guides and sherpas who can work on the mountain.
Maybe every aspiring climber should get the chance to climb the mountain, but at the minute this is not the case due to the cost, which shouldn't be lowered as it would lead to more poorly led expeditions and more deaths.
Although Chomolungma isn't technical I think that there is evidence to show that due to the luck of the genetic lottery some people can cope with altitude better than others, and it isn't a case of how your body copes and that particular day. Some peoples bodies can cope better than others regardless of the "day" Therefore some people would be quicker and safer on Chomolungma than others. If potential clients had previously been above 7,000m and could provide written testimony from a reputable guide that they coped as well as can be expected with the altitude this would stop people who through no fault of their own just can't move fast enough at extreme altitude. On a busy route such as Chomolungma if people are very slow it isn't just themselves they are putting at risk, but other people who are behind them in a queue.
Tourism will always be a vital source of income in rural areas such as Nepal, but Doug Scott is correct in saying that there is a need to encourage tourists away from certain "honeypot" areas so that the benefits reach as many people as possible, as well as lessening the environmental impact in some areas. This could be hard in the case of Chomolungma as people want to climb it because it's the highest mountain in the world and a lot of them wouldn't be interested in climbing (for example) Makalu, so if less income is generated from Chomolungma then Nepal as a whole would receive less income.
As a slight digression I wish people would stop referring to the mountain as Everest as this is the name that was imposed on it by British imperialists and is disrespectful to the local people, especially as Everest was a male surveyor general of India and the local people identified the mountain as female. Chomolungma means Mother Goddess of the World and is the Tibetean name for the mountain. I used this name as it is the indigenous name I'm most familiar with but I could have used Sagarmatha, "Goddess of the Sky" the Nepali name, or Tseringma "Mother of Long Life" as the Sherpas call it. Doug Scott mentions Denali. When I was younger I knew this mountain as Mckinnely, which was a Western name that was imposed on the mountain. This name is now rarely if ever used and people respectfully use the original indigenous name for for the mountain. If this was the correct thing to do regarding Denali then it is only correct to stop using Everest and use one of the indigenous names for the mountain.
Everest
16 June 2019Everest’s easier to remember
Douglas Cooper
15 July 2019Ultimately this is a decision for the Nepalese and the Sherpa communities and the Chinese and the Tibetan communities.
George Everest actually objected to his name being used for the mountain because it could not be locally pronounced. It was the Royal Geographical Society that "officially" named the mountain and the RGS now has an opportunity to right that historic wrong.The problem is who do they upset - the Nepalis, the Chinese, the Sherpas or the Tibetans. Perhaps Everest should prevail.