Problems may peak this year with ‘traffic jams’ at Everest

Nepalese officials are bracing for a “traffic jam” at Mount Everest this season due to a surge in the number of climbers eyeing to conquer the world’s tallest peak.

This time, there would be around 400 climbers who will embark on the journey to scale the 8,848-metre high Mt Everest from mid-May, according to the Department of Tourism.

As climbers are accompanied by high-altitude workers, whose number is usually more than that of climbers, there could be around 1,000 individuals on their way to the summit, creating a queue whose snail-paced movement will be punctuated by frequent halts, The Kathmandu Post reported.

“Everyone will be in a hurry to reach the peak when the weather clears; there is no management up there to fix turns for the climbers,” said Sonam Sherpa, who has scaled Mt Everest five times while working as an aide to climbers.

Good weather conditions mean expedition teams will start climbing up from camps two, three and four, resulting in “traffic jams”, the report said.

Those with permission from 2014 are likely to return to scale the peak this year since in 2015, the government introduced a new law allowing climbers a three-years window to scale Mt Everest with a single permit and fare.

“The climbers who had taken permission earlier have also arrived to ensure that they do not miss the chance. That is why the number of climbers this season is high,” Durgadatta Dhakal, information officer at the Department of Tourism, was quoted as saying.

This year, 267 climbers have already started trekking from Namche to the Everest base camp.