Unlike all those who have dreamed of reaching the summit of Mt. Everest (8.848 m.) it has been enough for me to follow in the footsteps of legends such as Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay some of the way. They were the first to reach the top in 1953 on the Nepalese side of the mountain. After them, thousands have attempted to reach the summit. Some made it. Others died in the attempt.
On the way to Everest Base Camp we passed Chupki Lhara (4.840 m.), a ridge with large heaps of stones that are built in memory of those who died when they tried to reach the top of Everest. As I walked around the area I took a photo of some memorials with names. Scott Fischer was one of them. Our guide told us that Fischer was an American climber and the leader of one of the expeditions in1996. That season has been called the deadliest season in the history of Everest (until then). Together with Fischer, seven other mountaineers died when four different expeditions attempted the summit. All the photos are taken from Chupki Lhara and its surroundings.
When I was back in Kathmandu I bought the book «Into Thin Air» written by Jon Krakauer, an American journalist who was among the climbers on the expedition led by Rob Hall. He tells the story of what happened on the 10-11 of May 1996 when eight people got caught in a storm. The leaders did know about the storm that would peak on the 11th of May, so they planned to summit on the 10th, but only some of the climbers made it to the top. On the descend the storm was increasing its power But the reason for the fatalities was not the storm alone. Krakauer suggests it was a combination of incidents like delays near the summit, lack of fixed ropes and oxygen. To get their clients to the top became a competition between Hall and Fisher. Hall made the decision to turn back later than what they were supposed to. That meant many of the climbers reached the summit too late, which became fatal.
Disasters still occurs, questioning the commercialisation of climbing Mt. Everest. More than 200 persons have died in climbing accidents on Mount Everest. Littering has become another challenge.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Mount_Everest_disaster
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