It shouldn’t surprise me anymore, because it’s nothing new. And yet I am always astonished at how quickly and comprehensively the media avalanche rolls in as soon as Mount Everest comes into play.
That wouldn’t be so tragic if those involved in the information industry would take the trouble to check the facts before blasting out their news films, videos, and reports on all channels – accompanied by sensationalist headlines and flanked by lurid posts on social networks. On Monday, it happened again.
Incorrect or misleading information
“Deadly snow drama on Everest,” headlined Germany’s largest tabloid newspaper, for example – ignoring the fact that the death was reported in the mountains of China’s Qinghai province, more than 1,600 kilometers northeast of Mount Everest as the crow flies.
Years-old pictures of the snow-covered Advanced Base Camp on the north side of Everest were used as cover photos for the story about the snowbound trekking tourists. Video sequences of lines of climbers in the summit area on the Nepalese side of Everest were shown to document how crowded the mountain was.
Hikers, not mountaineers
I was asked for interviews by several media outlets, in which I could do little else but set the record straight: No, they were not mountaineers, but trekking tourists. No, they were not attempting to climb Everest, but were hiking through a valley on the east side of the mountain to catch a glimpse of it. Yes, one meter of fresh snow in one day in October is unusual, but no, it is not a weather phenomenon that has never occurred before.
Yes, some of those affected were obviously poorly equipped when they set off on their hike, but no, that does not mean that trekking tours in the Everest region are irresponsible. Yes, it is logistically complicated to rescue several hundred mountain tourists from a snow-covered valley. But no, it is not comparable to rescuing a climber in distress from a steep wall. And no, I don’t think it will end in disaster, but am convinced that the situation will be resolved without serious consequences.
The fact that around 40 people died in Nepal at the same time in floods and landslides was worth a sentence at most, if that. This information only distracted from the supposedly dramatic events on the Tibetan side of Everest.
Trekking boom in China
And what remains of this weather episode in the Everest region, if we leave aside all the dramatic embellishments? For me, really only the fact that even the Kama Valley (sometimes also called Gama Valley or Kharma Valley) on the east side of Everest is no longer an insider tip for a trekking tour: In a situation like the current one – during the holiday week marking the national holiday commemorating the founding of the communist state on 1 October 1949 – long lines of Chinese trekking tourists form in the valley.
For years, it has been observed in the Himalayas that Chinese men and women who can afford it have discovered mountain sports for themselves. The proportion of Chinese team members on expeditions to the eight-thousanders has risen significantly. Chinese is now also frequently spoken in trekking tourism. And unlike foreign mountain tourists, who are dependent on the goodwill of the Chinese-Tibetan authorities when it comes to issuing permits, Chinese clients have no difficulty traveling to Tibet.
Deserted by mountaineers
The lonely idyll of the Kama Valley is likely to be a thing of the past during peak seasons. As early as 1921, British mountaineers who came to Tibet to explore a route up the world’s highest mountain raved about the beauty of the valley. Among them was George Leigh Mallory, who disappeared under mysterious circumstances on the Northeast Ridge of Everest in 1924 and whose body was not found until 1999.
After his first glimpse of the Kama Valley, Mallory considered an ascent via the steep, avalanche-prone east face to be reckless. “Other men, less wise, might attempt this way if they would, but, emphatically, it was not for us,” he wrote in his expedition diary.
The face has only been mastered four times. In 1983, US mountaineers led by Carlos Buhler climbed it using bottled oxygen, and in 1988 a small international team led by Briton Stephen Venables opened another route – without breathing masks. In 1992, a Chilean team repeated the route taken by Venables and Co., and in 1999 an Indian team did the same – using bottled oxygen.
For years, the wall has been abandoned by mountaineers. In contrast to the many Chinese trekking tourists who come to take a look at it.
