‘The air is spine-chilling but not because of the bitter cold winds tearing through the skin. It’s because you see mutilated body parts, human remains and frozen bodies of mountaineers who have died a miserable death while chasing their dream of scaling the Summit’, Kiwi climber James B Hourton recently wrote. Indeed so. In India alone, over 5,000 deaths have been reported from various mountain terrains and the figure is set to rise with unregistered mountaineering schools steadily growing and tempting novices to take on perilous climbing expeditions just for fun. Some even bribe the sherpas to select a route less travelled putting their lives at risk and also hurting the fragile mountains. DEEBASHREE MOHANTY delves into the pitfalls of a sport called mountaineering
Yet, mountaineering continues to be one of the most expensive and popular adventure sports in India. In 2013, as many as 37,000 people enrolled in our institute to train for the Mount Everest expedition. At the end of the training period, 25,000 were deemed fit to climb. We had only 14 per cent minor injuries, two major falls (the victims were from New Zealand and Austria now undergoing treatment back home) and the rest made it to 3,500 meters without any worry. That’s an achievement. We charge Rs 75,000 for a base camp light mountaineering course which includes everything, meals and training equipment,” Maj (Gen) Ajay Tyagi, director, India Mountaineering School (IMS) says.
Tyagi also tells you that there are 13 major registered mountaineering institutes in India, each one minting money. During peak season, and it differs from terrain to terrain, these institutes are flooded with wannabe mountaineers from across the globe. “Although some private players charge between Rs 1.5 and Rs 3 lakh for a monthly course, they still manage more than 10,000 students a season. The traction is mainly from the US, Russia, Australia, England and, of late, from Dubai and Afghanistan. There are very few Indians enrolling for such expensive courses. They prefer to go to an Army institute where the same training is offered for much less,” he adds. But Tyagi warns that even after paying a huge sum, most people who come out of these schools are novices in mountain climbing.
So, is it safe for such people to take on mountain climbing merely to test their limitsIJ “The Indian landscape, particularly Mount Everest and the hills in Manali and Uttarkashi are considered the most challenging for mountain climbing in Asia. That is what attracts tourists and Indians to give it a try. It’s for that adrenaline rush. Almost 60 per cent accidents don’t get reported but most are serious enough to result in immediate death or disability. Even people who made it to their desired height have complained of post-sport stress resulting in life threatening problems,” Akaash Duttaray, trainer with the IMF, says. Duttaray has spent 15 years training students to take on mountains but he says the risk has increased manifold in the past five years or so.
“The mountains have become more perilous, and aggressive. Mother Nature is changing tack. Or blame it on trekkers, travellers, mountaineers and transporters. It is a richochete effect. The mountains are grumbling as their private space has been attacked,” Duttaray explains. He tells you that although mountaineering and trekking as a sport has existed in India since the 1960s, it has grown by almost 70 per cent in the last decade. And unless it is regulated, it is going to grow by another 13 per cent by the end of this year.
Why does that pose a threatIJ “Earlier, we had identified tracks which were the safest to reach a Summit and everyone used to follow that as a rule. But now, young sherpas want to experiment with newer, more dangerous routes just for fun. Foreign tourists promise them big bucks for a challenging climb and the sherpas oblige without weighing in the pros and cons. And, they hurt the mountain bends by corroding the surface with deep digging into soft snow — to serious repercussions. One needs stricter guidelines and proper sherpa training,” Duttaray says.
In November 2013, there was an expedition for which 13 young corporates from the US came to test their mountaineering skills in Uttarkashi. Seven of them had made it to the base camp of Mt Everest in 2010 and thought it would be child’s play to climb the Uttarkashi hills. But only nine survived the climb and no one could go beyond 1,200 meters.
“I have been climbing these mountains as a child so I know the tricky areas. Coach sir told me to avoid those areas and we should be fine. The weather was perfect for some light rock climbing and rope tailing and the tourists (most from Washington) were having fun. A little past 3 pm, a porter heard a rumble and advised us to return. But the tourists wanted to go a little further. I gave in after much debate. Hardly had we crossed the Nagaptula Bend 786 meters above sea level that a sudden storm caught us unawares and truck-sized boulders came hurtling down. We somehow climbed for another seven minutes and reached a shelter stop that shielded us from the rocks. But those seven minutes were the most dreadful ones of my life.
“Twentyseven-year-old Jupiter Hummingbird, an accounts manager at the IBM, US, lost grip and slipped. He held on to a bark of a tree but not for long. A 12-foot high boulder came down on him and he was thrown down the mountain with such speed that we couldn’t even hear his scream. His severed right arm, however, still clutched the bark. We had no option but to move on and save ourselves. By the time we reached the shelter post, Duke Hudson (21-year-old from Texas) had fractured his leg and bruised an arm. He needed immediate medical attention but couldn’t move till the storm stopped. It eventually did after two hours but by then Duke had lost a lot of blood and was writhing in pain. Unable to take it anymore, he jumped off the mountain. These kind of suicides are quite common as carrying back injured climbers is a tough task. The return journey was extremely painful for the climbers as everyone had suffered injuries in the landslide. On our way, lily (from Texas) complained of a splitting headache. By the time we reached our camp, three more people were in danger zone. They were air lifted to the nearby hospital in Dehra Dun but died on the way,” Rishi lamba, a guide-cum-porter, recalls.
He earned Rs 20,000 as tips from the foreigners and the institute (Doon Mountain School) paid him a meagre Rs 7,500 for this disastrous climb. Today, lamba charges Rs 50,000 for a two-day climb to the Nagaptula bend and he doesn’t go any further from there. Every bend in the mountain has a sad story to tell.
For the sherpas in Nepal, however, it is edges and not the bends that are the scary stuff. But that doesn’t stop them from making three trips a season. “That is their only source of income. Mountain climbing is in their blood and they have a very good gut sense which even trained and avid mountaineers don’t possess. With the demands of climbers growing, sherpas find it difficult to turn down lucrative offers howsoever risky they may be. In one trip alone, they can make up to Rs 80,000 (Nepali). Although they are struggling to keep in good shape themselves, the sherpas are reluctant to let go of opportunities. They are bribed according to the task, risk to life not withstanding,” Ajay Patra, a mountaineer who has climbed all the three (the Everest, the Ghargholi Pass in Himanchal and the Rohtang Pass) tough terrains in a year, says.
But the sherpas are not complaining. They may be suffering from severe anemia, heart and lung problems but if they are being compensated, they don’t mind. However, they too have their off days. After the April 18 disaster in which 16 sherpas lost their life to an avalanche, the entire lot has gone into a shell and are saying no to dangerous expeditions.
“There were three reasons for ending the season, safety concerns around the icefall, respect for the sherpas killed in the serac (column of glacial ice) release, and the ongoing negotiations for improved insurance and compensation between the sherpas and the Nepali Government. Going through the Khumbu Icefall is always dangerous, but many sherpas were shaken by the deaths of their 16 colleagues. The religious sherpas believe the mountain is taking revenge — that sherpas are being punished, perhaps for the excesses of the past. Others simply feel that continuing to climb will dishonour the dead. Here, politics is at work too. There is a struggle between the younger sherpas who work for low-end operators and older ones who work for well-established, high-paying operators. The younger contingent is flexing its muscles to show that sherpas control Mt Everest from the south side and can shut down business if they so choose,” says Drooke Arnette, co-founder of the Indian Mountaineering Club.
A 13-point petition was presented to Nepal’s Tourism Ministry highlighting the sherpas’ demands. They want 30 per cent of the $3.5 million the Government collects in permit fees to return to the mountain and fund future rescue operations (the Government agreed to five per cent); they want the current $10,000 death benefit doubled to $20,000 (the Government agreed to $15,000); they want better compensation for sherpas injured on mountains and a memorial for the sherpas who died (the Government agreed to both). Whatever the eventual resolution, it seems certain that crowds will be lining up again to summit Everest in 2015 and that these Sherpas will again risk their lives to help climbers achieve their dreams.
“There is risk in every profession. Yes, climbing is laced with problems but we get good money. A fixed salary from the institute we are affiliated to and hefty amounts if we get a good group. Humara usi se gujara ho jaata hai. The salary varies according to the experience of the sherpa. But the bribe is always on the group. Some like to take on young corporate mountaineers because they have the money. Student groups can’t afford to bribe much. In a season we can make only two-three trips and that’s the only money we will make for the entire year. We want the Government to give us some stability,” Negula Ambaki, a sherpa affiliated with the IMF, says. He tells you how his colleague, 21-year-old Nagaki wanted to leave the job and settle down with his girlfriend. He wanted to participate in a reality show on TV and never wanted to see a mountain again.
“Ambaki hasn’t been found after that avalanche. He was so full of life and although he was one of our best guys on the job, he wanted to quit and do something more ‘reliable and more glamorous’. He would often joke in the camp: ‘We risk our lives but how many people know usIJ We should get into TV to become popular’. He has, in a weird way,” Ambaki says.
However, he is alarmed by the vertical increase in the footfall for scaling the summit. “While more than 70 per cent climbers are novices, others have attended some rock climbing classes and feel they can climb the Everest. They do silly things and make sherpas also indulge in their whims and fancies. At the end of the day, we lose lives. That’s not fair,” an English speaking Ambaki says, adding that this is payback time from the mountains.
Can improper training and height trigger all those deathsIJ Should the Government be ignoring such thingsIJ “Mountaineering is a big reason for tourist influx in Nepal and India. So, it is high time the Governments had some regulations in place. Also limp laws and policies allow unregistered agencies to send novices into the mountains. They abuse the property and end up having major accidents. They also ruin well laid tracks for experienced mountaineers to follow. The Government should be strict about these fly by night institutes. It is a sport but it is a sport that requires a lot of mind and attention. It’s just a matter of one slip and the story ends,” youngest climber Arjun Bajpai says, adding that the Mt Everest base camp resembles a picnic spot with a huge crowd loitering around. Forty to 50,000 people attempt to climb Mount Everest annually.
But, is there no way outIJ “look at achievable treks like Manali and some other valleys in Himanchal Pradesh for fun and experience. leave the big Summit for mountaineers with experience and skill,” Bajpai says.