Pt. Everest Research Paper

Mount Everest used to be about hard work and experience for the climbers who chose to take on the challenge. Now it seems to be about marking something of a bucket list. The sense of accomplishment some Westerners feel after summiting Everest is not worth all the negative repercussions is provides.
The peak which was one untouched by humans is now considered to be the highest elevation junkyard on Earth. Abandoned oxygen canisters, medical waste, boots, and even the bodies is enough to close Everest at least temporarily. PT Sherpa, a spokesman for Keep, said: “The Maoist insurgency presented conversion organizations in Nepal with serious challenges— constraining programs, damaging infrastructure and threatening the security of staff. Now we
are hoping for more open dialogue on conversation with the government, and resting Mount Everest for a number of years is at the top of our list,” (Should Everest be Closed?). The government though seems more interested in the tens of thousands of dollars they earn per team.
Each year the number of ascents increase, and so does the amount of trash and human waste. According to Alton Byers, director of Science and Exploration at the US-based Mountain Institution, “At base camp, visitors annually produce about 12,000 pounds of human waste each year, which often end up in the waterways that nearby villages rely upon,” (One Year After Deadly Disaster, Climbers Are Still Leaving Shit All Over Mount Everest). The amount of waste left on the mountain is a health hazard for the villages who occupy the regions surrounding Everest.
With influx of thousands of tourists each year, its hard to have enough electricity and clean water for everyone. As PT Sherpa said, “Nepal is ravaged by water and air pollution caused by industrialization and increased tourism. Water supplies for local villages, delivered through irrigation systems in the mountains, are being critically depleted and urgent action needs to be taken,” (Should Everest be Closed?). Nepal itself is being neglected in the favor of tourism, but it needs to be able to take care of itself before it tries to take on additional responsibilities.
Climate change is an argument for pretty much everything these days, but when it comes to Everest, its legit. “If it wasn't the tallest mountain in the world, you would never put yourself on a glacier this active,” guide Adrian Ballinger told the Associated Press, (Nepal’s Earthquake And Why Mount Everest Should Close—Permanently). Climate change is making avalanches happen, its changing the very face of the mountain, and somehow that doesn't seem to make a difference.
Along with climate change, another cause of concern is deforestation. Sherpas are having to cut down trees to keep the tourists warm and fed. If the trees and the glaciers both disappear, so will the spirit of Nepal.
The magnitude of seven point eight quake followed by a seven point three aftershock took the lives of more than 8,000 people in Nepal.
This killed 19 expedition members at the Everest Base Camp. With this in mind, the expectation should be for a slow season on Everest, but according to Dave Roberts, “The death of the 16 sherpas didn't slow things down.” (Will Everest’s Climbing Circus Slow Down After Disasters?). The earthquake shook up the mountain, just because nothing has fallen and killed, doesn't mean it won’t.
People who climb the Everest these days can hardly be called “mountaineers”. For Graham Hoyland, the author of “The Last Hours on Everest”, “It isn't a wilderness experience—it’s a McDonald’s experience,” (Nepal’s Earthquake And Why Mount Everest Should be Closed—Permanently). The climbers are often not experienced enough to be on that mountain in the first place; risking not only their own lives, but also the lives of their expedition members and the sherpas.
Sandy Pittman’s involvement on the 1996 expedition was perhaps one of the reasons that year was so disastrous. She wasn't as experienced as a climber as she should've been, and that fact was well known before she begin her quest to the summit, “…maybe Sandy’s not a great climber…”(Into Thin Air). Regardless of the benefits involved, climber’s limitations should be recognized before they start
climbing.
Sherpas don't get the recognition they deserve for doing all the hard work; without them, most climbers wouldn't get anywhere near summiting the Everest. Queen Elizabeth II made sure that one of the very first acts performed by her as the Queen was to Knight Hillary; but Tenzing Norgay, the sherpa who summited with Hillary got only a medal for his efforts. Norgay’s grandson agrees, “I think my grandfather should have been knighted.He was a member of the expedition, not just a sherpa,” (Nepal’s Earthquake and Why Mount Everest Should be Closed—Permanently). The racial policies involved with the mountain are disgusting.
Sherpas are fearing for their lives because of the appalling conditions of the Mountain. Westerns might be able to use bottled-oxygen, but sherpas are the ones who have to carry them. According to Krakauer’s account “each of the sherpa supporting my team’s ascent was required to make something like thirty trips through the Icefall, often while carrying eighty-pound loads of food, propane, and bottled oxygen,” (Death and Anger on Everest). Climbing Everest might be safer now for paying customers, but the same isn't true for the sherpas.
One of the strongest opposing argument against closing down Everest is that the sherpas would lose their primary source of income. Is the risk of death and the not nearly good enough compensation for dying enough? For some sherpas, it is “There are tens of thousands of people in the region who solely depend on the trekkers and mountaineers for their income,” (Should Everest be Closed?). If Everest is closed, Nepal might finally form an identity outside of Everest, those other opportunities will never be discovered if Everest remains opened; theses sherpas won’t ever be able to find something else out there.
Sir Edmund himself has said that he wanted the mountain closed for visits limited, and there are plenty of reasons for it. The pollution on the mountain isn't just annoying, but hazardous. There aren't enough resources for the villagers and the tourists to share comfortably. Climate change is changing the mountain; the Nepalis earthquake has made the mountain more dangerous than ever. People climbing the mountain aren't nearly as skilled as they should be, and the sherpas are having to rise their own lives of the clients. These are just few of the reasons to close the mountain; Everest deserves its rest, and maybe in a few year it would be ready to take on more amateur climbers.