Ever since George Mallory memorably expressed in three words — because it is there — the rationale for man’s urge to “conquer” Mount Everest, thousands of climbers have trained for years to fulfil their ambition of standing on top of the world. The first two to do were Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, the 60th anniversary of whose achievement was celebrated on Wednesday. Since their feat, at least 6,000 successful ascents have been recorded. If more mountaineers than ever before are reaching the summit, the reason is the vast improvement in their equipment and in the techniques of climbing since the days of Mallory and Andrew Irvine.
The improvements have been such that records are broken every year. This spring, an 80-year-old Japanese, Yuichiro Miura, reached the summit, making him the oldest ever to do so. The youngest is Jordan Romero, who set the record in 2010, aged 13. This year, 520 climbers have reached the top. On May 19, around 150 climbed the last 3,000 feet from Camp IV within hours of each other, causing lengthy delays as they queued to descend or ascend the difficult sections. Hence, the suggestion to install a ladder from the Hillary Step to the summit to avoid overcrowding. But, the ladder can only be used while coming down and not when going up lest it robs the climbers of the thrill of straining against the elements — the icy wind, the steep, craggy slope — to reach atop.
However, the race for the summit is not a story of success alone. About 300 climbers have died in recent years. Moreover, as an increasing number scale the peak, heaps of garbage are being dumped at the eco-fragile site. A joint army team of India and Nepal tried to clean the slopes, collecting over 4,000kg trash. But, it cannot be a one-time effort. Climbing the Everest should not only be made safer, but the route should also become cleaner.