Rush up Everest to begin despite deaths

Katmandu: Days after four people died amid a "traffic jam" of climbers scrambling to conquer Mount Everest, Nepal officials said a similar rush up the world's tallest peak will begin soon, and there's little they can do to control it.

About 200 climbers are expected to attempt to scale the summit of the 8,850-metre mountain between Friday and Sunday, Nepali mountaineering official Gyanendra Shrestha said. Some have been at a staging camp for days, waiting for a window of good weather during this worse-than-usual climbing season.

A similar crowd of 208 climbers headed to the summit last week, and four died on Saturday in one of the deadliest days ever on the mountain.

Ha Wenyi of China, Eberhard Schaaf of Germany, Nepal-born Canadian Shriya Shah and South Korean Song Won-bin died on Saturday on their way down from the summit. They are believed to have suffered exhaustion and altitude sickness, Shrestha said yesterday.

Shrestha also said a Nepalese Sherpa guide who had been reported missing from the group reached the base camp safely on Monday. Shrestha says the guide was separated from the group and did not have communications equipment. The latest deaths have raised concerns about overcrowding above the highest camp on the mountain. The area is nicknamed the "death zone" because of the steep icy slope, treacherous conditions and low oxygen level.

"There was a traffic jam on the mountain on Saturday. Climbers were still heading to the summit as late as 2.30pm, which is quite dangerous," Shrestha said. Climbers normally are advised not to try for the summit after 11am.

Shrestha said climbers "had a longer wait for their chance to go up the trail and spent too much time at higher altitude. Many of them are believed to be carrying a limited amount of oxygen, not anticipating the extra time spent."

Now, with a large number of climbers expected to head up the same trail under similar conditions, Nepalese authorities acknowledged safety concerns but said they can't turn anyone away.

"The climbers have received the permits to climb within specific dates. We cannot say who gets to get to the summit on which dates because of the unpredictable weather. When weather clears up they all want to benefit," said Nepal's Tourism Ministry spokesman Bal Krishna Ghimire.