KATHMANDU: Nepal is considering banning foreign climbers from scaling Mount Everest alone in a bid to reduce accidents on the world’s highest peak, an industry official said.
Solo climbers would be forced to take a local guide up the mountain amid concerns of safety, overcrowding and piles of rubbish on the “roof of the world,” the president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said.
The proposed ban is likely to anger elite solo mountaineers, who enjoy the challenge of climbing alone, even eschewing bottled oxygen, and who blame a huge influx of commercial expeditions for littering the peak.
The proposal is one of a string of measures being flagged ahead of the start of the climbing season in late April, and comes 12 months after a brawl on the mountain between three European climbers and local guides. “We are considering making it compulsory for individual foreign climbers to take along a local guide when they go to Everest, to reduce risks and prevent accidents,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa, whose association represents tourism promoters.
Police name 22 in rooftop fall
SEOUL: South Korean police yesterday named 22 people who may face criminal charges over the collapse last month of a gymnasium packed with students that killed 10 people, mostly college freshmen.
More than 200 were injured when the roof of the building -- in a sprawling mountain resort near the southern city of Gyeongju -- caved in under the weight of heavy snow on February 17.
Welcoming events for college freshmen were being held at the resort which had experienced unusually heavy snowfall.
Police earlier said evidence had been found of structural flaws and lax management controls.
The group of 22 people include senior managers of the resort and companies that built the gymnasium, as well as municipal officials.
They are accused of using cheap, inadequate materials, providing state approval to an inadequate project and failing to remove snow or issue timely heavy snow alerts, police said.
Agencies
