Under the new crown crisis, the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, has not been spared.
Nepal reopened the spring mountaineering season in early April after closing mountaineering activities for a year. However, just a few weeks later, at least one mountaineer has been diagnosed with new crown pneumonia.
The climber’s name is Erlend Ness, from Norway. He was diagnosed just last Friday and is currently in hospital isolation. He is not sure where he contracted the virus, but it is very likely that he contracted it in a tea shop in the Khumbu Valley under Mount Everest.
Erlend Ness feels unwell at base camp
While preparing for the climb at the base camp, he experienced intense discomfort and difficulty breathing. On April 15, a helicopter took him from the base camp and taken him to the hospital in Kathmandu. Fortunately, he purchased new crown insurance in advance, including the rescue cost.
“Not many climbers used masks.” He recalled to an Associated Press reporter. According to a report by the mountaineering website Explorersweb, all climbers currently in the base camp have undergone two new coronavirus tests before leaving Kathmandu.
A Sherpa in his team has also been diagnosed with the new crown.
Erlend Ness in the hospital
In response, a senior mountain guide Austrian Lukas Furtenbach warned that Nepal should immediately check all climbers, guides and Sherpas and take safety measures. The virus is likely to have spread to hundreds of others and is now on Mount Everest. Spread among climbers camped in the base camp.
“We now urgently need to conduct large-scale testing in the base camp. Everyone must be tested, each team must be quarantined, and no contact between teams is allowed.” Furtenbach said. “Start now, otherwise it will be too late.”
He complained that only members of his team were still following the epidemic prevention guidelines, washing hands as usual, keeping a safe distance, doing virus tests every few days, and wearing masks. But the other climbers in the base camp didn’t care, and often invited people from other teams to parties.
Nepal’s economy is heavily dependent on Mount Everest climbing activities. According to the Kathmandu Post, the Nepalese government earns 4 million U.S. dollars each year by issuing Mount Everest climbing permits. According to data from the Nepal Mountaineering Association, 80% of Nepalese income comes from mountaineering activities and the tourism industry surrounding it. In 2019, 54,000 were directly employed by climbers who came to Mount Everest, including cooks, drivers and Sherpas who assisted in climbing.
Mount Everest is the “food and clothing parent” of many Nepalese
The traditional spring mountaineering activities start in April, and about 40 mountaineering teams come to Mount Everest at this time each year. And last year, due to the new crown epidemic, Mount Everest was closed, which was also a heavy blow to Nepal.
This year, after Nepal announced the resumption of spring mountaineering, hundreds of climbers are expected to try to reach the summit. The Nepal Immigration Department stated that all travelers entering Nepal must present a negative test report for the new coronavirus within 72 hours, or a certificate of completion of the new crown vaccination. Tourists from countries with variant strains need to be quarantined at the hotel for an additional 10 days.
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