Traffic jam reoccurs on Mount Everest

Overcrowding is recurring on Everest, causing climbers to die from lack of oxygen while waiting.

In May 2019, the scene of hundreds of people queuing up on the trail under the minus 30 degree cold waiting to climb Mount Everest caused a fever in the media around the world. The traffic jam that year left 11 people dead from exhaustion and lack of oxygen.

In early June, this scene was repeated again. A short video on TikTok recording a long line of climbers inching step by step, one after another going through the dangerous snowy mountain road on the "roof of the world" has attracted more than 3 million views and is being spread across platforms. social network.

Video of traffic jam on Mount Everest was spread on social networking sites in early June. Video: Everest_Official/TikTok

According to the Himalayan database, the number of deaths while climbing Everest this year has surpassed the figure of 11 people in 2019. As of June, there are 12 deaths and 5 people missing on this mountain.

News site (Australia) reported that the most recent death, three weeks ago, was Australian amateur mountaineer Jason Kennison. The cause of death was determined to be severe altitude shock. The expedition organizer said Kennison had climbed to the top and was beginning to show signs of exhaustion. When the rescue team brought him down to the resting area near the summit, Kennison was already dead.

One of the reasons why many climbers die on the way to conquer the roof of the world is the problem of traffic jams. Waiting in the cold of minus ten degrees Celsius at an altitude of over 8,000 m causes many dangers for climbers, especially those who are not experienced enough.

An Australian man died while climbing Mount Everest 3 weeks ago. Photo: News.com.au.

At the place near the top of the mountain, often called the "death place", climbers need to use a lot of oxygen to complete the conquest. Therefore, waiting for a long time easily leads to oxygen depletion in the oxygen tank.

Traffic congestion at Everest occurs due to two main reasons: the number of climbers is overloaded and the weather conditions are bad. The 2019 disaster that left 11 people dead also took place in the scene of long lines of people stuck waiting to reach the top in extreme weather conditions with snow and strong winds. Another reason is that more and more people are applying to conquer Everest but have not yet measured their fitness and accumulated enough experience to face the risks on the top of the mountain of death.

Traffic jam on Mount Everest taken in May 2019. Photo: Project Possible.

Bigyan Koirala, an official with the Ministry of Tourism of Nepal, said that in the first five months of the year, 478 people had been granted permission to climb Everest, an increase of more than 100 people compared to last year.

Lukas Furtenbach, who runs an Austria-based travel agency, says climbers are aware of the dangers of climbing Everest, but it's the deadly ordeal that is attracting more and more people to set their sights on the summit. set foot on the roof of the world.

Mr. Furtenbach emphasized the importance of providing enough oxygen for climbers during the climb. In addition, the organizers should use oxygen tanks reasonably to prevent prolonged traffic jams.

"I believe that with good safety standards, equipment and logistics, the organizers of Everest can avoid many mountaineer deaths," Furtenbach said.