Recently, due to relatively stable weather conditions, Mount Everest has seen a surge of climbers attempting to reach the summit, leading to severe congestion on the mountain. The already treacherous and rugged paths were packed with mountaineers from around the world, all forced to wait in freezing winds for hours. Many suffered from hypothermia, altitude sickness, and other discomforts, with some tragically losing their lives as a result.
According to the Daily Mail, 11 climbers have died in the past week while attempting to summit Mount Everest, including a 54-year-old woman from Mumbai, India, named Anjali Sharad Kulkarni. With 25 years of mountaineering experience, she and her husband were tackling Everest together. Footage shows Kulkarni suddenly collapsing to the ground while descending after reaching the summit. Her Sherpa guide tried desperately to grab her arm and save her, but her body kept slipping downhill, and she ultimately lost her life at the scene.
In fact, mountaineering is one of Nepal’s key tourism industries. This spring, the government issued 381 climbing permits, each costing $11,000 (approximately NT$340,000), resulting in massive queues on Everest. Despite the many fatalities, Nepal’s tourism department insists that overcrowding is not the main cause of the deaths, and therefore will not change its permit issuance system.