Latest news with #mountaineering
The Independent
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Adventure tourism is turning into ‘complete circus', says first Welshman to climb Everest
The first Welshman to climb Mount Everest has said that the adventure tourism industry is becoming a 'complete circus'. Caradoc Jones, 66, told BBC News that the bucket list quest to conquer Everest's peak has 'turned into a complete circus and has almost nothing to do with real mountaineering '. Mr Jones summited the world's highest mountain 30 years ago for between £2,000 and £3,000. The Welshman from Pontrhydfendigaid, Ceredigion, tackled the 8,848.86m challenge on 23 May 1995 with his Danish climbing partner, Michael Knakkergaard Jørgensen. Mr Jones started the climb, which he described as a 'personal battle', from the Tibet area, encountering a storm around the 8,300m mark. The mountaineer warned that climbing risks losing 'the element of a real adventure' as mountains become popular tourist attractions, reported BBC News. According to Climbing Magazine, the average climber will fork out between $45,000 (£33,387) and $75,000 (£55,645) on an Everest climb in 2025. Mr Jones said: 'People are quietly doing much harder things in every corner of the world and that's where the heart of mountaineering and climbing lies I think.' In April, it was reported that Nepal would pass a law to grant permits to climb Mount Everest only to those who have previously scaled at least one 7,000-metre peak within the country. The move would mark a major shift for the tourism-dependent country amid concerns over overcrowding and ecological imbalance on the world's highest mountain. Nepal, which is heavily reliant on climbing, trekking and tourism, has faced criticism for permitting too many climbers, including inexperienced ones, to try to ascend the mammoth peak. This often results in long queues of climbers in the 'death Zone', an area below the summit with insufficient natural oxygen for survival. The Integrated Tourism Bill proposed in Nepal's upper house of Parliament on 18 April is expected to be passed in the National Assembly.
New York Times
3 days ago
- General
- New York Times
Chinese Paraglider Reaches Near-Record Heights — Over 28,000 Feet — by Accident
A paraglider in China who had intended to simply test some equipment instead ended up unwittingly reaching barely survivable heights last week. Peng Yujiang, a 55-year-old paraglider in Gansu province, on Saturday morning flew nearly 8,600 meters above sea level — more than 28,200 feet, or about 5.3 miles — in the Qilian mountain range of northwest China's Qinghai and Gansu provinces, according to state media. The episode was captured on a camera attached to his equipment and showed the harrowing conditions he experienced. Mr. Peng rose to a level almost on par with Mount Everest's summit and aviation flight paths. His face and body are covered in frost and ice in the video, which was originally posted to social media and later shared by Chinese state media. 'I felt the lack of oxygen. My hands were frozen outside. I kept trying to talk on the radio,' Mr. Peng said in a video recorded after the incident, according to Sixth Tone, an English-language, Chinese state-owned outlet. According to local news media, Mr. Peng was testing equipment as part of 'ground handling training' — a step that paragliders say is critical to managing safe launches — at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level, or about 10,000 feet. But a strong wind suddenly lifted him into the sky. He could not control the glider or land as the draft grew stronger and he was pulled up above the clouds. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Nepal's Mountaineering Community Celebrates 72nd Anniversary of Mount Everest Conquest
Nepal's mountaineering community celebrated the conquest of the world's highest mountain with a rally of climbers, guides and others who gathered for International Everest Day. The event Thursday marked the 72nd anniversary of the first summit climb of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay. Nepal's minister for culture and tourism led the celebration in the capital, Kathmandu, that included a walk around the city and a gathering at the old palace. 'We are celebrating May 29 as the international Sagarmatha (Everest) day because the world needs to continue to recognize the achievement and contribution of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay,' said Ang Tshering, who runs Kathmandu-based Asian Trekking. The event was not just a celebration for the mountaineering community but also a festival for Nepal and the world, said Tshering, who has helped hundreds of clients scale the Himalayan peaks. Nepal contains eight of the highest peaks in the world and every year hundreds of foreign climbers fly to the country in South Asia to tackle the mountains. The climbers hire thousands of people in Nepal to assist their climbs by carrying gear, cooking food and generally taking care of them as they spend weeks in the mountains. Nepal's government collects money from the climbers through permit fees. The end of May also marks the end of the popular spring mountaineering season, when climbers finish their adventures and retreat from the peaks before the monsoon season brings foul weather. 'This day is celebrated also to mark the end of the climbing season where we gather climbers and the community,' Jiban Ghimire of Shangri-La Nepal Trek said. According to Nepal's Department of Mountaineering, 468 foreign climbers from 57 countries received permits to climb Everest by the end of May, along with a roughly equal number of Nepalese mountain guides. Many were able to scale the peak, but officials were still working to verify how many reached the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit. Climbers must report to the department with proof they reached the summit and cleared their garbage before they are issued the official certificate. Famed Sherpa guide Kami Rita reached the Everest summit for the 31st time Tuesday, breaking his own record for the most climbs to the top of the famed mountain.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Nepal's mountaineering community celebrates 72nd anniversary of Mount Everest conquest
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Nepal's mountaineering community celebrated the conquest of the world's highest mountain with a rally of climbers, guides and others who gathered for International Everest Day. The event Thursday marked the 72nd anniversary of the first summit climb of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay. Nepal's minister for culture and tourism led the celebration in the capital, Kathmandu, that included a walk around the city and a gathering at the old palace. 'We are celebrating May 29 as the international Sagarmatha (Everest) day because the world needs to continue to recognize the achievement and contribution of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay,' said Ang Tshering, who runs Kathmandu-based Asian Trekking. The event was not just a celebration for the mountaineering community but also a festival for Nepal and the world, said Tshering, who has helped hundreds of clients scale the Himalayan peaks. Nepal contains eight of the highest peaks in the world and every year hundreds of foreign climbers fly to the country in South Asia to tackle the mountains. The climbers hire thousands of people in Nepal to assist their climbs by carrying gear, cooking food and generally taking care of them as they spend weeks in the mountains. Nepal's government collects money from the climbers through permit fees. The end of May also marks the end of the popular spring mountaineering season, when climbers finish their adventures and retreat from the peaks before the monsoon season brings foul weather. "This day is celebrated also to mark the end of the climbing season where we gather climbers and the community," Jiban Ghimire of Shangri-La Nepal Trek said. According to Nepal's Department of Mountaineering, 468 foreign climbers from 57 countries received permits to climb Everest by the end of May, along with a roughly equal number of Nepalese mountain guides. Many were able to scale the peak, but officials were still working to verify how many reached the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit. Climbers must report to the department with proof they reached the summit and cleared their garbage before they are issued the official certificate. Famed Sherpa guide Kami Rita reached the Everest summit for the 31st time Tuesday, breaking his own record for the most climbs to the top of the famed mountain.
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Nepal's mountaineering community celebrates 72nd anniversary of Mount Everest conquest
Nepal's mountaineering community celebrated the conquest of the world's highest mountain with a rally of climbers, guides and others who gathered for International Everest Day. The event Thursday marked the 72nd anniversary of the first summit climb of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay. Nepal's minister for culture and tourism led the celebration in the capital, Kathmandu, that included a walk around the city and a gathering at the old palace. 'We are celebrating May 29 as the international Sagarmatha (Everest) day because the world needs to continue to recognize the achievement and contribution of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay,' said Ang Tshering, who runs Kathmandu-based Asian Trekking. The event was not just a celebration for the mountaineering community but also a festival for Nepal and the world, said Tshering, who has helped hundreds of clients scale the Himalayan peaks. Nepal contains eight of the highest peaks in the world and every year hundreds of foreign climbers fly to the country in South Asia to tackle the mountains. The climbers hire thousands of people in Nepal to assist their climbs by carrying gear, cooking food and generally taking care of them as they spend weeks in the mountains. Nepal's government collects money from the climbers through permit fees. The end of May also marks the end of the popular spring mountaineering season, when climbers finish their adventures and retreat from the peaks before the monsoon season brings foul weather. "This day is celebrated also to mark the end of the climbing season where we gather climbers and the community," Jiban Ghimire of Shangri-La Nepal Trek said. According to Nepal's Department of Mountaineering, 468 foreign climbers from 57 countries received permits to climb Everest by the end of May, along with a roughly equal number of Nepalese mountain guides. Many were able to scale the peak, but officials were still working to verify how many reached the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit. Climbers must report to the department with proof they reached the summit and cleared their garbage before they are issued the official certificate. Famed Sherpa guide Kami Rita reached the Everest summit for the 31st time Tuesday, breaking his own record for the most climbs to the top of the famed mountain.
