At the moment, courage and perseverance alone are not enough to conquer Mount Everest. Above all, you need patience. To get to the highest point on earth (8,848 meters) you have to stand in line.
Since the main season will end in a few days, countless alpinists are currently setting off for the summit. To do this, they have to line up and climb the mountain in single file. While it was quiet in the Himalayan mountains last year, the rush will be big again in 2021.
New world records set
Even some world records have already been set this season, as «Bild» reports. A teacher from Hong Kong is said to have set the record for the fastest advancement of a woman. She is said to have climbed the summit within 25 hours and 50 minutes. In addition, the first family with eight siblings is said to have made it to the top and a Sherpa mountain guide is said to have been at the top for the 25th time.
But the conditions in the lofty heights make the alpinists to create. Low oxygen availability, freezing cold and strong winds have driven many adventurers to the brink of exhaustion or even death. This year there is another evil: the coronavirus.
The virus is said to be raging in the Himalayas, as the Tyrolean expedition organizer Lukas Furtenbach suspects. According to him, at least 100 climbers on Mount Everest are said to be infected. “When I walk through the base camp here, I hear coughing from the locked tents. Not the usual cough that arises from being up high, but one that sounds really sick, ”he says. The Nepalese authorities are supposed to cover up the infections, according to Furtenbach.
Did the Swiss die of the corona virus?
Only a few weeks ago, the Swiss Abdul Waheed Waraich († 41) collapsed on the descent from the summit – and died. The same fate befell an American climber. Exhaustion was given as the cause of death. But Furtenbach’s suspicions cast doubt on this version. It could also be the coronavirus behind it. The Tyrolean recommends: “As a relative, I would recover the body and have it autopsy, including a corona test.”
Despite the risks, mountaineers do not shy away from adventure in the Himalayas. Around 408 foreign adventurers are said to have received an ascent permit. That’s more than ever since the first ascent of the world’s highest peak in 1953. (ouch)
Published: June 8th, 2021, 10 minutes ago
Last updated: June 8, 2021, 10 minutes ago