Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2020-11-23)

November 23, 2020

issued a record number of permits in 2019, leading

to overcrowding near the summit that played a

role in 11 deaths.

“I have a feeling that there will be a surge in

climbers in 2021, as many climbers who had already

planned their climb in 2020 had to postpone their

climb due to the pandemic,” says Ang Tshering

Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering

Association and chairman of Asian Trekking Pvt.,

based in Kathmandu. However, he thinks the risks

of overcrowding can be mitigated, saying “the traffic

jam on Everest in the previous years was due to lack

ofcoordinationamongtheexpeditionoperators

andgovernmentofficersatbasecamp.”

Atthesametime,heworriesthateconomicdif-

ficultiesintheU.S.,Europe,andelsewherecould

leadtoa dropinnewbookings,withclimbers

strugglingtoraisecorporatesponsorshipmoney

todefraythecostoftheascent.“IwouldsayI have

a mixedfeeling,butatthesametimeI amkeeping

a positivethoughtfor2021.”—PabloRobles

31

DATA: THE HIMALAYAN DATABASE; NEPAL MINISTRY OF CULTURE, TOURISM & CIVIL AVIATION

THE BOTTOM LINE Nepal’s government had set its sights on

luring 2 million visitors in 2020. Instead, a seven-month travel ban

has devastated the industry that revolves around Mount Everest.

 People above

base camp on Mount

Everestduringthe

springseason

Climbers

Hired Sherpas

 Government royalties

frommountaineering in

Nepalin 2019

MountEverest

Other peaks

$4.1m

$1.0m

600

400

200

0

1970 2020