Mount Everest reopens to climbers
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Climbers are returning to Mount Everest for the first time since the devastating earthquakes that struck Nepal earlier this year.
Japan’s Kyodo News cited the Nepalese government as saying that Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki will be the first man back on the slopes of the world’s highest mountain. He will attempt a solo climb of Everest on the southeast ridge route, which was pioneered by Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953.
“Kuriki is climbing at a time when there is confusion in the world about the safety in Nepal after the earthquake,” Nepal’s Tourism Minister, Kripasur Sherpa, was quoted saying after issuing the climbing permit. “This will be an example for other visitors to come to Nepal, which is safe for mountain climbing.”
Kuriki said that he was undertaking the climb in an effort to “help Nepal, which is in troubles because of the earthquake”.
The two Nepal earthquakes killed almost 9,000 people in April and May this year. Approximately 400 climbers were at the Everest base camp at the time of the first earthquake, while many others were stranded on the slopes and hit by avalanches.
The return of climbers to Everest will be a major boost to the Nepalese tourism industry. Approximately 40% of international visitors to Nepal come for the trekking and climbing holidays, and the overall tourism industry employs an estimated half a million Nepalese people. The government fears that tourist arrivals to Nepal could fall by 40% this year.
Last month the popular Anapurna region of Nepal’s Himalayas reopened to tourists after a report confirmed it suffered little damage from the earthquakes.
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