Veteran Sherpa Sees Everest Base Camp Changes; No Need To Melt Ice, Lakes Grow As Glaciers Retreat

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Now 51, Apa Sherpa said his 21st climb to the world's highest mountain would be his last. The first 16 climbs were to support his family, and in the other expeditions he was a climber himself, he says. The education of his three children is paramount. “My family wants me to spend time with them.” He lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, and teaches climbing skills there though the mountains are like “buns,” he grins. However, his association with Mt. Everest would continue along with Dawa Steven Sherpa, who has been part of the Eco Everest Expedition since 2008 to clean up the mountain. They have recovered five dead bodies and 30,000 kg of waste. He is also planning a clean-up expedition along the entire Himalayan Range in Nepal. Climate change has been most visible to climbers like Apa Sherpa who have noticed big changes since 2008. “Now the snow has reduced and it has become very dangerous especially on the Hilary Step, before the Everest summit. When you wear crampons for the snow and suddenly encounter rock, it gets very slippery,” he says. The rocky patch is increasing over the years. However, his experience saw him through these unexpected challenges.

Since 2007 the ice pinnacles in the Everest area have reduced in height and at the advanced base camp, there has been flowing water in the climbing season, a clear indication that ice is melting. “You no longer have to melt ice to drink water,” says Dawa Steven Sherpa. He too noted that the Imja lake was growing bigger. It is upstream of the Everest Base Camp and above major village settlements. “Imja and its potential threat are in the forefront of everyone's mind since the devastation could be huge,” he fears.

Unpredictable weather is making climbing risky but that did not seem to stop 506 climbers, including 219 sherpas, getting to the top of Mt. Everest in 2011. “Rockfall is increasing and I have seen it break a leg. Ice avalanches are also dangerous.” However, we are getting good at judging the mountain and we know it so well now which is why there are fewer deaths,” says Dawa Steven Sherpa.

Motup Chewang of Rimo Expeditions said major changes had swept the Karakoram Range as well in the last 20-30 years. The glaciers were retreating much faster and huge glacial lakes were forming there. Central east Bhutan also had a large glacial lake and it could be seen from satellites. Even near the Everest base camp some large cornices were disappearing. The Khumbu glacier had retreated by at least a couple of km.

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http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2233848.ece

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1. That works out very well for them