Uncertainty over Mount Everest expeditions

Sherpas are planning to boycott Mount Everest expeditions this year, following the death of 13 of their men in an avalanche last week.

Relatives of Nepalese climbers killed in an avalanche on Mount Everest, wait for the funeral procession to begin in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday, April 21, 2014. Buddhist monks cremated the remains of Sherpa guides who were buried in the deadliest avalanche ever recorded on Mount Everest, a disaster that has prompted calls for a climbing boycott by Nepal's ethnic Sherpa community. The avalanche killed at least 13 Sherpas. Three other Sherpas remain missing and are presumed dead. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

The government on Monday appealed to the Sherpas to reconsider their proposal to boycott Mount Everest expeditions this year, following the death of 13 of their men in an avalanche last week. A statement from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation promised to look into their demands, including according high priority to make the expeditions more safe, reliable and attractive in the coming days.

Boycott warning

Ang Tshering Sherpa of the Nepal Mountaineering Association said Sherpa guides were considering a climbing boycott to press their demands. The guides who perished had left their base camp early on Friday morning to fix ropes for other climbers in Camp 1 when the avalanche hit them.

Twelve bodies were recovered later during search and rescue operation and another one the following day. Three of the Sherpas are still missing and search for them has been stopped due to extreme weather. The three are presumed dead.

Insurance demand

The Sherpas want the minimum insurance payment for those killed on Everest to be doubled to 20 lakh rupees, and a portion of the climbing revenue to be reserved for a relief fund.

The government has announced an emergency aid of 40,000 rupees (INR 25,5000) for the families of the deceased climbers, but the Sherpas said that was not enough.

A boycott could disrupt the plans of climbers waiting at the Everest base camp in Solukhumbu district in the eastern part of the country. There are about 400 foreign climbers from 39 expedition teams on the mountain.