The Nepal government’s announcement to cancel all climbing permits from Saturday till April 30 to Mount Everest in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic has sharply affected trekkers in Maharashtra.
With at least 1,000-odd trekkers from across the State and country venturing to Nepal for different expeditions, including scaling the Mount Everest and Kanchenjunga besides other peaks, mountaineers estimate cumulative losses to run into crores of rupees.
Besides the financial aspect, they rue the loss of many months of gruelling psychological and physical training for preparing for these often-risky expeditions. Speaking to The Hindu , veteran mountaineer Umesh Zirpe, who heads the ‘Giripremi’ club, which has conducted several mountaineering expeditions in Nepal, says that spring is the season where maximum Indian trekkers venture to climb the peaks in Nepal.
Mr. Zirpe said, “At least seven persons whom I know were to attempt scaling the Everest this season. Their average cost is around ₹25 lakh. On an average, 1,000 trekkers go for different expeditions like the Annapurna base camp and others in Nepal. If we take the average cost at ₹1 lakh for the lesser expeditions, and if all these are scrapped, as is likely to be the case, the financial loss incurred personally by the trekkers will be tremendous.”
Mr. Zirpe, who runs the Annapurna expedition to scale Mount Everest, was due to depart for Nepal on Saturday. “Whatever the scope of the expedition, mountaineers have to prepare physically and mentally from anything between 12 months to two years with all the dedication of sportsmen taking a shot at the Olympics,” he said.
Satyarup Siddhanta, a Bengaluru-based software engineer and record-setting mountaineer who has successfully scaled the seven highest summits as well as the seven volcanic mountain summits in the world, said the Nepal government’s decision was “very disappointing”. He said he hopes the Indian government will take some initiative in compensating for the losses incurred by the mountaineers.
“Unfortunately, we of the trekking fraternity are left in the lurch in such cases. I urge the Indian government not to look down upon mountaineering as just some other ‘adventure sport’ and take more interest in encouraging mountaineers, who are risking their lives to flutter their country’s flag in some of the world’s most hazardous spots,” said Mr. Siddhanta.
The COVID-19 outbreak has cast a shadow on Mr. Siddhanta’s second expedition to the North Pole. “My first expedition to the North Pole was cancelled owing to Ukraine-Russian tensions, while my second one is already hanging in the balance. I have thus far incurred a debt of ₹45 lakh which I have raised for these expeditions. Mountaineering is an extremely expensive business and the cancellation of the Everest expeditions is indeed a huge blow for the trekking fraternity,” he said.
Surendra Shelke, a city-based mountaineer with more than two decades of experience, said only the $11,000 ‘royalty’ or permit fee as charged by the Nepalese government gets carried forward, while the rest of the cost translates into losses for the mountaineers.
“The cost component is usually divided into the logistics at the base camp including tents and food, the fees of the Sherpas and the oxygen cylinders. For many Everest climbers, the scaling of the peak takes at least a couple of expeditions for which they raise money from banks and local sources and usually incur heavy debts,” he said.
Citing the tragic example of Pune mountaineer Nihal Bagwan, who tragically died during the descent from Mount Everest after scaling the peak, Mr. Shelke said he was deeply saddened when he visited the mountaineer’s home in Akluj in Solapur.
“It was Bagwan’s second attempt and he died due to exhaustion after scaling the peak, which had always been his dream. He had to abort his first expedition in 2017. In securing funds for both expeditions, he had incurred debts which ran into lakhs of rupees,” Mr. Shelke said, remarking that the scrapping of Everest expeditions was a disheartening blow to the mountaineering fraternity – both financially and psychologically.
