05/28/03 Laurinda Keys Associated Press as found on
Clevrland.comKatmandu, Nepal - Sir Edmund Hillary and other Mount Everest pioneers suggested yesterday that the world's tallest peak deserves a rest after a half century of more than 1,300 climbers scaling its slopes.
Hillary, 83, was guest of honor at a parade marking 50 years since he and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, became the first people to reach the summit of the 29,035-foot peak.
"I have suggested to the Nepal government that they should stop giving permission and give the mountain a rest for a few years," Hillary said.
Other veteran climbers suggested limiting the number of expeditions.
"Only two or three teams should be allowed in a season to climb Everest," said Junko Tabei, 64, of Japan, the first woman to reach the summit.
But the Sherpas who earn their living guiding adventurers to the highest point on earth oppose any reduction in permits.
"There are thousands of people in the region who solely depend on the trekkers and mountaineers for their income. If they don't come, these people and their families will starve," said Ang Phurba, a Sherpa guide.
Nepalese officials said they have no immediate plans to close down the mountain that brings much-needed income to this undeveloped Himalayan kingdom. Climbers are welcome as long as they are willing to pay, said Damodar Rana, executive vice president of the Everest Golden Jubilee Committee.
Each team of seven climbers pays a royalty of $70,000 to the Nepalese government.
A record number of people are climbing Everest this month to mark the 50th anniversary of the first successful climb.
There are an average of 12 teams on the mountain each spring. This year there have been twice that number, with more than 137 people reaching the summit in the past week alone, Nepal's tourism board said.
Reinhold Messner, an Italian who was the first to climb Everest without bottled oxygen, pleaded at a news conference yesterday for the government to allow only one expedition per route each season.