Earth Equity News

Everest Sherpa: Global Warming Makes Climbing Hard. By Binaj Gurubacharya, AP, May 25, 2010. “A Nepalese Sherpa who climbed Mount Everest for a record 20th time said on May 23 the melting of glacier ice along its slopes due to global warming is making it increasingly difficult to climb the peak. ‘The rising temperature on the mountains has melted much ice and snow on the trail to the summit. It is difficult for climbers to use their crampons on the rocky surfaces,’ Apa told reporters after flying to Katmandu on Tuesday… Apa said when he first began climbing Everest, there was hardly any rocky surface on the trail to the summit. Now, he says, the trail is dotted with bare rocks. The melting ice has also exposed deep crevasses, making it dangerous for climbers. Apa has been campaigning on global warming's negative effect on the Himalayan peaks for the past three years. In a separate environmental campaign to clean up the mountain, his Eco-Everest Expedition team has been collecting garbage from the slopes of Everest. This year the team collected 7,630 pounds (4,770 kilograms) of garbage. Apa grew up in the foothills of Everest and began carrying equipment and supplies for trekkers and mountaineers at age 12. He moved to the United States in 2006 and lives in the Salt Lake City suburb of Draper.”