Nepal adopting safety measures for Everest climbing season

Kathmandu, March 9:Nepal is adopting special safety and communications measures this year for climbers attempting to scale Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, an official here said. The move comes following the deaths of 16 Sherpa guides in 2014 in an Everest avalanche, which grabbed intertiol attention highlighting the risk and challenges of climbing the 8,848-metre peak. As the climbing season begins with spring, generally at the end of March, the government of Nepal has been doing necessary homework for setting up a full-time dedicated team at the Everest base camp (at 5,364 metres). “Preparations are underway to assign a dedicated team at the base camp for effective communication with climbers,” Tulasi Prasad Gautam, director general of Nepal’s Department of Tourism, told Xinhua news agency on Monday. The Department of Tourism, Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN), Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) and Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) will be holding a meeting by the end of this week to filise the size of the team. (IANS)