Reuters
Kathmandu

Nepal will arrange regular weather forecasts and tighten safety measures on Mount Everest to reassure climbers, an official said yesterday, after an avalanche killed 16 Sherpas last year in the worst disaster in the history of the world’s highest mountain.
The country’s climbing season starts in March and runs through May, attracting hundreds of climbers who are expected to ascend the 8,850m (29,035ft) mountain by the normal South East Ridge route.
Nepal is developing a system with meteorological officials to provide regular weather forecasts, and is discussing adoption of a GPS tracking system for climbers, tourism official Pushpa Raj Katuwal told reporters.
“All possible measures will be taken to make climbing safe and to minimise the danger of natural disasters like last year’s
avalanche,” said Katuwal.
The South East Ridge route on Everest passes through the treacherous Khumbu icefall and the South Col, pioneered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in their historic 1953 ascent.
Ang Dorjee Sherpa, of the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee that is in charge of opening the climbing route, said the Icefall Doctors, a group of seasoned Sherpa climbers, would start cracking the route from March.
To avoid the spot where the avalanche struck last year, the route will detour about 40m (131ft) right of the trail, Sherpa said. While less prone to avalanches, the new route lengthens the trip to Camp One by two hours, he added.
Government officials, army and police will staff a liaison office at Base Camp through the climbing season to aid climbers in distress and resolve disputes.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains, and income from tourism contributes 4% of gross domestic product.

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