Glory and risk on Himalayan peaks

The spring 2025 mountaineering season has started with an early reminder of the fine balance of glory and risk on Himalayan peaks.

Everest as always is the biggest draw. But on the 75th anniversary of its first ascent, Annapurna has seen record numbers of expeditions, and climbers are also commemorating 70 years of Kangchenjunga’s first successful climb in 1955.

But as a stark reminder of the dangers of Himalayan mountaineering that have been exacerbated by a warming climate, came on Annapurna with the tragic deaths of two promising young Nepali high altitude guides.

Everest is seeing big numbers because it is Everest, and it is there. Some 220 international climbers and their guides from 22 expeditions have already arrived at Everest Base Camp, but this number is expected to cross 450, and could even beat the 2023 record of 478 foreign climbers.

There seems to be greater demand for Everest permits because the fee is being hiked up from $11,000 to $15,000 starting this autumn. But the $4,000 increase is not expected to reduce the crowds, and therefore the risks, on the world’s highest mountain.

The Department of Tourism starts issuing permits for the mountain only in early-April, which many find absurd because mountaineers start preparing for their Everest climb years in advance.

“That is just the process, we want to make sure climbers have all of their paperwork in order once they land in Nepal,” says Goma Rai from the Department of Tourism.

Even as expeditions make their first forays up the Khumbu Icefall on Everest, there has already been considerable activity on other Himalayan peaks. Makalu (8,485m) has already seen successful summits this season. Ten guides fixing ropes reached the top of the world’s fifth highest mountain on 10 April.

There are two Indian expeditions on Kanchenjunga, which at 8,586m is the third-tallest mountain in the world. The Indian teams are climbing from the Nepal side of the border peak because climbing from the Indian side is not allowed.

One of the teams is led by three-time Everest summiteer Col Ranveer Sing Jamwal which is on the last leg of the ‘Har Shikhar Tiranga’ campaign to plant an Indian tricolour on the highest point of all 28 Indian states.

Unpredictable weather and its technical nature makes the north face of ‘Kangch’ treacherous. There have been 12,884 Everest summits since 1953, but there have only been 250 ascents of Kanchenjunga in 70 years.

Annapurna saw 45 summits over 6-7 April before the weather worsened. On 7 April, an avalanche swept away Ngima Tashi Sherpa and Rima Rinje Sherpa. Pemba Thenduk Sherpa, who was also roped up, survived.

“It was a big avalanche, taller than a Kathmandu house when it came down,” recalls Pemba Thenduk. “Me and my client were right under a serac and were saved. We realised our two friends had been swept away but could not find them.”

After four days of searching with two helicopters, the expedition company Seven Summit Trek abandoned the search. Nima Tashi was the unsung hero who helped save the life of an incapacitated Malaysian climber, carrying him down from 8,400m on Everest last year. A video of the rescue by Ngima Tashi and Gelje Sherpa became an international sensation.

But luck ran out for Ngima Tashi and Rima Rinje on Annapurna last week. ‘We have lost two of our finest Sherpa guides,’ Seven Summits said in a statement. ‘It is no longer possible for anyone to survive this long under the ice, and prolonging search means risking the lives of other Sherpas.’

In the past 75 years, Annapurna has seen the highest fatality rate among Himalayan peaks, with one third of those trying to climb it not making it down alive. This year, guides ran out of fixed rope because there were so many crevasses on the north face. They also reported bigger and more frequent rockfalls and avalanches.

South African climber John Black was nearly caught in the avalanche that killed the guides. He then made the agonising decision to turn back soon after leaving Camp 3 last week on Annapurna.

“I was uncomfortable and uneasy. Some may call it gut, others may call it calculated,” says Black, who actually shared a chocolate with the two Sherpas just before they were swept away by the avalanche. “It is certainly a sharp reminder that the risks are real and things can change in a heartbeat.”

After the avalanche, there has been criticism of some climbers deciding to be helicoptered off the north face despite not showing signs of immediate emergency.

A problem in Himalayan mountaineering in recent years has been the greater numbers of inexperienced climbers who are not only risks to themselves, but also to guides and other climbers. Many do not know when to turn back when the going gets tough.

“Some climbers struggled with crampons, some seemed to lack decent techniques for climbing rock and ice,” says Black. “In many cases, the climbers were too slow and struggled to move efficiently across tricky terrain. On a mountain like Annapurna, speed is the only thing you can do to reduce exposure to danger.”

The problem has been made worse by instant gratification through social media posts. The challenge of climbing a Himalayan peak has been replaced by an Instagram summit fetish, and expedition companies try to accommodate the wishes of their clients.

The other expedition that generated a controversy even before it started is of a four-member team of British Army veterans who are ‘acclimatising’ by breathing xenon gas ahead of the climb to enhance production of their red blood corpuscles. Although this is said to be an ‘experiment’, use of the gas by the Mission Everest Expedition has been criticised because it is banned by the Anti-doping Agency as performance enhancing.

Dimantha Dilan Thenuwara, a Sri Lankan IT professional, is attempting the gorgeous Ama Dablam. He plans to take both the Sri Lanka and Nepal flags up to the summit, and wear the daura suruwal Nepali national dress on top. He wants to promote a message of ‘prosperity through unity’, especially among South Asian countries.

Thenuwara describes himself as a pampered child who was best friends with his dad, who was killed in the 2004 Sri Lanka Tsunami. The tragedy drives him to climb.

“This expedition is a mission that began 20 years ago,” says Thenuwara, who had to grow up quickly, and put himself through tech school. He is financing the trip himself, and believes strongly in the need for youth to remember their roots. The Ama Dablam climb is preparation for an expedition to climb K2 later this year.

Another notable expedition is of Peter Hamor of Slovakia and the Italian couple Nives Meroi and Romano Benet, who are attempting a new route on 7,590m Yalung Peak in the Kanchenjunga massif. A two-member British team is already at Everest Base Camp to go up the Lhotse face and make one more attempt to jump off the mountain in wingsuits.