Everest 2009: More Chinese Restrictions–Set To Close The North Side Of Everest in 2009?

It is being reported today that China will have a presence at Mt. Everest in 2009. To jump ahead and guess what all of this could mean, is a bit early, but China has hinted at closing the North side of Mt. Everest due to environmental concerns.

The report today mentions that China will be leading an Everest clean-up effort in an attempt to remove garbage from the world’s highest peak. This includes over 50 years of trash left behind by climbers in the area, as well as the 40,000 visitors that visit the peak each year.

Zhang said his bureau is planning on launching a refuse collecting campaign in the first half of 2009 and is urging that the number of tourists and mountaineers be restricted.

This can’t be a good sign for expedition companies that were forced to abandon or move their plans in 2008, while China took control of the peak for it’s Olympic Torch expedition. China essentially locked down the North side from expeditions in 2008, with no one but themselves allowed in the area.

Our target is to keep even more people from abusing Mount Everest,” Zhang Yongze, Tibet’s environmental protection chief was quoted Monday as saying by the Xinhua News Agency.

This is definitely not a good sign for the future of climbing on Mt. Everest.  Many people in China have been lobbying to get the Tibetan side of Mt. Everst closed due to the climbers and visitors environmental impact of the fragile eco-system.

With the 2008 Everest climbing season still fresh in people’s minds–as well as the restrictions that proceeded this past climbing season, this is bound to reignite a bit of controversy.  Many of the Tibetan people rely upon the climbers every year for money.  As, well, there are many climbing expedition companies that could suffer from being forced to hold back another year.

I will have to keep an eye on this one as it develops.  It is still way to early to know if China, as well as new restrictions will be in place for the 2009 climbing season–if you are planig a t trip to the North side of Mt. Everest for next year–much as China done this year-it could be a last minute decision.  Just be forewarned that the potential is there for there to be another series of problems, much like this season on Mt. Everest.  Let’s keep our fingers crossed that it doesn’t go that route-