By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU, May 12 (Reuters) - A Nepali Sherpa guide fell into a crevasse and died on Mount Everest for the third death in two weeks on the world’s highest mountain, as climbers are undeterred by travel disruptions from the Middle East conflict, officials said on Tuesday.
Seasoned climbers from the Expedition Operators' Association of Nepal are expected to fix ropes on the route to the summit by the weekend, allowing climbers to start moving up if weather conditions are good, hiking officials said.
"Despite the Middle East conflict, which has affected travel, tourism and trekking, Everest continues to lure an increased number of climbers," said Himal Gautam, an official of Nepal's tourism department.
Nepal has opened more than 400 Himalayan peaks to climbers but the most popular number just over two dozen, including Everest, which is 8,849 m (29,032 ft) tall.
Authorities have issued 492 permits at a cost of $15,000 each this climbing season from April to May for Everest, Gautam added, an increase from 478 in 2023, which in turn exceeded the figures of the two subsequent years.
The latest death took to five the season’s tally among Himalayan climbers in the cash-strapped South Asian nation dependent on aid, remittances and tourism, where climbing is a key source of income and employment.
Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 21, died after slipping on the snow and falling into a crevasse near Camp III on Everest, located at about 7,200 m (23,620 ft), said Nisha Thapa Rawat, another tourism department official.
Another Nepali climber, Bijay Ghimire Bishwakarma, 35, died during an acclimatisation exercise at the mountain's Khumbu icefall, while 51-year-old Lakpa Dendi Sherpa died on his way to base camp early this month, hiking officials said.
In the last week American Johannesen Shelley,53, died on Mount Makalu, the world’s fifth tallest peak, at 8,463 m (27,765 ft), while David Ronbinek of the Czech Republic died on nearby Makalu II, which is 7,678 m (25,190 ft) high, officials said.
They gave no details.
In April a towering block of ice, among smaller chunks, delayed by nearly two weeks the opening of the route to Everest's summit, stranding hundreds of climbers at base camp.
(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
