Want a safer Mt. Everest? Here’s how.

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Mount Everest

Mountain climber Adrian Ballinger, who has summitted Mount Everest six times, says Everest needs to be fixed.

The world’s highest mountain has seen unprecedented levels of traffic in recent years, and much of it is untrained, unsupervised or otherwise unfit to climb. Ballinger says the season’s “perfect” weather was one of the only reasons there weren’t lots of fatalities on the peak.

But he says they’re coming. A strong storm on a day when about 100 people are at the top of Everest could result in many deaths, he says. And neither the government of Nepal nor the corporations that lead expeditions seem willing to do anything about it.

The key, Ballinger says, is training for guides and Sherpas that ensures some level of safety. Experience is no substitute for certification in mountaineering and survival skills.

See the story at Adventure Journal.