It’s springtime on Mount Everest, and you know what that means: Folks are lining up to climb, climb up the world’s highest mountain. This season some climbers will wear GPS devices. The gadgets will help locate them in an emergency—and prevent false claims of reaching the summit.
Hundreds of climbers are expected to attempt to scale the world’s highest peak in April and May. Only a few will be fitted with GPSes.
The devices will track the movement of the climbers while they’re on Everest. Data will be checked after they return. Officials will then determine whether climbers reached the summit and should be issued a certificate.
Presently climbers need only a photo showing them on the 29,035-foot-high summit and a report from a government-assigned official. But officials rarely stay on the mountain to monitor climbers.
Last year, an Indian couple claimed they scaled the peak. It was later discovered they had altered their photo on the summit. The incident was a huge embarrassment for Nepalese mountaineering authorities.
The 2017 spring climbing season is expected to be busy on Everest. Hundreds of climbers scaled the peak last year following two years of disasters on the mountain.
The 2015 season was scrapped after 19 climbers were killed and 61 injured by a massive avalanche. In 2014, an avalanche killed 16 Sherpa guides.
What do you think motivates people to attempt daring feats like climbing Mount Everest?
(Photo: Satyarup Sidhantha holds in his right hand a photograph showing him on Mount Everest, along with what he says is an altered version of the same image used by an Indian couple. AP)
