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Mount Everest ice collapse stops climbers

     London: An ice collapse near the base of Mount Everest has blocked the route of scores of climbers hoping to scale the world's highest peak. According to a report in The Daily Telegraph, no one was reported injured in the ice collapse, but the route has been blocked for a few days, Ang Tshering of the Nepal Mountaineering Association told The Daily Telegraph. The section of the route called the Khumbu Icefall just above the base camp is one of the riskiest areas on the way to Everest's summit. The ice collapse destroyed the path set by climbers and their Sherpa guides using aluminium ladders and ropes to move over the crevasses and shaky ice chunks. Tshering said that it was lucky that no one was hurt since hundreds of climbers and their porters pass through the route at this time of year carrying equipment and supplies from the base camp to camps set up along the side of the mountain. The spring climbing season is the most popular time to scale mountains in Nepal. Weather conditions generally remain calm for several days in May, giving climbers a window to hastily make their way to the summits and then retreat to safer altitudes. A total of 65 teams have been given permission by Nepal's government to climb various mountains during the season. Of them, 25 teams are attempting Mount Everest, the world's highest peak at 29,035 feet (8,850 meters).
-April 24, 2009

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