National 4 (Spotlight Weekly)

“People Who Call To Close Down The Mt. Everest Are Hypocrites”

— Alan Hinkes

ALAN HINKES, a British mountaineer, has already climbed 13 out of 14 mountain peaks that are above 8,000 meters. Hinkes has recently climbed Dhaulagiri (8164 m). Hinkes spoke to KESHAB POUDEL on various issues regarding his aims and targets of climbing all the 14 peaks above 8,000 meters. Excerpts:

Why did you come to Nepal this year?

I came here to climb Dhaulagiri - which is my second last among the 14 peaks that are over 8,000 meters that I intend to climb. It was my first successful attempt to Dhaulagiri. Every year I come here to climb big mountains and sometime for trekking. This time I climbed Dhaulagiri. My Challenge 8,000 M is on the final bend of the finish. Climbing 8,000 m peaks is dangerous - determination and stamina are prerequisites. However, I do not have a death wish - climbing enhances my life. I climb to live.

Why do you want to climb all the mountains above 8,000 meters?

It is difficult to answer. Can I reply by saying, “because they are there” as Mallory did? Eric Shipton thought it was impossible to provide an entirely satisfactory explanation for a recreation. Six years ago also I climbed eight of them with six more to go. Challenge 8,000 M is now a personal quest. I never really set out to climb all 14 of them until I had bagged the summit of eight and had only six to go. Very few people in the planet have done this. At the moment there are twelve people who have done it. I thought I would become the first Briton to do it. I also want to do it for myself. It is quantifiable challenge. No mountain is worth a life; for my returning is a success and the summit is only a bonus. In fact, I have been on 28 expeditions to the 8000 m peaks and made 13 summits leaving only one Kanchenjunga left to climb.

You have said you have already climbed 13 peaks above 8,000 meters. Which was the most difficult one?

Dhaulagiri turned out to be the most difficult unlike what I had thought. I think my last peak Kanchenjunga will also be difficult. One of the most difficult mountains was K2, which is in Pakistan and is the second highest peak of the world. It is much difficult than the Mt. Everest. It is probably the most dangerous one. Nanga Parbat is also dangerous. All the mountains above 8,000 meters are dangerous. This is not like playing tennis. People do not realize that because you get more than 100 people meeting on Everest every year. People think Everest is easy and safe. It is not true. Only the people of very determination and certain amount of strength can climb the mountains. You also need a team of good Sherpas. If you have everything, then you have good chances of successful summit.

How many peaks above 8,000 meters are here in Nepal?.

You have to dig money out of Everest. If you close, how can you make money out of it? It is crazy. People in my country including in New Zealand, Switzerland and France, they are making money out of their mountains. There are not many people who are going to climb the Mt. Everest. Only two to three hundred people are climbing from Nepal’s side at the most. If there are a lot of tourists, you can make money. In our country, we have smaller mountains and we get thousands of people. A mountainmine. You have to dig money out of Everest. If you close, how can you make money out of it? It is crazy. People in my country including in New Zealand, Switzerland and France, they are making money out of their mountains. There are not many people who are going to climb the Mt. Everest. Only two to three hundred people are climbing from Nepal’s side at the most. If there are a lot of tourists, you can make money. In our country, we have smaller mountains and we get thousands of people. A mountain of 1000 feet high in Britain might have 3000 people climbing at its summit. How cannot the Everest cope with 200 or 300 people a year? People who call to close down the Mt. Everest for controlling pollution are hypocrites. Everest should not be closed. Closing Mt. Everest for climbing would be wrong. Nepal needs it for tourism and people want to climb the Everest. It is unfair for those who want to climb the mountains. If some one wants to climb at the age of 60 and if it is closed for five years, he or she cannot climb it after 65. That is not fair. Mt. Everest should be allowed to climb. It is O.K for those who climbed the Everest including Sir Edmund Hillary, Messners and myself who have already climbed the mountain. I can say close Everest since it does not matter to me. I climbed it so I do not need it to be open. That will be hypocrisy and self-interest.

But the growing numbers of human activities are creating pollution problems. What should be done to control it?

If there is a problem of rubbish or garbage, you need to manage it. You cannot restrict the people from climbing the mountains on that ground. Your government has already put certain conditions to clean the mountain. This is good beginning. In Switzerland, the human waste is well organized. People have been visiting mountains in Switzerland for the last 150 years but you have a recent beginning. It is just over 50 years. The system in Switzerland evolved in the last many years.

What impact of tourism do you see on the people living in the mountain areas?

You can see how it has developed. When you visit Annapurna and Khumbu areas, the people are more affluent than those living in other areas are. They get tourists there and they do business. People have built toilets. I have seen many changes in Khumbu region when I went there to take part in Everest marathon. There are many good hotels in Namche. Some of the hotels are so good that their standard is at par with the west. In another ten years, they will be like the luxurious motels in Europe.

You have already climbed many mountains in Nepal, Tibet and Pakistan. Did you experience any difference?

The system is similar all over. You need to pay certain amount of money to the Ministry of concerned countries. Pakistan and China is cheaper but Nepal is most expensive. One of the positive aspects of Nepal is that the bureaucrats in Nepal are easygoing people and they are helpful. There are nice guys in the Ministry of Tourism here in Nepal. Further, it is a somewhat similar but far more severe in the mountainsides in Pakistan as there are no teahouses there. To get to the mountains in Pakistan involve more arduous and longer walk. The nature of terrain is very hostile and difficult. The villages are far away and there are no lodges. There are no beer bars in Pakistan since it is an Islamic state. The contrast of mountainside in Nepal is much interesting as there are low lands and high lands. There is more greenery here.

What are your experiences about climbing such peaks?

All of these giant mountains are in the Death Zone, an unforgiving environment where the human body rapidly deteriorates and it is not possible for human begins to survive more than a few days at most. There are no rescue teams and helicopters for help. A helicopter has an altitude ceiling of 6,500 m (21,000 feet), so you are on your own – in fact, you might as well be on the moon. Just to survive takes tremendous effort. All water is frozen as snow or ice require melting; breathing and movement is difficult and slow; sleep is virtually impossible and the cold - often 40 degrees below zero – can freeze fingers and toes.

How do you reflect your climbing expeditions?

To climb even one 8,000 m mountain is a privilege. Despite all the objective dangers on such mountains, I do not have a death wish; climbing definitely enhances my life and I climb to live. To return safely to base camp after tackling an 8000’er gives me an inner sense of elation, well-being and pleasure. On top of a peak, I know I am in one of the most dangerous places on earth, so I tend to have feeling of achievement tempered with anxiety and trepidation. Many mountaineers die on the descent when exhaustion can lead to slip or when weather closes in.

Which are the mountains you have climbed till date?

I have climbed Shisha Pangma 8064 meter in 1987. My second climbing was Mt. Manasalu 8163 m in 1989. Other mountains I climbed include Cho Oyu 8201 m (1990), Broad Peak 8047 m (Pakistan 1991), K2 8611 m (Pakistan 1995), Mt. Everest 8848 m (Nepal 1996), Gasherbrum II 8034 m (Pakistan 1996), Gasherbrum I 8064 (Pakistan 1996), Lhotse 8511 m (Nepal 1997), Nanga Parbat 8152 m (Pakistan 1998), Makalu 8470 m (Nepal 1999), Annapurna 8091 m (Nepal, 2002) and Dhaulagiri 8164 m (Nepal, 2004).

What is your challenge now?

My plan now is to complete the Challenge 8000 M. The one summit left, Kanchenjunga will not be easy. It is the third highest peak in the world and more difficult than Mt. Everest. I will be leaving Britain in late March to trek in and acclimatize in April and summit in May (next year) before the monsoon hits in late May, early June to climb Kanchenjunga.

People are making and breaking many records on Mt. Everest. Is it because the climbing is easy there?

Of course, climbing Mt. Everest is not difficult than other 8,000 m peaks. Having said that it is the highest and that makes it difficult. The thing with Everest is that it is not steep like Dhaulagiri and Kanchenjunga. The Everest has been prepared by guides and Sherpas. Fixed ropes are there and so many people are going there. The snow is flattened down. Everybody is familiar with its difficult points, as so many people have climbed it. Many people have tried but not all have reached the summit. The people who are breaking the records are well experienced Sherpas having long experiences. Breaking the record is not really mountaineering but just setting record on Everest.