© picture alliance / imageBROKER | ag-pix
Five deaths have already occurred this month in the Himalayan mountains. Three of them fell on Mount Everest.
The latest victim is a 21-year-old Nepalese guide who fell into a glacier crevasse at 7,200 meters. Earlier on Everest, a 35-year-old climber died during an acclimatization exercise and a 51-year-old sherpa died on the way back to base camp. On other peaks in the Himalayas, an American and a Czech were killed.
Despite the death toll, Everest's popularity hardly seems to suffer. Nepal issued 492 permits to climb Everest this season, which runs from early April to late May. Climbers pay $15,000 (about 13,000 euros) per permit. According to the Nepal Tourism Authority, the war in the Middle East also has little impact on the number of climbers.
This year's season started with a two-week delay due to a glacier debris blocking the route to the summit. A group of experienced mountain guides solved that by plotting an alternative route.
Picture:© picture alliance / imageBROKER | ag-pix