2023-07-15 07:00:00
THE CONQUEST OF EVEREST (6/6) – Critics denouncing overtourism and the environmental consequences are growing. But climbing Everest remains a feat and marks mountaineers for life.
70 years ago, Mount Everest (8848 meters), on the border between Nepal and Tibet was climbed for the first time. For the anniversary of this pioneering ascent, Le Figaro retraces the great adventure of the men who conquered the highest mountain in the world, from the first expeditions which were for some tragic failures, to the last, where the glory of mountaineers collides with the spirit of performance and mass tourism of the century.
From the Antecimum, Sherpa Nirmal Purja observes the ridge of rock, ice and snow the highest mountain in the world leading to the summit of Everest. Under the dark blue sky which crushes the atmosphere rarefied of oxygen, the wind blows, powerful and icy. In this world of silence and death, a staggering procession progresses. The mountaineers are crowded together in single file on the narrow path that leads to the summit. Nirmal Purja photographs this amazing painting. We are in 2019 and the image, symbol of the overcrowding of Everest, is going around the world.
Since its first conquest, on May 29, 1953, the mountaineering elite has confronted the Himalayan giant, for heroism and glory. But in recent years, attendance at Everest has exploded. For this anniversary season, Nepal issued a record number of 478 climbing permits and a total of about 600 climbers (including Sherpas) reached the summit. The previous record, of 401 permits issued, dates back to 2021. In the community of Everest climbers, this attendance raises questions. It would disenchant the mountain.
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