Yesterday,Nima Tsering, head of the Tibetan Mountaineering Association, held a meeting at base camp on the north side of Mount Everest and announced that the mountain—and all other mountains in Tibet—are closed for the season.
According to Adrian Ballinger of , Tsering gave two reasons for this closure: the risk of another high-magnitude earthquake and solidarity with those in Nepal who are still reeling from the impact.
“They've been relatively forward-thinking about it and I think they're making a fair decision,” says Ballinger. “I wish that the decision to go or not was made by the teams and not national governments, but this is a unique situation.”
Even as theand all ofcloses for climbing, rumors from South Sideof teams staying to climb.?
— Adrian Ballinger (@alpenglowexp)
Friendship Highway closed b/wԻ. Returning to Lhasa for transit home. First we need yaks to clear ABC.
— Adrian Ballinger (@alpenglowexp)
The finalmeeting with TMA officials. Our plan is to get Sherpa and members home ASAP.
— Adrian Ballinger (@alpenglowexp)
Tsering reported that geologists in Beijing predict there's a 50 percent chance of another high-magnitudeearthquake coming this season.As of April 27, the latest a 54 percent chance of a magnitude 6 or greater earthquake, and a seven percent chance of an earthquake of magnitude seven or greater.*
Now the 25 teams and 300-plus people on the north side of the mountain are faced with a new predicament: how to get home.