‘I felt my government was right’

Riding in a helicopter can be an exhilarating experience, especially when flying over the Himalayan mountains. However, if seeing the iconic Mount Everest is on your bucket list, get ready to burn some calories instead. As the Diplomat reported, leisure helicopter rides have been banned since January 1 in Nepal’s UNESCO-listed Sagarmatha National Park — which includes Everest.

The chopper ban does allow for medical evacuation and transport of food and other essentials for climbers and expedition participants. However, if you plan on trekking any area 4,000 meters above altitude, you’ll have to do so the old-fashioned way — by foot.

While the national park is taking this step to protect wildlife, it will affect the local helicopter industry. Sixty percent of their business comes from the Everest region, so many are protesting the ban.

The local Sherpa community in the Everest area has been pivotal in rescue missions and guiding expeditions. This group has also used helicopters as part of its work. Helicopter transport has helped them with their workload and delegating tasks.

One anonymous expedition leader told the Diplomat, “Daily kitchen essentials are easier to ferry by chopper from Kathmandu.” However, others see how much trash can accumulate when too many people are in one spot. “After reaching Mt. Everest Base Camp, I felt my government was right in its tourism and mountaineering policy,” local journalist Chencho Dema said, per Nepal Press.

The helicopter ban will affect the economy by slowing down some of the visits, but it can slow down something else — pollution. After all, when trekkers leave, local people still live there, in an environment that must carry on. The abundant litter left behind by so many visitors has contributed to the local watershed contamination.

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It has become so overcrowded it’s become referred to as the “world’s highest garbage dump,” per National Geographic. Another problem from the overcrowding is eroding footpaths and razed trees to build more lodges. The local Sherpas run the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee NGO that helps keep the area clean.

As the Diplomat reports, Kanchha Sherpa, who was part of the first summit expedition in 1953, states in his book, “I think that Everest needs a rest for a few seasons. And maybe this will make a better value of Everest.”

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