Everest Base Camp: Joy, pain and growing tension at its heart
The short flight from Kathmandu to Lukla offers the first true sense of the expedition’s scale. Stretching for thousands of miles in each direction, the breathtaking vistas of the Himalayas deliver an ominous glimpse into the thrilling terrain awaiting the 12 of us, who have arrived from across the globe with one shared ambition.
Through one of the few small windows of our twin-engined aircraft, we witness vast rolling hills and frozen waterfalls etched into the face of the Khumbu Valley, where, very soon, we will be trekking to our ultimate destination: Everest Base Camp, some 5,364m above sea level.
However, before we begin our ascent, first we must navigate Lukla’s airport. Home to the world’s shortest runway, the 527m landing strip slopes steeply down the side of a cliff and marks the gateway to the Everest region.
Each year it welcomes hundreds of thousands of climbers, trekkers and thrillseekers in search of adventure. But beyond being an extreme adventure playground, there is a growing tension at the heart of Everest. Reports emerge each season of overcrowding at the summit and plastic pollution across the ranges. Distressing stories of climbers dying due to long queues in the notorious “death zone” are remarkable now only for their predictability.
Meanwhile, tales of luxury goods such as hot tubs, flatscreen TVs, electric heaters and coffee machines carried to the peak by privately hired local porters are all too familiar within the climbing community. Porters who are all too quickly erased from the stories of climbers basking in the glory of their successful expeditions.
With that in mind, I’ve also come to see how this region – which remains sacred to the Indigenous Nepali and Tibetan communities living at high altitudes – exists alongside the booming adventure tourism industry that brings both income and aggravation to this stunning region.
I am travelling with Intrepid, a tour company known for its strong connections in the region and its commitment to using tourism as a force for good. Leading our expedition is Sumitra, a 32-year-old climber already building a reputation in the Himalayas.
Accompanying her are two energetic assistants and a supporting crew of six porters. Their role is to carry the group’s excess baggage, leaving earlier and covering the distance more quickly than us. Our guides, who are well compensated for their efforts, ensure that everything is in place when we reach each stage of our trek.
In the cosy confines of a Lukla teahouse, the 120km trek among giants is laid out before us. Twelve days of walking, up to eight hours a day, will take us from the lush green trails of Phakding (2,610m) to the agricultural terraces of Phortse (3,810m), the beautiful expanse of Dingboche (4,410m), and the barren, windswept landscape of Gorak Shep (5,160m). The journey will culminate with the final march to the imposing Everest Base Camp.
Our first major stop is at 3,440m above sea level. If Everest is both a hub of spiritualism and a centre of commerce, no place better represents this dichotomy than Namche Bazaar. The clang of bells attached to prayer wheels rings out loudly outside the world’s highest Irish pub, where a can of Guinness will set you back 1,000 Nepalese rupees (roughly £6).
Once a historic trading post where Tibetan sherpas bartered salt, wool, and livestock for rice, grains, and other essentials from the lower regions of Nepal, Namche Bazaar now offers an endless array of climbing equipment alongside typical tourist goods. Today, you’ll find posh coffee shops and restaurants serving Mexican, Japanese, Indian, and Italian fare.
It is near Namche Bazaar, in front of a 3D model of the Khumbu region, where early in the trek Sumitra holds court and points out the summits of the region: Everest stands at 8,849m (the Nepalese call it Sagarmatha, the Tibetans, Chomolungma), Nuptse (7,861m), and Thamserku (6,608m). So impressive is her knowledge that other groups and solo travellers stop and listen to her lecture.
But Sumitra is more than just an expert in Everest’s topography – she’s a true Himalayan mountaineer, deeply connected to the region and its people. As we travel, we discuss the area’s growing pains and come to one clear observation: no porters, no industry. These men are the lifeblood of the region, and without them, Everest herself would undoubtedly remain unconquered.
Yet, as we hike through the national park, it’s not just oxygen bottles and essential equipment that we see being carried along the trails. The back-breaking loads also include crates of Coca-Cola hauled up the rocky terrain, along with snooker tables, doors and a surprising array of luxuries more commonly found on the high street.
Sumitra tells me: “This isn’t even the busy season yet. If you go to Base Camp in spring you see green carpets, fancy tables, TVs, refrigerators, big heaters. You can get anything you’re willing to pay for. It used to be an adventure, but now it’s become a luxury for people with lots of money.”
The sight of these men, many of whom are wearing sandals or cheap boots, lugging astonishing weights using rope lashed to their foreheads, while just one misplaced foot away from a sheer, certainly fatal drop, is deeply sobering.
“I see men aged up to 60 in simple flip-flops carrying more than 90kg loads,” says Sumitra. “I think, that could be someone’s dad or husband. I once saw a man who was between 65 and 70 doing the trek barefoot with around 80kg of load walking through snow and water.”
She explains that these private porters are paid per kilogram and kilometre. Therefore the heavier the load, over a longer distance, the greater the pay. The system feels rigged and oppressive.
“It works both ways”, explains Sumitra. “If there isn’t demand then some of the local people would not have jobs. But equally, if there was less demand then we would have less plastic pollution, which is one of the biggest problems on the mountain now.
We agree that when you choose to be an adventurer, you shouldn’t expect the comforts of home. Especially when the porters who do the carrying aren’t valued, which is what Intrepid is trying to change. The men are paid properly and the group are expected to tip them and then, says Sumitra, “we throw a party at the end as thanks. We give them comfortable lodgings and encourage them to practise English and public speaking with the group.
“I started as a porter and now I’m an expedition leader. But if it’s a private porter, they work from hotel to hotel, or company to company, often they don’t have this path.”
Sumitra’s solution is a simple one. Recognising that the whole place would grind to a halt without porters, she calls for local government to bring in regulations for maximum loads and fixed rates, alongside subsidised costs of meals so that they do not have to pay tourist prices.
From the village of Dingboche, we ascend a small ridge above the Pheriche Valley, leaving the treeline behind. The skies are clear, and the summits of Taweche and Cholatse (6,440m) rise in the distance. Compared to previous days, the morning’s climb is relatively easy, with just a few hundred metres of ascent – affectionately known as a “Nepalese flat”. But this is merely a warm-up for the terminal moraines of the Khumbu Glacier, waiting ahead.
Buoyed by tales of Everest legends – George Mallory, Sir Edmund Hillary, Sherpa Tenzing, and their pioneering Nepali porters – I decide to double my load and carry a lagging team member’s bag on a 90-minute climb into the clouds. But, I make a crucial mistake: I forget to add layers as the temperatures start to plummet.
It was a rookie error, and Everest punishes me accordingly. This is a harsh region, and at altitude, with limited sleep, the immune system quickly weakens. To make the final ascent with a fever and fatigue it feels like, well… climbing Everest. Yet, the benefits of travelling with a group come to the fore once again, as I draw energy from them and focus on putting one foot in front of the other.
As the trail rises yet further, the path to Base Camp transforms completely. The lush greenery gives way to a rocky, barren landscape that feels almost otherworldly. The mountain tops, striking in their distant beauty, become dusty and dangerous as we trudge onward. Our deep breaths are punctuated by the eerie crick-crack of rocks tumbling above and the faraway powdery bellow of avalanches.
After several more gruelling hours we finally complete the last undulating stretch of loose stones and reach the iconic Base Camp boulder. A wave of relief washes over me, lifting my spirits just long enough for a round of photos, hugging, and more photos. It’s a beautiful, jubilant moment – though the true scale of the achievement won’t fully sink in until hours later.
A day later, we meet Pemba Tshering Sherpa, a retired mountaineer with five Everest summits to his name. When asked about the draw of the mountain for him, his answer is unequivocal: “The money”.
Pemba Tshering Sherpa’s first ascent was at age 35 and his last at 47. After his fifth summit and worsening health, his family stopped him from risking his life again. In the boom of the Everest industry, Sagarmatha is losing its identity and the indigenous communities are being erased from the very tapestry they helped weave.
“People can’t climb without sherpas [mountain guides]. Everything they achieve is with the help of sherpas but the name of sherpas is never given the fame. It’s always the person who gets to the top but by paying money, you are allowed to lose the sherpa’s name and just document your own success. The person who guided you or helped you is not mentioned.”
Despite this, Pemba cannot hide his wonder at the sensation of being at the summit. “Everyone is so happy that they start crying, it’s always tears of happiness.”
However, he admits the joy is soon replaced by a sense of foreboding. “The top is always the happiest part but once you descend there is a fear about what is to come next.”
Pemba Tshering Sherpa’s warning about the dangers of the descent proves eerily prescient. As we depart, Everest delivers one final sting. Heavy rain lashes the valley as we descend nearly 3,000m in two days, bursting riverbanks and triggering landslides. Some 200 people in Kathmandu and in the Khumbu Valley lose their lives, helicopters are diverted for emergency rescues, and travellers are stranded at Lukla airport for days. It’s a stark reminder of the region’s volatility and the immense hardships faced by those who call the Himalayas home.
Indian state mulls ban on men cutting women’s hair to stop groping
An Indian state is considering proposals to improve women’s safety that would include banning men from cutting female customers’ hair, tailoring their clothes or training them in gyms.
The list of recommendations, put forward by a panel on women’s safety in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, appears to favour increased segregation of the sexes as the main solution to prevent sexual assault and harassment of women by men.
The proposals have been presented to the state government by the Uttar Pradesh State Women Commission, a statutory body, which said they were unanimously supported by all members of the commission.
Among the recommendations, the commission said only female hairdressers should be available for female customers in salons, alleging that the “intention of some men is not good, which can lead to molestation”.
It also suggested that men should not train women in gyms and yoga centres, that only female staff should be allowed to conduct measurements in women’s clothing stores, and that school buses should have separate female security personnel.
The proposals also call for the installation of CCTV surveillance cameras at gyms, yoga studios, boutiques, coaching centres and other places frequently visited by women.
“It is from the point of view of women’s safety and from the point of view of employment of women,” said Babita Chauhan, the commission’s chairperson. “For women who go to the gym, my only request is that the gym owner should keep a trainer, but there should be a female trainer too,” she said, according to Indian daily newspaper Hindustan Times.
The commission’s proposals were described as part of a larger push by the state authorities to make women feel safer in public, particularly in commercial spaces.
It is now up to the state government, led by chief minister Yogi Adityanath Singh from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, to decide whether it will accept the proposals.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of crimes against women of any state in India in 2022, the most recent year for which government figures are available, at 65,743 cases. The state is also the country’s most populous, however – its per capita rate for crimes against women is actually slightly below the national average.
The proposals come after a high-profile case last month, in which police discovered the body of Ekta Gupta, the wife of a prominent businessman who had been missing since June. Police say her gym trainer confessed to the killing and identified the location where her body was found.
Flights disrupted as North Korea jams GPS signal, South Korea says
South Korea’s military said North Korea disrupted GPS signals from border areas for the second straight day on Saturday, affecting an unspecified number of flights and vessel operations.
Tensions between the rival Koreas have escalated as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un flaunts his advancing nuclear and missile program and engages in electronic and psychological warfare, such as flying thousands of balloons to drop trash and anti-South Korean propaganda leaflets in the South.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said North Korean operations to manipulate GPS signals were detected from around the western border city of Kaesong and the nearby city of Haeju on Friday and Saturday, and said the activities disrupted dozens of civilian aircraft and several vessels.
While warning aircraft and vessels near western border areas, South Korea’s military did not specify how North Korea was interfering with GPS signals or detail the extent of disruptions.
“We urge North Korea to stop GPS interference provocations immediately and strongly warn that it will be held fully accountable for any resulting consequences,” the South’s joint chiefs said in a statement.
Japan vows military growth, better ties with US as Trump takes office
Japan’s prime minister Shigeru Ishiba on Saturday renewed a pledge to build up his country’s military and deepen its alliance with the US under president-elect Donald Trump.
Mr Ishiba, who made the comments at an annual troop review held at Camp Asaka in the Tokyo suburbs, said the security environment surrounding Japan and the international community has significantly worsened due to escalating tensions with China, Russia and North Korea. He pledged to reinforce Japan’s military power.
He said breaches of Japanese airspace by Chinese and Russian warplanes earlier this year “not only violated Japanese sovereignty but also threatened the safety of Japan and are absolutely unacceptable.” He said Japan faces growing threats from China’s accelerating military activity around Japanese coasts and from North Korea’s repeated missile firings.
“As we face the most severe and complex security environment, I will balance and strengthen Japan’s diplomacy and security,” Mr Ishiba said in his speech before hundreds of troops gathered for the ceremony.
The Japan-US alliance is the lynchpin for achieving this, Mr Ishiba said, pledging to elevate Japan’s ties with the US and work closely with Mr Trump as they agreed during a brief telephone conversation on Thursday.
Mr Ishiba took office on 1 October, replacing his unpopular predecessor Fumio Kishida but his governing coalition badly lost a recent parliamentary election and could face difficulty pursuing his party’s planned policies and budget plans in coming months.
Mr Ishiba pledged to pursue the ongoing military buildup plan under the 2022 security strategy adopted by his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, which calls for a counter-strike capability with long-range cruise-missiles, a break from its self-defence only principle. Mr Ishiba said he will pursue strengthening of the command system to improve operation between Japanese and US troops.
After its devastating defeat in the Second World War, Japan had prioritised economic recovery over defence under its war-renouncing constitution, but has steadily strengthened its defence capability over the past years.
Pakistan will not accept ‘hybrid’ Champions Trophy, says PCB chair
The Pakistan cricket board (PCB) will not stage matches of the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy outside the country if India do not travel for the tournament, chairman Mohsin Naqvi said.
Pakistan, winners of the last Champions Trophy in 2017, will host the tournament between February and March next year. It will be the first ICC event hosted by Pakistan since it shared the 1996 World Cup with India and Sri Lanka.
Due to soured political relations, India have not visited Pakistan since 2008 and the rivals play each other only at multi-team events.
Pakistan also hosted the Asia Cup last year but winners India played all their matches in Sri Lanka under a “hybrid model”.
At the time, India said they had not received permission from their government to tour Pakistan.
On Friday, Indian media reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had informed the PCB of their unwillingness to travel to Pakistan and suggested playing India’s matches at a neutral venue.
“In the last two months, the Indian media has been reporting that India isn’t travelling. I discussed this with them and my team, and our stance is clear: they need to give us in writing any objections they may have,” Naqvi told reporters on Friday.
“Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one. The Indian media are reporting it, but no formal communication has reached the PCB… Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here.
“I remain in touch with several boards, and they’re all looking forward to playing here. I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter. We’ll give every team as many facilities as we can. We’d like to see fans from abroad come for the tournament, too.”
How a couple’s fight led to a misdirected train and £270k losses for Indian Railways
A minor miscommunication over the phone set off a chain of extraordinary events for a railway employee in India, sparking a 12-year saga of legal and personal consequences that ultimately led to a divorce.
The station master’s troubles began when, during a shift in the city of Visakhapatnam in southern Andhra Pradesh state, he engaged in a phone conversation with his wife, reported the Times of India (TOI), without identifying the individual by his name.
Ending the call in frustration, he said, “We’ll talk at home, OK?” But, with his work microphone inadvertently left on, the phrase was overheard by a colleague, who mistook it as clearance to dispatch a freight train down a restricted track into an insurgency-affected territory.
This error, though resulting in no physical accident, breached night-time restrictions and caused substantial financial damage to Indian Railways, reportedly amounting to Rs 30m (£270,000).
Facing suspension for the oversight, the station master saw his already strained marriage further unravel. According to TOI, the marriage had been troubled for years, partly due to his wife’s lingering emotional connection to an ex-partner, which frequently strained relations at home.
Despite attempts to mend their differences, the suspension proved to be a breaking point, prompting him to file for divorce.
In response, his wife filed a counter-complaint under Indian laws, accusing him and his family of cruelty and harassment. She also moved the Supreme Court, requesting that the divorce case be transferred from Visakhapatnam to Durg in the neighbouring state of Chhattisgarh, where her family resided.
Over the next several years, the case went through multiple courts, with her accusations and allegations of infidelity and dowry demands creating a prolonged legal entanglement.
The case reached the Chhattisgarh High Court, which reviewed evidence and deemed the wife’s claims of harassment unfounded.
The division bench of Justice Rajani Dubey and Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal highlighted that her ongoing communication with an ex-lover and the argument that led to the costly “OK” incident amounted to mental cruelty towards her husband, reported TOI.
After a thorough review, the High Court overturned an earlier family court ruling, finally granting the station master a divorce.
South Korea president apologises for controversies surrounding wife
South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol has apologised for controversies surrounding his wife, Kim Keon-hee, which included allegations of her accepting a luxury Dior handbag and involvement in stock manipulation.
Mr Yoon acknowledged his wife’s actions could have been better but argued that her portrayal was overly “demonised” and that some claims were “exaggerated”. Addressing the allegations involving himself and his wife, the South Korean president publicly stated on Thursday that “it’s all my fault”.
However, he voiced his opposition to the opposition parties’ push for a special counsel to investigate the various allegations against the first lady, saying, “that’s not a legal procedure, but political propaganda”.
He told reporters following a televised address on Thursday that his opposition to the special counsel bill “is absolutely not motivated by love for my wife or a desire to defend her”, adding that a “special counsel is an attempt to play politics under the guise of the law”.
He said that the past investigations with hundreds of investigators yielded no indictments and that “the very act of appointing a special counsel to which the president and the ruling party are opposed suggests you can make laws to do anything at all, an idea that’s fundamentally contrary to the constitution”.
He added: “The idea of setting up a big investigative team [under a special counsel] yet again [for a case that has already been investigated] is problematic as well.”
Prior to making these comments, he also addressed the nation from his presidential office in Yongsan in which he apologised to the Korean people over allegations surrounding him and his wife. “I would like to say I’m sorry and offer a heartfelt apology to the Korean people,” he said.
“From the perspective of the Korean people, I’m sure I have many shortcomings. But I’ve always sincerely sought to stand with the people,” Mr Yoon said.
“Despite my efforts, I have given people cause to worry,” the president acknowledged.
“The initiatives I have launched for the livelihood of the nation, and for the future of the Republic of Korea, have sometimes caused inconveniences for the people of Korea. The behaviour of people close to me has also aroused concern,” he said.
“I don’t think this is an occasion for me, as president, to make excuses. This is all my fault – I alone am to blame.”
Mr Yoon issued a public apology after his approval rating dropped below 20 per cent, following a series of scandals involving his wife and the release of phone call recordings suggesting he interfered in the ruling party’s nomination process.
In July this year, South Korea’s first lady was questioned for the first time by prosecutors for around 12 hours over allegations that she accepted a luxury Dior handbag, which exceeded the legal gift value limit for government officials. A 2022 spy camera video showed her receiving the bag from a pastor, fueling political controversy and causing Mr Yoon’s approval rating to plummet below 30 per cent.
Earlier this year in February, in an interview with broadcaster KBS, the president addressed the controversy for the first time. “The video [was made public] at a time when the general election is drawing near, a year after the issue happened, so we can see this as a political manoeuvre,” he said.
“The fact that she was unable to cold-heartedly reject him was the problem, if one can call it a problem, and it is a little regrettable.
“However, it’s not important whether to call it a political manoeuvre or not.
“What’s important is to set clearer boundaries with others to prevent something like this from happening in the future.
“It is very difficult for the president or the president’s wife to treat anyone harshly,” he was quoted as saying by Korea JoongAng Daily.
Emperor penguin lands in Australian town 21,000 miles from icy home
A lone and lost emperor penguin turned up in a western Australian town, nearly 2,100 miles (3300km) away from its home in Antarctica.
The male penguin arrived in Denmark town on Friday.
It was the farthest north the bird had ever been seen.
Aaron Fowler, 37, was one of the first people to spot the bird. He was at the local beach with his friend when he “saw something coming out” of the water.
“It was massive, it was way bigger than a sea bird and we are like, what is that thing coming out of the water? And it kind of had a tail sticking out like a duck,” he was reported as saying by ABC News. “It stood up in the waves and just waddled straight up to us, an emperor penguin, he was probably about a metre high, and he was not shy at all.”
Australia’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions said the penguin appeared “malnourished”, but remained “in the care of a trained and registered local wildlife carer”.
Belinda Cannell, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, said this was the first time an emperor penguin had been so far north. It likely followed a current to Australia.
“What they tend to do is follow certain currents where they are going to find lots of different types of food,” Ms Cannelll explained. “So maybe those currents have just tended to be a little bit further north towards Australia than they normally would.”
Mr Fowler said the bird looked “absolutely flawless”.
He had always seen wildlife in the water but was stunned to see a penguin, he said.
“He tried to do like a slide on his belly, thinking it was snow I guess and just face planted in the sand and stood up and shook all the sand off,” Mr Fowler said of the visitor.
The loss of sea ice in the Antarctic has caused unprecedented breeding failure among emperor penguins, researchers said. The frozen continent has seen four years with the lowest sea ice extent since 2016.
In the past, emperor penguins responded to the loss of sea ice by moving to more stable sites the next year. They usually stayed close to their old homes, however.