‘No self respecting climber would call that climbing’ - Telegraph readers on Everest ‘carnage'

For scores of intrepid mountaineers, reaching the summit of Mount Everest remains the ultimate climbing achievement.

However, news this week of ‘carnage’ on the world’s tallest mountain has concerned climbers and non-climbers alike. Canadian filmmaker Elia Saikaly, who has climbed the mountain several times, vowed never to return after a “horrific” season during which he had to climb over a dead body on his way to the mountain’s summit.

Photographs of queues of climbers waiting in the notorious ‘Death Zone’ to reach the summit, as well as images of bags of rubbish left behind by those attempting the climb, have also sparked worried reactions from mountaineers.

Overcrowding, inexperienced climbers and the commercialisation of the mountain have all been blamed for the recent 'chaos’ on the world’s most famous peak. In response, Telegraph readers took to the comments section to share their views on the latest reports from the summit and discuss why so many intrepid mountaineers attempt the dangerous ascent in the first place.

Read on for a selection of the best reader comments so far and then go below the line to share your own views on Everest in the comments section.

Climbers have their say on the ‘chaotic’ conditions

'I would love to climb Everest - why - because it is there'

@Simon Clement

"I have climbed a few mountains but it is never for anyone else's gaze other than my own. The sense of achievement is internal and cannot be matched in my experience (of much lower mountains). I would love to climb Everest - why - because it is there. It is not to post anything on social media. However I have no interest in fighting people to get to the top.

"I understand people who don't want to do it and leaving a trash trail is always a mountain no-no."

'No self-respecting climber would call that climbing'

@Edward Seaton

"No self-respecting climber would call that climbing."

'It must be like the Magaluf of mountaineering'

@Joey Deacon

"Why would anybody bother these days? It must be like the Magaluf of mountaineering.

"Me and a friend did a weekend in the Cairngorms and did not see another soul.

"I bet you can get 4G or 5G coverage at Everest now. What a joke."

'The Everest 'chaos' is much more complex than it seems'

@Chris Taylor

"The Everest ‘chaos’ is much more complex than it seems. Nepal needs the money and experienced climbers generally don't have or need the money for a climb like this. The real profits come precisely from the inexperienced but wealthy adventurers.

"Despite being deadly in height, Everest is actually technically pretty straight forward, especially with the levels of support now available. The deterrent barrier to those wealthy amateurs is therefore pretty low, so they turn up and the altitude (and related complicating factors) kills them.

"A reasonable step would be to suggest that everyone needs to have climbed to 7000m previously to get a permit. However, this would be extremely difficult to police in what is effectively a third world country with a barely functioning bureaucracy."

Should steps be taken to tackle overcrowding on Everest?

'It's as crowded as the beach in summer'

Rob Clapp

"Who would want to go there now, when it's as crowded as the beach in the summer, and rank amateurs can buy their way to the top (although there's no assurance they'll get back down alive). Find something better to do."

'People have simply paid to be more or less carried there'

Nogood Boyo

"These photos make me want to weep. It is the same at other previously consecrated locations in the world, they are now just full of people who have simply paid to be more-or-less carried there.  A friend recently returned from Machu Picchu, and his only words for the place were "don't bother"."

'There has to be a limit on how many people can attempt the summit'

Guy Conway

"It's either time to call time on climbing Everest or to drastically limit the number of people given licences to try. I know the window for climbing is small, and there may only be a few days in the window that are perfect, but there has to be a limit on how many people can attempt the summit at one time."

'Everest has become an Instagram location'

Julie Wasson-Thompson 

"The summiting of this iconic, natural wonder has been devalued and its environs littered with the detritus of the humans who flock there.

"Too many people of average skills and below, have been granted permits to attempt Everest out of pure financial greed. Sadly, this overcrowding has led to an inevitable increase in fatalities in what was already a very dangerous endeavour for even the most skilled and experienced climbers in the world.

"While I have a great deal of respect for the Sherpas who benefit, the commercialisation of Earth’s mightiest mountain should be suspended for a period of time, to allow for a thorough environmental clean-up. Eventually I would like to see a drastic reduction in permits per year for safety’s sake, at an increased cost per climber.

"Everest has become a bucket list tick, an Instagram location, almost a tourist destination. I find that very sad, considering the history of the elite climbers and their Sherpas who were the pioneers of this great pursuit and many of whom died on it."

'Should we be calling for restrictions on climbing Ben Nevis?'

Anna Kenway

"The reporting of this is reaching hysterical levels. Surely those who are taking part (both climbers and Sherpas - the latter by all accounts having little opportunity for other income) know the risks and are willing to take them?

"Each winter there are a comparable number of deaths on Ben Nevis - 8 this year, 10 last year, an infinitely less challenging trek than Everest. Should we be calling for restrictions on climbing Ben Nevis? Or should we allow adults to make their own choices as to what risks they take.

"I agree that there are environmental issues such as the dumping of O2 tanks and perhaps the use of such tanks should be stopped, along with social issues like 'tourists' treating Sherpas like servants rather than partners. But at the end of the day, no matter how fit or prepared, ascending mountains is a risky business and not all the variables can be controlled."

'The Nepalese Government [should] halve the number of climbing permits'

Althea Talbot-Howard

"I suggest that the Nepalese Government halve the number of climbing permits, whilst doubling or trebling their price.

"This would substantially cut the number of climbers on the mountain, whilst keeping the amount of hard currency coming into the country the same.

"Some expedition companies might be forced out of business by the drop in numbers, but why should that matter?

"Let them diversify into trek-leading, instead of climbing. There is plenty of money to be made there too; and the fatality rates are negligible, in comparison."

Is climbing Everest still the ultimate mountaineering achievement?

'Climbing Everest with the aid of a helicopter is not really an achievement'

Arthur Nowr

"There has to be something left in the world for the truly intrepid to do that isn't spoiled by people with more money than sense.  And besides, climbing Everest with the aid of a helicopter is not really an achievement, is it?"

'Mount Everest is the new Venice'

Olivier Ochtendhout

"Mount Everest is the new Venice, sadly."

'I would suggest climbing somewhere else'

barry thompson

"Once it has been done, it becomes just another climb. I sailed around the world in the Royal Navy, it doesn't make me Francis Drake.

"I would suggest climbing somewhere else."

'Nothing is sacrosanct any more'

Guy Sands

"There's something deeply depressing about this.

"Nothing is sacrosanct any more.

"Edmund Hillary would be turning in his grave if he knew."