Bad weather box on climbers on Mt Everest

Fresh snow and high winds on Mount Everest have forced climbers to delay plans to scale the world’s highest mountain, an official said Tuesday.
    

A snowstorm has created less-than-ideal weather conditions for climbing the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) peak, said Surendra Sapkota, chief of Nepal’s mountaineering department.

    Some of the climbers and members of their support team, waiting out the storm at base camp, were reportedly sick, and a Nepali Sherpa guide may have died, he said.

    The harsh weather on Everest allows only about two windows – anywhere from a couple of days to a week – in May when conditions are favorable enough for the push to the summit.

    Snowstorms in the past few days have blown away tents, buried camps and destroyed paths set by the climbers in preparation for their final climb to the summit.

    An avalanche on Everest last Thursday left a Sherpa guide missing and presumed dead, while two Austrian climbers with him were rescued.

    A total of 65 teams have been given permission by Nepal’s government to climb various mountains this season. Of them, 25 teams are attempting Mount Everest.

Associated Press