Yesterday,听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鈥攁nd all other mountains in Tibet鈥攁re 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 the听听and all of听听closes for climbing, rumors from South Side听听of teams staying to climb.听?听
鈥 Adrian Ballinger (@alpenglowexp)听
Friendship Highway closed b/w听听补苍诲听. Returning to Lhasa for transit home. First we need yaks to clear ABC.听听
鈥 Adrian Ballinger (@alpenglowexp)听
The final听听听meeting with TMA officials. Our plan is to get Sherpa and members home ASAP.听
鈥 Adrian Ballinger (@alpenglowexp)听
Tsering reported that geologists in Beijing predict there's a 50 percent chance of another high-magnitude听earthquake coming this season.听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.*听
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.听
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