Everest Base Camp in Tibet: The Himalayan Bangkok?

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  06.27.07 | 2:57 PM ET

everestthumbPhoto by Rubert Taylor-Price via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

As we recently noted, the Chinese government is building a 67-mile highway to Everest base camp in Tibet, paving over a rough path, allegedly so runners will have an easier time carrying the Olympic torch to the mountain. That new road, writes Michael Kodas in the New York Times, is going to “turn Mount Everest into the first arena, and profit center, of its Olympic Games.”

More dispiriting is the grim picture he paints of the camp as it exists now.

“During my last visit, in 2006, more than 80 large tents spread out like a tenement at the end of the road to base camp, all of them filled with Chinese and Tibetans offering liquor, bunks, meals and gear,” he writes. “Prostitutes and pimps openly propositioned Western mountaineers, and Tibetan pony carts, like colorful, miniature stagecoaches, offered rides to the monastery at nearby Rongbuk. Doctors told me that in addition to the traditional frostbite and altitude sickness, they now treat plenty of venereal diseases and wounds from base-camp brawls.”

Outside magazine just called the base camp on the Nepal side of Everest “the Himalayan version of Burning Man.”

This base camp sounds more like the Himalayan version of Bangkok.

Tags: Outdoors, Asia, China, Tibet, News and Briefs


2 Comments for Everest Base Camp in Tibet: The Himalayan Bangkok?

Jake Norton 06.28.07 | 3:36 PM ET

Hi Jim,

Great post, and all too true. I have been on 4 expeditions to the North Side of Everest (1999, 2001, 2003, & 2004) and have been there on a couple of other occasions as a trekking guide. Anyway, much has changed in recent years.

Michael Kodas’ information you quote is true indeed. In 2001, the village outside basecamp - near the liaison officer’s huts - sprung up. That year, we did have several problems with fights, prostitutes, drinking, etc., and our expedition doctor did indeed treat a couple of cases of venereal disease.

I don’t necessarily fault the Tibetans, as they are being entrepreneurial and finding an income in any way they can. But, it is a sad state of affairs, and one which will probably get worse with the new highway.

I wrote quite a bit about this on my blog for those who are interested:

http://mountainworld.typepad.com/mountainworld/2007/06/paving-the-way-.html

Thanks for the great post!

-Jake Norton
MountainWorld Productions

campervan parks 08.28.08 | 12:31 AM ET

A lot has changed since Sir Edmond Hillary climbed the mountain. Now it’s just a tourist spot amongst a poor region. Unfortunately this combination can lead to the exploitation of the hosting country.

Sarah.

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