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Climber’s Perceptions on Mount Everest: Measuring Crowding Issues, Challenges, Success, and Environmental Issues Sources: AdventureStats. 2007. http://www.adventurestats.com/tables/EverestAgeFat.shtml, Salisbury, R. 2007. The Himalayan Database: The Expedition Archives of Elizabeth Hawley. A crowded Hillary Step. Photo: Eric Alexander Camp IV, South Col. Photo: Paul Adler Poster Background Photo: Jon Kedrowski Jon Kedrowski Research Proposal Department of Geography, Texas State University—San Marcos, TX Photo: dailygalaxy.com Goals • To examine the visitor experience in association with overcrowding and subsequent climber’s perception of risk and challenges on Mount Everest. • To define ways to address the specifics of the overcrowding in the visitor experience: • natural hazards on the standard routes. • crowding ‘high crimes’ (Kodas 2008). • environmental issues. • definitions of ‘success’ and ‘summit fever’. Research Objectives • Develop new knowledge about the different demographic backgrounds, visitor experiences and perception of inherent risks associated with a typical summit attempt of the highest mountain on Earth. • Utilize a surveying technique to gauge the overall impressions of climbers from a typical season of expeditions. • Enhance understanding as to how the visitor experience to Mount Everest is perceived and how it can be improved so that risk to all who venture there (as well as damage to the surrounding environment) can be lowered and managed by the various stakeholders involved. Conceptual Framework of Survey THED “Degradation Scenario” Change in Risk & Challenge Perceptions “Summit Fever” Mount Everest Overcrowding Risk Taking “Before” “During” “After” Definition of „Success‟ on Everest Ethical Mountaineering Climber Demographic Backgrounds Unethical Mountaineering Background • Theory of Himalayan Environmental Degradation (THED) (Ives 1987, 1989). • Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park ‘degradation scenario’ (Byers 2005) verified by prior research (Byers 1987a, 1987b, 1987c, 1997, Fisher 1990, Brower 1991, Stevens 1993, 1997, Brower and Dennis 1998). • Mountaineering “Summit Fever” on Mt. Everest has an indirect ripple effect on both the THED and ‘degradation scenario’. • ‘Highest peak phenomenon’ = increasing issues (Kodas 2008). Mount Everest Summits Since 1975 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 Year Summits Summits Mount Everest Deaths Since 1975 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 1975 1977 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 Year Fatalities Deaths Sources: AdventureStats. 2007. http://www.adventurestats.com/tables/EverestAgeFat.shtml, Salisbury, R. 2007. The Himalayan Database: The Expedition Archives of Elizabeth Hawley. Acknowledgements • Thanks to Texas State University—San Marcos Graduate College and Department of Geography for providing partial funding for Cryosphere & Hazards 2008 Workshop attendance and presentation. • Special thanks to the Mountain Research Initiative (MRI), The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and the conference selection committee at the University of Nebraska-Omaha who provided partial funding for trip support, transportation, and Cryosphere & Hazards 2008 Workshop attendance. • David R. Butler, Ph.D., Texas State University, Advisor and Chair of Dissertation Committee. References Breivik, G. 1996. Personality, sensation seeking and risk taking among Everest climbers. International Journal of Sport Psychology 27: 308-320. Brower, B. 1991. Sherpa of Khumbu: People, Livestock, and Landscape. Delhi: Oxford University Press, 202 p. Brower, B., Dennis, A. 1998. Grazing the forest, shaping the landscape? Continuing the debate about forest dynamics in Sagarmatha National Park. In Nature’s Geography: New Lessons for Conservation in Developing Countries, ed. K. S. Zimmerer and K. S. Young, 184–213. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. Burke, S., Orlick, T. 2003. Mental strategies of elite Mount Everest climbers. Journal of Excellence 8: 42-58. Byers, A. C. 1987a. An assessment of landscape change in the Khumbu Region of Nepal using repeat photography. Mountain Research and Development 7(1): 77–81. Byers, A.C. 1987b. A geoecological study of landscape change and man-accelerated soil loss: the case of the Sagarmatha (Mt.Everest) National Park, Khumbu, Nepal. PhD dissertation. Ann Arbor, MI: University Microfilms International. Byers, A.C. 1987c. Landscape change and man-accelerated soil loss: The case of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal. Mountain Research and Development 7(3): 209–216. Byers, A.C. 1997. Landscape change in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Nepal. Himalayan Research Bulletin XVII :(2). Special issue: SoluKhumbu and the Sherpa. Byers, A.C. 2005. Contemporary human impacts on alpine ecosystems in the Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park, Khumbu, Nepal. Annals of Association of American Geographers 95(1): 112-140. Delle Fave, A., Bassi, M., Massimini, F. 2003. Quality of experience and risk perception in high-altitude rock climbing. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology 15(1): 82-98. Ewert, A.W. 1985. Why people climb: the relationship of participant motives and experience level to mountaineering. Journal of Leisure Research 17: 241-250. Ewert, A.W. 1991. Managing a scarce natural resource: the high-altitude mountaineering setting. In: Proceedings of the International Conference and Workshop Summaries Book of the International Association for Experiential Education (19 th , Lake Junaluska, NC, Oct. 24-27, 1991), 131-136. Ewert, A.W. 1994. Playing the edge: motivation and risk taking in a high-altitude wildernesslike environment. Environment and Behavior 26(1): 3-24. Fisher, J. F. 1990. Sherpas: Reflections on Change in Himalayan Nepal. Berkeley: University of California Press, 205 p. Kodas, M. 2008. High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed. New York: Hyperion, 372 p. Stevens, S. F. 1993. Claiming High Ground: Sherpas, Subsistence, and Environmental Change in the Highest Himalaya. Berkeley: University of California Press, 540 p. Stevens, S.F. 1997. (ed.) Conservation Through Cultural Survival: Indigenous Peoples and Protected Areas. Washington, DC: Island Press, 361 p. Research Questions 1. What factors have a significant effect on the mountain climber’s perception, including fears and challenges encountered on Mount Everest during all phases of an expedition? 2. What is the relationship of success versus overall climbing experience on Mount Everest? In addition, what actually constitutes true ‘success’ on Everest? Research Questions (cont.) 3. Are the levels of crowding and environmental degradation within acceptable limits for the Everest climbers? 4. What are major similarities and differences within the Everest climber demographics regarding questions #1 ,#2, & #3? 5. What are some feasible solutions to critical concepts based on the climbers and their responses? Methodology • 40-item questionnaire administered on site for all three phases of the expedition: —“Before”, “during”, “after”. • Survey organization by the following categories: —Climber demographics —Prior experience and expertise —Perceptions of fears/challenges encountered —Over-crowding and environmental concerns Methodology (Cont.) Following Data Collection: 1. Experience and Skill Level Analysis. 2. Factors Affecting Climbers Perceptions. 3. Rank Correlation Analysis of Overcrowding Issues. 4. Critical Concept Analysis. 5. Discussion of Solutions for Survey Results. South Standard Route: Everest Basecamp, Nepal, at the base of the Khumbu Icefall (17,575’/5357m). North Standard Route: Everest Basecamp, Tibet, at the head of the Rongbuk Glacier (16,400’/5000m). Study Area Locations Background (cont.) • Visitor experience in mountaineering is only moderately documented. – Relationships between climber’s motives and levels of experience (Ewert 1985, 1994). – Overcrowding and environmental quality within acceptable limits (Ewert 1991). – Himalayas: quality of experience and risk perception (Breivik 1996, Delle Fave et al. 2003), defining mental strategies and relationship to success (Burke & Orlick 2003). Photo: NASA Images Photo: Paul Auerbach, M.D. Nepal Basecamp—5357m Significance • From a geographer’s perspective: – Variables comprising important components of ‘summit fever’ will be isolated – Demographics of climbers and the relationships drawn from specific issues on Everest escalated by the overcrowding will be analyzed by examining perceptions – Critical concepts will also be related to the overcrowding concerns (environmental, cultural, economical, political) and conclusions may be drawn Near Tibet Basecamp—5000m Road leading into Everest BC. Photo: Jo Singh Conclusions Focused innovations of the project include: 1. Explanation and geographic assessment of climber demographics: who the climbers are, where they are from, and what brings them to climb Everest. 2. Evaluation of the mountaineering experience, expertise, and skill level of climbers on Mount Everest to determine how qualified the climbers actually are (prior to the climb), and then determine how experienced the climbers themselves think they should be in order to climb the peak. 3. A probabilistic view of factors affecting climber’s perceptions of mountaineering on a high peak within the temporal aspects of a climbing expedition (‘before’, ‘during’, and ‘after’). Conclusions (Cont.) Project innovations (cont.): 4. A site-specific and detailed location determination of the overcrowding and environmental problems on the highest mountain in the world. 5. Popular critical concepts addressed in regards to associated challenges on the mountain that may be applied to other mountains as well. 6. Valuable insight for the Nepalese and Tibetan governments to help manage the permit systems and mitigate escalating problems on Mount Everest. FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 2008 2009 2010 2011 SUMMER & FALL SPRING SUMMER FALL SPRING SUMMER FALL SPRING SUMMER Pilot Study Initial Data Review Logistics & Planning for South Col Side (NEPAL) South Col Survey Finalized Acquisition of Data via Survey (Everest BC, NEPAL) Everest Climb South Col Route South Col Data Analysis Experience & Skill Level Analysis Climbers Perception & Overcrowding Analysis Logistics & Planning for North Col Side (TIBET) Begin Dissertation Report Oral Report (Dissertation Defense) Dissertation Final Submission (South Col Only) North Col Survey Finalized IRB Approval Acquisition of Data via Survey (Everest BC, TIBET) Everest Climb North Col Route North Col Data Analysis Experience & Skill Level Analysis Climbers Perception & Overcrowding Analysis Oral Report (North Col Only) Comparative Analysis (North & South Combined) Oral Report Begin Final Reports & Book Project Timeline Gaps in Literature • Awareness of “Summit Fever” by the Everest climbing community on specific issues (examined across the climber demographics): – Overcrowding on all aspects of an Expedition • “Before”, “during” and “after” perceptions • Assessing specific locations where crowding is a problem — Critical Concepts • Definition of success for today’s Everest climber • Environmental/human ethics shaping quality of visitor experience Trash & discarded oxygen bottles litter Camp IV, South Col Photo: Mike Richard Everest: a very crowded mountain. Photo: Dariusz Zaluski Kedrowski ©2008
