The reason that I have decided to start this petition is that overcrowding on Mount Everest has got out of hand.

For me, personally, as a mountaineer, the excitement, danger, and beauty of Everest are what really sparked my interest and passion in mountaineering. Ever since Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary were the first two people to summit Everest, it has been a sacred and world-renowned site. A mountain which most of us have dreamt of summiting but only the most daring have tried.

However, according to the BBC around 807 people were climbing on Mt. Everest this year (2019) with Nepal issuing 381 permits, each costing £8,600. This is a new record for the number of mountaineers defacing the beauty, and with it comes a new record of the number of deaths to have occurred in one season. Nepal's tourism board is putting money over the lives of climbers all over the world and even the life of Mt. Everest.

On the 23rd of May this year, almost 350 participants were in a queue for the summit in the death zone. This is hazardous in itself as whilst you are in the death zone, your body starts to breakdown. Furthermore, there is the physical danger, both that if you move slightly to either direction you will fall but also if one person falls, it could turn into a major catastrophe very quickly killing hundreds. And these are just a small few of the risks caused by overcrowding, without even mentioning the amount of waste and rubbish that this number of people will leave on the mountain.

So, what is the solution:

I think that the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation and Nepal Ministry of Tourism need to take responsibility for this. They must treat people's lives and the life of Everest as a higher priority than them making a few extra pounds. They must reduce the number of permits released and increase the vetting process. Thus, both reducing the number of deaths and protecting the mountain. This will also return mount Everest to the status of only being climbed by the elite few, making it a more special and unique achievement.

To conclude, Mt. Everest should have nothing but our respect and by allowing over 800 humans to walk all over her per annum we are not doing this at all. Mountaineering is a dangerous sport and nothing can stop that, however, we need to make sure that we respect these immense mountains so that it can be as safe, and as enjoyable as possible. So please help this to happen by signing this petition!