I just read a huge article in the Sunday la times this weekend on the situation in Nepal. So many of the business's there are little mom and pop, and a lot are highly leveraged to loans they got to start them. IT was booming just before Covid, so the gambles were paying off, but of course now it is a wasteland. Many going belly up, and it is not really the Everest climbers that fuel the economy, but the hikers that frequent all the trails through that beautiful country. And now with India exploding next door, looks like they will be locked down for quite sometime too.

Really sad situation, a place I have always dreamed of going to for one of those long hikes, visiting families who run tiny B&B's along the routes...

Yes, for sure.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

i did my master's research up there - lived at base camp (on the nepali side, not the chinese side) for a season and then spent some more time in the villages below. it's a pretty bloody awful place to try to be controlling infectious disease, including a respiratory one. basically everyone at camp develops the "khumbu cough" at some point during the season, and then huddles shoulder-to-shoulder in tents for a few months.

people are popping codeine and cipro like crazy, and even back before it was cool we were plowing through hand sanitizer like you can't imagine.

climbing in particular and tourism in general are a huge, huge part of nepal's economy - it's got bugger-all else and is sandwiched between two giants in india and china. if covd shuts down base camp that will really impact a lot of families throughout the khumbu.

it's been a while since i went, but for a while there every visit was marked by a separate disaster (civil wars, coups, massacres) and i figured maybe i'd pushed my luck the best i could. i wonder if, post-earthquake, it would feel the same anyway. i'm hoping in the next 5 years i'll be able to return with my wife and kids, but i think we're going to namibia first!

---

____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

The news is reporting at least 100 cases on Everest.

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Bad place to get a respiratory illness.

Where did you hear this? My news on this has been limited to climbing.com. From the sounds of it, the Nepalese government has been threatening guide agencies with pulling their permits and refusing to issue future permits if they go public with the actual case counts. Cash Rules Everything Around Me, CREAM, get the money, dollar dollar bill, y’all.

Mainstream media are quoting Austrian guide Lukas Furtenbach with the 100 figure.

Yup, he was the guide quoted in the climbing article saying it was a “major scandal and scam.” He had already pulled his team from the mountain and sounds like he won’t be invited back. That particular article did not have the number of cases though.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/climbing-guide-says-coronavirus-outbreak-mount-everest-has-infected-least-n1268239

---

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Here’s a thought… stop allowing people to climb and trash up Everest.

Yeah… right.

---

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Seeing pictures of piles of trash in various areas on Everest is certainly disheartening. I’ve heard the trash issue is being somewhat mitigated with huge fines for leaving too much, each team is required to remove “x” amount on their out, and permit fees include a stipend for locals to begin clean-up efforts.

Can’t think of a worse place to be with someone COVID+ than a confined tent space at high altitude. What might seem like a normal case for the average person could be a career killer for Sherpa, who depend on their respiratory system for their livelihood. Will be interesting to see how many more details the Nepalese government allow to be released.

Unrelated, but a bit worrisome when this guy says insurance providers assisted his COVID count. Isn’t that an easy lawsuit in the US? Can you contact BCBS and get that info?