Each year, Everest is the destination of 250,000 tourists from Europe, the Americas, India, and the Far East who come to drink in its heady beauty and to savor the spiritual atmosphere. Some come to hike the trails, others come determined to kiss the sky from Everest's lofty summit. In a typical year Nepal authorizes perhaps 14 Everest expeditions whose parties may contain anywhere from two to 200 people. No matter what their motivation, all who come to the region leave their mark in one way or another.
On one level, tourism has been a blessing. It pumps $70 million into the economy each year, providing employment for hundreds of Sherpas as [P 022 / porters], guides, innkeepers, merchants, craftspeople, artisans, traders, and cooks. Every three trekkers who come here provide a job for one Sherpa.
There's a downside, though. With so much money changing hands, and so much demand for food and other resources, prices tend to rise. Even Sherpas who are not involved in the tourism industry must pay these higher prices.
Many visitors bring with them all their bad habits from home. Today many of the more popular trekking areas are spoiled with unsightly litter - granola wrappers, bits of foil, used toilet paper. So much trash has been left on the slopes of Everest that the South Col, at 26,250 feet, is now known as the world's highest garbage dump.
Although the policies of the Sagarmatha National Park forbid the use of firewood by visitors, there is still enormous economic [L3 706 / pressure on Sherpas to supply the wood]. Removing even the dwarf species destroys the soil bed, increasing the risk of erosion. Outside the park, the rhododendron forests are destroyed and tea houses and hotels are springing up in their place.
Hydroelectric projects have brought power to most buildings in [G 24 / Namche Bazar]. Yet shortly after electricity illuminated the sacred halls of [P 007 / Tengboche Monastery], it sparked a fire that destroyed its buildings. There are some who feel that dams have no place in this once-pristine realm.
For centuries the Sherpas, following the principles of their deeply rooted [P 001 & P005 / Buddhist faith], have lived in harmony and balance with their environment. With so many visitors passing through the area, there is the risk that the balance has been disturbed beyond repair.
It may not be too late to stop, and even reverse, the destructive effects of progress. Reforestation programs are restoring some wooded areas. Park policies - not always rigorously observed or adequately enforced - are helping educate visitors. The rising global awareness of the environment and of the need to practice "low-impact trekking" is also helping.
