What Happened On Mt. Everest?

Greed.  In an effort to help the struggling Himalayan country of Nepal, the Nepali government has issued 381 permits for climbing to the peak of Mt. Everest this year.  The cost of each permit is $11,000.  This is far more permits than ever before, and the result has been deadly.  Many climbers were killed in the most recent accent, many others very, very sick.

People who set out to climb Mt. Everest have a variety of reasons for doing so.  It's not on my bucket list, but most do it for the challenge, personal achievement, a chance to be awed.  Unfortunately what many climbers got on this fateful day in May was traffic jams.  Imagine going all the way to the top of the world to encounter Disneyland type lines to get to the top.  Many had to stay additional time at base camp because of the crowds.  This is not what these climbers, who trained for months, expecting the experience of a lifetime, wanted.  There must be regulations on the number of permits issued to prevent this from happening in the future.  After all, there are only a few  good days to make the accent to the top, and 381 permits could never all reach the top safely in the few days available.  Nepal must try to keep climbing  safe (it's not), but at least relatively safe, by limiting the number of permits it issues.  It's easy to get greedy, but at the cost of so many lives, is it worth it?