This spring’s expeditions on the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest can now formally begin. According to the state news agency Xinhua, the Chinese-Tibetan authorities allowed tourists into the Everest region for the first time last weekend. The region had been closed to visitors after the strong earthquake on 7 January.
Experts, who had been taking measurements for more than a month, have now declared the region safe again. No unusual ice falls, avalanches or geological changes had been observed by the end of February, said Ma Weiqiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Epicenter in Tingri
According to official Chinese figures, 126 people died in the quake, which measured 6.8 on the Richter scale. The epicenter of the quake was in the district of Tingri, around 80 kilometers north of Everest. Tingri is the gateway for many mountaineers and trekking tourists making their way to the Tibetan north side of Mount Everest – or to the north side of the eight-thousander Cho Oyu.
In the Khumbu, the region on the south side of Everest in Nepal, the earth also shook on 7 January. However, the quake did not cause any major damage there.
Lonely Everest
In spring 2024, after a five-year break due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Tibetan authorities allowed foreign expeditions to Mount Everest again – but only late in the season. As a result, the climbers on the north side experienced a lonely Everest. 74 people reached the summit at 8,849 meters via the Northeast Ridge. In comparison: 787 successes were reported from the Nepalese south side of the mountain.
