Despite the corona pandemic, the rush on Mount Everest was great.
The spring season for mountaineers on the highest mountain in the world is over.
But Corona is spreading.
Kathmandu - 167 corona cases were reported in villages around Mount Everest during the violent second wave.
Mainly people of the Sherpa tribe live there.
Many of them lead foreign mountaineers to Everest or other mountains, carry their luggage or cook for them during the expedition.
Since the first of them returned from Everest base camp in April, there has been a steady increase in infections in Pasang Lhamu, said the chief of the responsible health authority, Aarti Maya Tamang.
The community around the highest mountain in the world has around 9,000 inhabitants.
The area is only partially accessible by car.
Despite Corona record on Mount Everest
In 2020, shortly before the start of the Everest main season in spring, Nepal closed the mountain for ascents due to the corona pandemic.
This spring, however, the government let foreign adventurers in again - and even issued a record number of 408 of them with a permit to climb for $ 11,000 each.
According to the UN, Nepal is one of the least developed countries in the world and needs the money from abroad.
Mount Everest: 100 corona cases in the base camp
In the past few weeks, mountaineers and officials on the mountain had reported at least one hundred corona cases on Everest.
The Nepalese Ministry of Tourism, however, denied a major corona outbreak on Everest.
The spring season ended last week.
Dozens of mountaineers had canceled or broken off their expeditions before the start.
Mount Everest is on the border between Nepal and China.
China had not allowed any climbs this year.
Nepal is currently experiencing a strong second corona wave - as recently the neighboring country India, with which Nepal shares a 1770-kilometer, relatively open border.
(dpa)
