Rudyard Kipling, whose writings were nothing if not politically incorrect by the standards of today, opened his iconic poem of masculinity "If" with the words:
If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs ...
That seems pretty apposite in the current climate of viral fear gripping the developed nations. In all of the nonsense about panic buying and the misinformation that spreads faster than the virus you may have missed the news that Nepal has closed access to Everest for the year.
I have a lot of sympathy for businesses in New Zealand that will also be devastated by the closing of our borders following a general decline in travel. By our standards, that will cause a lot of hardship to many people in this country.
That said, the effect of the decline in travel on Nepal will be far greater. The country's GDP is just short of $25bn and around $1bn - a hefty 4% - comes from tourism receipts. So the loss of the income from climbing and trekking is huge. Nepal's entire other exports of commodities such as textiles, spices and tea bring in a paltry $800 million. Withal, Nepal has a huge and growing trade deficit.
At the individual level, the loss of even one climbing season can take out the equivalent of a year of income from farming for the mountain villages. There is no social welfare system to help and little prospect of the Nepal government announcing any package of relief for the affected mountain economy.
Charities like the Himalayan Trust become incredibly significant in times such as these, for example when the earthquake hit Nepal in 2015 The Himalayan Trust funded 31 emergency homes for families who lost everything in the earthquake, and went on to rebuild damaged schools with earthquake strengthening. You can help the Trust help the people of Nepal by donating here.
The price of a large packet of toilet rolls would feed a Nepalese family for a day.
On my virtual Everest climb, I've now reached 5184m, the altitude of Gorak Shep. This collection of buildings was at one time the original Everest Base Camp. Nowadays, EBC is established anew each year at a selected (by Sherpa) point on the Khumbu Glacier, a trek of an hour or so from Gorak Shep.
Gorak Shep lies on on the other side of the Lobuche Pass which is another tough climb at the head of the Lobuche valley. At the top of the pass we are rewarded with our first glimpse of the tents of EBC in the distance.
On a positive note, the closure of Everest will give the locals an opportunity to accelerate the cleanup of the waste left there by climbing expeditions. Doesn't look like anyone's volunteering to pay them for that though.
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