Comment on Climate change likely to make Everest even riskier

NEW DELHI (AP) — Climbing to the roof of the world is becoming less predictable and possibly more dangerous, scientists say, as climate change brings warmer temperatures that may eat through the ice and snow on Mount Everest. Nepal was left reeling when a sudden ice avalanche slammed down onto a group of Sherpa guides on Friday and killed 16 in the deadliest single disaster on Everest. While it is impossible to link any single event to long-term changes in the global climate, scientists say the future will likely hold more such dangers in high-altitude regions. Friday's disaster occurred at the Khumbu Icefall, long recognized as one of Everest's most dangerous spots, as the edge of the slow-moving glacier is known to crack, cave and send huge chunks of ice tumbling without warning. [...] as global temperatures have gone up 0.75 degrees C (1.4 degrees F) in the last century, according to the International Panel on Climate Change, studies show the Himalayas warming at a rate up to three times as high. "The more people you have living or trekking in the mountains in seemingly blind disregard for a changing hazard environment, the more catastrophes you'll have," he said Wednesday in a telephone interview. The Sherpas who died on Friday were some of today's most skilled Everest climbers, underlining the fact that experience is no guarantee of safety, even if better gear and oxygen-breathing equipment have helped reduce some dangers. "[...] the trail is full of bare and exposed rock," he said, making it harder for climbers to gain footholds with their spiky metal crampons meant for digging into ice.