Mount Everest's main expedition season is about to begin, and yet planned climbs are being undermined by delays in the transport of supplies for mountaineers.
Helicopters are currently only flying large items of equipment - such as large tents and tables - to the base camp of the world's highest mountain on the instructions of the local government.
Food, ropes, gas for cooking and medical equipment, for example, will be carried up by local porters or on animals, Tashi Lhamu Sherpa, the deputy mayor of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Municipality, told dpa ahead of the start of climbing season in April.
Traditionally, yaks and jopkyos (a cross between yaks and cows from the Himalayas) trained to carry loads are used for this purpose.
However, according to the general secretary of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, Mohan Lamsal, there are not enough people and animals who can carry small objects up quickly - also because many of them are currently being used for trekkers from abroad.
About 30 tonnes of material from various expedition companies are now stored in the small town of Syangboche, where the airport closest to Mount Everest is also located, he said.
In recent years, he said, expedition organisers have increasingly relied on helicopter transport because it is faster but similarly expensive.
Expedition companies are hoping for a solution soon. The season on Mount Everest lasts from about the end of April to the beginning of June.
The Expedition Operator's Association Nepal expects about 500 climbers from abroad to camp at Everest base camp for several weeks with approximately 1,500 to 2,000 local helpers, who cook for them, carry their luggage and guide them up the mountain.
After acclimatising to the altitude, the climbers try their hand at Everest and Lhotse, both more than 8,000 metres in height, and the 7,000-metre Nuptse.
Foreign Everest climbers pay around $40,000 each for an expedition, according to US mountaineer and blogger Alan Arnette. Around $10,000 of this is for a climbing permit from the Tourism Ministry.
