NEPAL — Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world. Every year, climbers pit their mortal strength against its eternal power. Depending on how far up its treacherous banks ambitious climbers push themselves, the view can be breathtaking – or deadly. According to Nepalese mountaineering authorities, some climbers become so overwhelmed by the experience that the view also becomes – naked. The mountain, also known as Chomolungma, Qomolangma, or Sagarmatha by locals, is deemed a sacred place by some, with the names translating roughly to “Mother of the Universe” or “Goddess of the Sky.”
Located between Nepal and Tibet, the section of the Himalaya range attracted more than 2,000 hikers during 2006 and nearly 3,000 during 2007. More than 200 people have died attempting to scale its heights, with most dead bodies being left where they fell and some visible from frequently used climbing paths. The money made from climbers paying experienced mountaineering guides makes up a sizable amount of the areas income, in addition to a $25,000 climbing permit.
Although the people living in the area may love the money the mountain brings to them, they are not so wild about some of the behavior that takes place on their sacred mount, including a tendency of some climbers to strip nude while attempting to teach the summit.
Last year was especially difficult for some villagers to deal with, given that a Nepali climber boasted of making history by standing nude at the 5.5-mile mark in temperatures below 50°F.
“There should be strict regulations to discourage such attempts by climbers,” Ang Tshering, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association insists, observing that the villagers consider the behavior to be “obscene” and have complained to the government for assistance in combating it.
