Mount Everest jako przykład komercjalizacji gór wysokich i himalaizmu

Abstract

Mountain regions have struggled with excessive tourist traffic for decades. It illustrates the dynamic development of every form of high-mountain tourism. The project deals only one of them – climbing high. The research problem, which is the influx and commercialization of human climbing activity in the highest mountains, was presented on the example of Mount Everest. This extremely popular summit perfectly illustrates – in chronological order – the changes taking place. For the first half of the year – from the first entry in 1953 – each year (with a few exceptions) from a dozen to several dozen mountaineers gained the summit. At the beginning of the 21st century, the number of winners was counted in hundreds, and in 2013 they were 578. However, it must be borne in mind that people trying to get to the top are much more. Demand generated the emergence of consulting firms as promoters of commercialization in the terms of buying the summit. Excessive load on Mount Everest contributes to many harmful events that result in devastation of the natural environment, negative impact on the local population, and commercialization of rejecting the climber’s ethos, resulting in a change in the perception of the Himalayan and the Himalayas themselves. Mount Everest, once a respected and desired mountaineer, is today a commercial product ready to be sold to customers with adequate financial backing. The Nepali government is largely affected by the problem, avoiding regulation because it draws large sums of money (about US$10,000 per person). The summary points to the opportunities, but also the barriers to better managing the roof of the world.