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by Bara Elank Agence France Presse MATARAM, Indonesia (AFP) — More than 500 hikers and guides stranded by landslides on an Indonesian mountain after an earthquake have returned to safety, with some recalling their terror when tonnes of rock cascaded down. The shallow 6.4-magnitude quake, which struck early Sunday on Lombok island and was followed by scores of aftershocks, triggered major landslides on Mount Rinjani, blocking the hiking routes that criss-cross it. Some 800 trekkers […]
by Annabel Symington Agence France Presse KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Mount Everest’s Hillary Step — a rocky outcrop just below the summit — is now a slope, say climbers who recently returned from the mountain. The condition of the rock face named after Everest’s first summiteer Edmund Hillary has been the subject of intense speculation since climbers last year declared it had gone. Others disagreed saying fresh snowfall had caused the confusion. Mountaineers returning from […]
by Annabel Symington Agence France-Presse KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Poor regulation and overcrowding are pushing Everest climbers away from Nepal to China, which is investing millions to boost a rival path to the top of the world. Veteran climbing outfits, fed up with what they regard as a lax attitude to safety on Nepal’s southern flank of the 8,848-meter (29,029-foot) peak, are starting to shift operations to Everest’s north side in Tibet. “The south side […]
