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The Himalaya by the Numbers: A Statistical Analysis - Himalayan ...

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closeness of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Himalaya</strong>. Many Japanese universities and towns had climbing clubs<br />

that often organized outings to Nepal especially for <strong>the</strong> sub-8000m peaks.<br />

Since 1990 climbers from o<strong>the</strong>r countries have surpassed <strong>the</strong> Japanese in num bers. On<br />

<strong>the</strong> ACE commercial routes, <strong>the</strong> Americans and <strong>the</strong> British are <strong>the</strong> most numerous,<br />

while <strong>the</strong> French and Japanese are <strong>the</strong> leaders on <strong>the</strong> non-ACE routes. Several French<br />

commercial companies have organized trips to peaks such as Baruntse and Himlung.<br />

Japanese climbing clubs still remain active and often send groups to Nepal, especially<br />

into <strong>the</strong> Khumbu.<br />

Early on most teams were of one nationality or related nationalities. In <strong>the</strong> 1970s, a<br />

few large international teams were assembled to climb Everest, but due to <strong>the</strong>ir large<br />

size <strong>the</strong>y tended to break down into smaller sub-groups along national lines often with<br />

unfortunate interpersonal consequences (<strong>the</strong> 1971 International Everest expedition led<br />

<strong>by</strong> Norman Dhyrenfurth is a prime example). As smaller alpine-style groups became<br />

more prevalent, <strong>the</strong>y often looked past nationality and instead looked at compatibility<br />

and climbing resumes of individuals. Today most of <strong>the</strong> larger commercial expeditions<br />

are international. Still some friction can occur between teams (see previous inset box).<br />

Team Composition<br />

Charts C-10a-b illustrate how team composition (<strong>the</strong> numbers of members and hired<br />

personnel above base camp) has changed over <strong>the</strong> last 35 years. Chart C-10c shows <strong>the</strong><br />

ratio of hired personnel to members.<br />

35<br />

30<br />

25<br />

20<br />

15<br />

10<br />

5<br />

0<br />

1970-<br />

1971<br />

1972-<br />

1973<br />

1974-<br />

1975<br />

1976-<br />

1977<br />

Chart C-10a: Average expedition team sizes (members above base camp) from 1970-2006<br />

34 <strong>Analysis</strong> of Climbing Activity<br />

Average Expedition Team Sizes (Members Above BC)<br />

1978-<br />

1979<br />

1980-<br />

1981<br />

1982-<br />

1983<br />

1984-<br />

1985<br />

1986-<br />

1987<br />

1988-<br />

1989<br />

1990-<br />

1991<br />

1992-<br />

1993<br />

1994-<br />

1995<br />

1996-<br />

1997<br />

1998-<br />

1999<br />

2000-<br />

2001<br />

All Peaks Everest All Peaks w/o Everest<br />

Trend (All Peaks) Trend (Everest) Trend (All Peaks w/o Everest)<br />

2002-<br />

2003<br />

2004-<br />

2005<br />

2006

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