Mt. Everest: learn from tragedy, tighten safety measures

It’s obvious why so many try to scale Everest — but the safety protocol must be tightened

Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak at 8,848 metres, draws adventurers from all over. But the mountain on the Nepal-China border is fast becoming a dangerous place to visit even for the hardened mountaineer. The inherent risks were this month highlighted with a photograph by Nirmal Purja, a Gorkha ex-soldier. The image, which went viral and altered the manner in which people worldwide imagine what it is to scale Mt. Everest, showed a long queue awaiting a final tilt at the summit, with all the dangers such a wait holds. This season, at least 10 climbers have died or gone missing, including four Indians. Experts have been calling for Nepal to restrict the number of permits. It awarded a record 381 for this spring, each fetching $11,000 (climbing from the Tibet side is more expensive). On Wednesday, 200 climbers ascended the summit, a new record for a single day. Last year, 807 managed to reach the summit. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were more than 26,000 visitors to the Everest region, and this figure has grown manifold since then. Nepal officials argue that permits are not issued recklessly, and that jams such as this year’s near the summit are on account of spells of bad weather, which result in mountaineers being compelled to summit within a narrow time-frame. Waiting in sub-zero temperatures at the rarefied altitude can be fatal — this season’s deaths were mostly due to frostbite, exhaustion, dehydration and lack of oxygen.

This year’s drama has caught the public imagination, as happened in 1996 when eight persons died in a single day amid an unexpected storm — events of and around that day were the subject of Jon Krakauer’s bestselling book, Into Thin Air. The adventure industry that is built around the human desire to scale the peak has meant many amateurs take up the challenge, confident that support teams and specialised equipment will make up for their lack of adequate mountaineering experience. The fallout is that in case of a disaster not only are some of them unable to manage, but they hold up others, putting them in harm’s way. The commercial operations have led to the Everest being called the world’s highest garbage dump as many climbers discard non-critical gear and fail to clean up the mess. It is unlikely, however, that this season’s tragedies will deter future summiteers, as the hypnotic lure remains intact. As George Mallory, the English mountaineer who perished in the attempt to scale Everest, reportedly said of its pull, “Because it’s there.” But the authorities must learn from this year’s tragedies and work out an optimum number of climbers and strengthen safety measures.

Vocabulary

1. hardened

Meaning: very experienced in a particular job or activity and therefore not easily upset by its more unpleasant aspects.

Tamil Meaning: கடினமாக்கப்பட்ட / தேர்ந்த

Synonyms: inured, desensitized, deadened, accustomed

Antonyms: unaccustomed

Example Sentence: “hardened police officers”

2. inherent

Meaning: existing in something as a permanent, essential, or characteristic attribute.

Tamil Meaning: இயற்கையாய் அமையப்பெற்ற / உள்ளார்ந்த

Synonyms: Intrinsic, innate, immanent, built-in, inborn

Antonyms: acquired, alien

Example Sentence: “any form of mountaineering has its inherent dangers”

3. viral

Meaning: circulated rapidly and widely from one Internet user to another.

Example Sentence: “a viral ad campaign”

4. altered

Meaning: change in character or composition, typically in a comparatively small but significant way.

Tamil Meaning: மாற்றப்படலாம் / திறுத்தி அமை

Synonyms: Change, make changes to, make different, make alterations to

Antonyms: preserve, stay the same

Example Sentence: “Eliot was persuaded to alter the passage”

5. awaiting

Meaning: wait for (an event).

Tamil Meaning: காத்திருங்கள்/ எதிர்பார்

Synonyms: wait for; expect, anticipate, look for

Antonyms: Doubt

Example Sentence: “we await the proposals with impatience”

6. tilt

Meaning: move or cause to move into a sloping position.

Tamil Meaning: சாய் / ஒரு புறம் சாய்

Synonyms: Lean, tip, list, slope, camber, bank, slant, incline, pitch, dip,

Antonyms: Level, right, be/come level, be/come upright

Example Sentence: “the floor tilted slightly”

7. restrict

Meaning: put a limit on; keep under control.

Tamil Meaning: கட்டுப்படுத்த / வறையரைப்படுத்து

Synonyms: limit, set/impose limits on, keep within bounds, keep under control, regulate, control, moderate, cut down on

Antonyms: Aid, Allow, Assist, Develop

Example Sentence: “some roads may have to be closed at peak times to restrict the number of visitors”

8. ascended

Meaning: climb to the summit of (a mountain or hill).

Tamil Meaning: ஏறினார் / மேயேறு

Synonyms: climb (up), come/go/move up, make one’s/its way up

Antonyms: descend

Example Sentence: “the first traveller to ascend the mountain”

9. estimated

Meaning: roughly calculate or judge the value, number, quantity, or extent of.

Tamil Meaning: மதிப்பீட்டிலான / மதிப்பிடு

Synonyms: oughly calculate, approximate, make an estimate of, guess

Antonyms: Ignorance, Fact, Truth

Example Sentence: “the aim is to estimate the effects of macroeconomic policy on the economy”

10. manifold

Meaning: many and various.

Tamil Meaning: பன்மடங்கு / பல பயன்கள் கொண்ட

Synonyms: many, numerous, multiple, multifarious, multitudinous, multiplex

Antonyms: Same, One, Single

Example Sentence: “the implications of this decision were manifold”

11. recklessly

Meaning: without regard to the danger or the consequences of one’s actions; rashly.

Tamil Meaning: பொறுப்பற்ற முறையில்

Synonyms: Carelessly, Daringly, Foolishly

Example Sentence: “he was driving recklessly and lost control”

12. compelled

Meaning: force or oblige (someone) to do something.

Tamil Meaning: கட்டாயம்

Synonyms: force, coerce into, pressurize into, pressure, impel

Antonyms: Dissuade, Discourage, Halt

Example Sentence: “a sense of duty compelled Harry to answer her questions”

13. rarefied

Meaning: (of air, especially that at high altitudes) of lower pressure than usual; thin.

Tamil Meaning: அரிதானதாகவே

Example Sentence: “every ounce carried counts triple when you’re trudging uphill in rarefied air”

14. altitude

Meaning: the height of an object or point in relation to sea level or ground level.

Tamil Meaning: உயரத்தில்

Synonyms: height, elevation

Antonyms: Depth

Example Sentence: “flight data including airspeed and altitude”

15. fatal

Meaning: causing death.

Tamil Meaning: அபாயகரமான / சாவுக்குரிய

Synonyms: deadly, lethal, mortal, causing death, death dealing

Antonyms: harmless, superficial

Example Sentence: “a fatal accident”

16. frostbite

Meaning: injury to body tissues caused by exposure to extreme cold, typically affecting the nose, fingers, or toes and often resulting in gangrene.

Tamil Meaning: தோலுறைவு

Example Sentence: “when they rescued him he was suffering from frostbite”

17. exhaustion

Meaning: a state of extreme physical or mental tiredness.

Tamil Meaning: சோர்வு / முழுச் சோர்வு

Synonyms: Extreme tiredness, overtiredness, fatigue, weariness, lack of energy

Antonyms: vigour

Example Sentence: “he was pale with exhaustion”

18. dehydration

Meaning: the loss or removal of water from something.

Tamil Meaning: உடல் வறட்சி

Example Sentence: “from an inspection of plants undergoing dehydration there was no evidence of root damage”

19. amid

Meaning: surrounded by; in the middle of.

Tamil Meaning: மத்தியில்

Synonyms: In the middle of, surrounded by, among, amongst, between

Antonyms: surrounding

Example Sentence: “our dream home, set amid magnificent rolling countryside”

20. desire

Meaning: a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.

Tamil Meaning: ஆசை / விரும்பு

Synonyms: Wish, want

Antonyms: Apathy, Distaste, Disgust

Example Sentence: “he resisted public desires for choice in education”

21. discard

Meaning: get rid of (someone or something) as no longer useful or desirable.

Tamil Meaning: நிராகரிக்க / கைவிடு

Synonyms: Dispose of, throw away, throw out, get rid of, toss out

Antonyms: keep, acquire

Example Sentence: “Hilary bundled up the clothes she had discarded”

22. hypnotic

Meaning: relating to or producing hypnosis / a sleep-inducing drug.

Tamil Meaning: மயக்கமூட்டுகிற / தூக்க மருந்து

Synonyms: mesmerizing, mesmeric, spellbinding, entrancing, bewitching

Antonyms: invigorating

Example Sentence: “her voice had a hypnotic quality”

23. lure

Meaning: tempt (a person or animal) to do something or to go somewhere, especially by offering some form of reward.

Tamil Meaning: கவரும்/ வசப்படுத்து

Synonyms: tempt, entice, attract, induce, coax, persuade, inveigle

Antonyms: Deter, put off

Example Sentence: “the child was lured into a car but managed to escape”

24. perished

Meaning: die, especially in a violent or sudden way.

Tamil Meaning: அழிந்து/ அழி

Synonyms: die, lose one’s life, be killed, fall, expire

Antonyms: live, survive

Example Sentence: “a great part of his army perished of hunger and disease”

25. amateurs

Meaning: a person who engages in a pursuit, especially a sport, on an unpaid rather than a professional basis.

Tamil Meaning: துறை சார்பற்றவர்

Synonyms: non-professional, non-specialist, layman, layperson

Antonyms: professional

Example Sentence: “it takes five years for a top amateur to become a real Tour de France rider”

Check the other – THE HINDU EDITORIAL vocabulary words from previous days in THE HINDU EDITORIAL section which has bilingual meanings. 

THE HINDU EDITORIAL – VOCABULARY WORDS

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