Global Rescue, the world’s leading provider of medical, security, evacuation and travel risk management services, will deploy a team of specialists to Nepal to perform rescue operations during the Mount Everest 2023 spring climbing season where a record number of rescues are expected.

“During the two-month 2023 Mount Everest spring climbing season, there will usually be several rescue operations performed each day, keeping the deployment team busy from before dawn until nearly midnight. The busiest time is the two-week Mount Everest summit window when the medical and rescue operations team performs up to 25 rescues a day,” said Dan Stretch, a Global Rescue operations manager based in Nepal during the Mount Everest climbing season who has performed more than 500 evacuations and crisis response operations in the Himalayas.

Recovering climbers and trekkers is much more than a high-altitude mountain chopper rescue. Performing a rescue includes helicopter and ambulance transports, hospital admissions and looking after individuals admitted to a hospital for care. “The deployment team members are located in multiple areas to support individuals throughout their rescue, transport, recovery and safe return home,” Stretch said.

Ignoring symptoms of altitude sickness during climbs is one of the major avoidable blunders mountaineers and trekkers make during this time, according to Stretch. “Ascending higher with symptoms of altitude sickness in the hopes of getting better is unwise. Generally, you won’t get better. Everyone needs to heed the warning signs. It can mean the difference between a successful summit and cutting your expedition in half and potentially ending up hospitalized,” he said.

Avalanches are a dangerous reality in the snowy high mountains, and so is the brutal weather. Preparing for them is a key element of the deployment team’s activity. “Avalanche risk is a factor when we determine the safety of ground rescue. We monitor the weather and receive daily reports from our team. There are times when adverse weather can prevent or delay helicopter rescue. At these times we rely on ground rescue or have members shelter in place until the weather clears,” he said.

Last year, there were a record-breaking number of climbing permits issued, and Global Rescue conducted a record-breaking number of rescue operations. The 2023 spring climbing season will set new records.

“There will be more people in the region adventuring, partly from the COVID backlog but also due to increased demand to go trekking and climbing,” said legendary mountaineer and a member of the Global Rescue Mountain Advisory Council Ed Viesturs.

Written by: Bill McIntyre

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