It was my honor to be a part of this festival. Our movie, Accidental Climber, premiered at 11:00 am at the Cinema Nova, a wonderful theater complex in downtown Melbourne. My producers and director had done a great job of creating a truly exceptional movie. And this festival validated the high quality of the film. Out of 112 movies at this festival, we were ranked in the top five.
I got to answer questions after our showing and had an opportunity to give my view of the deaths that occurred on Everest again this year. What I see is an increase in companies that are willing to take clients to Everest without checking their qualifications. All that is needed is a doctor’s certificate. This allows too many people to climb without being vetted. It has become more about the money than safety on the mountain. And this year there were a record 381 permits in 44 companies issued by the Nepal government. Combine the increased number of unqualified individuals with fewer good summit days and you have 250 people above the Hillary Step trying to summit. Too many people were moving way too slow and 10 people died. Most ran out of oxygen because the line moved too slowly.
It is time for a change. Everyone on the mountain should be highly qualified. All companies need to thoroughly vet each client. And the Nepal government should limit numbers of climbers as well as climbing companies. If not, 2019 will be repeated again.