Prelude: Mountains in an Uncertain World* - Impact of Global Changes on Mountains: Responses and Adaptation - page 13

reports, including spectacular and distorted videos (that win international
prizes), continue to mislead us with false accounts.
There is surely a need for reassessment of the management of the
Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) National Park/World Heritage Site. There is
also need for detailed geotechnical study of the stability of glacial lakes.
This should include associated downstream land-use planning, restriction
of new construction in potentially dangerous locations, and relocation of
exposed sections of trekking routes in general and the route to the Everest
base camp in particular. Climbing Everest will never be a walk in the park,
but a lot can be done to make both climbing and trekking less dangerous
to both participants and the host communities.
In conclusion, let us return to the more general overview of the fi rst part
of this account: we know, in the words of a former mayor of Narvik, that “the
mountains wait”. Theodor Broch was writing of the invasion of his town
in 1940. The spiritual presence of the mountains of Arctic Norway inspired
the local people to withstand fi ve years of horror during the World War II
(Broch 1942). Mountains, the world over, endure in all their stark beauty
and mystery. Lifting their summits to the sky, they inspire and challenge us,
prompting our determination and fortifying the courage of the generations
who will follow us. Yet a concerted effort is also needed to help preserve in
perpetuity this immense world heritage, vital for the well-being of us all.
References
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report, forthcoming.
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Byers, A.C., D.C. McKinney, M.A. Somos-Valenzuela, T. Watanabe and D. Lamsal. 2013.
Glacial Lakes of the Hongu Valley, Makalu-Barun National Park, Nepal. Natural Hazards
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