Virus fails to deter hundreds of climbers on Mount Everest

A year after Mount Everest was closed to climbers as the pandemic swept across the globe, hundreds are making the final push to the summit with only a few more days left in the season, saying they are undeterred by a coronavirus outbreak in base camp.

Three expedition teams to Everest canceled their climb this month following reports of people getting sick. But the remaining 41 teams decided to continue with hundreds of climbers and their guides scaling the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) top in the season that ends in May, before bad weather sets in.

“Even though the coronavirus has reached the Everest base camp, it has not made any huge effect like what is being believed outside of the mountain,” said Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, the biggest expedition operator on Everest. “No one has really fallen seriously sick because of COVID or died like the rumors that have been spreading.”

FILE- In this May 25, 2021, file photo, veteran Sherpa guide Kami Rita returns from the mountains on a helicopter after scaling Mount Everest in Kathmandu, Nepal. Since Everest was first conquered on May 29, 1953, thousands of people have scaled the peak and many Nepalese Sherpa guides have done it multiple times. Kami Rita scaled the peak a record 25 times this month. (AP PhotosBikram Rai, File)

With 122 clients from 10 teams on Everest, the company led the biggest group but there were no serious illnesses among them, he said.

Nepalese officials have downplayed reports of coronavirus cases on Mount Everest, apparently out of concern of creating chaos and confusion in the base camp. After a gap year of no income from climbers, Nepal has been eager to cash in on this year's season.

“Many people made it to the base camp and it is possible that the people who went there from here could have been infected," Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli said. “But that does not mean that it (coronavirus) has reached the entire mountain, maybe a part of the base camp or the area below that.”

FILE- In this May 25, 2021 file photo, veteran Sherpa guide Kami Rita, center, returns from the mountains on a helicopter after scaling Mount Everest in Kathmandu, Nepal. Since Everest was first conquered on May 29, 1953, thousands of people have scaled the peak and many Nepalese Sherpa guides have done it multiple times. Kami Rita scaled the peak a record 25 times this month. (AP PhotosBikram Rai, File)

In April, a Norwegian climber became the first to test positive at the Everest base camp. He was flown by helicopter to Kathmandu, where he was treated and later returned home.

Prominent guide Lukas Furtenbach of Austria decided to halt his expedition this month and pull out his clients because of an outbreak among team members.

After returning from the mountain, Furtenbach estimated more than 100 climbers and support staff have been infected. He said in an interview last week that it was obvious there were many cases at the base camp because he could see people were sick and could hear them coughing in their tents.

FILE- In this Nov. 8, 2019, photo, Mingma Sherpa, owner of Seven Summit Treks speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in Kathmandu, Nepal. "Even though coronavirus has reached the Everest base camp it has not made any huge effect like what is being believed outside of the mountain," said the biggest expedition operator on Everest. "No one has really fallen seriously sick because of COVID or died like the rumors that has been spreading." (AP PhotoNiranjan Shrestha, File)

“I think with all the confirmed cases we know now — confirmed from (rescue) pilots, from insurance, from doctors, from expedition leaders — I have the positive tests so we can prove this,” Furtenbach told The Associated Press.

China last week canceled climbing from its side of Everest due to fears the virus could spread from Nepal.

The climbing season was accompanied by a devastating surge in coronavirus cases in Nepal, with record numbers of daily infections and deaths. On Friday, Nepal reported 6,951 new confirmed cases and 96 deaths, bringing the nation’s totals since the pandemic began to more than 549,111 infections and 7,047 deaths.

FILE- In this March 19, 2021, file photo, a Nepalese health worker collects a nasal swab sample of Bahraini prince Mohamed Hamad Mohamed al-Khalifa to test for COVID-19 before he heads for an expedition to Mount Everest in Kathmandu, Nepal. A year after Mount Everest was closed to climbers as the pandemic swept across the globe, hundreds are making the final push to the summit with only a few more days left in the season, saying they are undeterred by a coronavirus outbreak in base camp. (AP PhotoNiranjan Shrestha, File)

Another expedition, by the Telluride, Colorado-based company Mountain Trip, also announced it was pulling out of Everest.

“While it’s a difficult decision to make when considering all of the work, years of preparation, sacrifice and resources that have went into the expedition, it’s the only sensible outcome from a risk management standpoint," a statement by the company said.

Six Sherpa guides working for the company have been evacuated to Kathmandu with COVID-19 symptoms, it said.

FILE- In this May 22, 2021, file photo, mountain guide Lukas Furtenbach speaks to The Associated Press in Kathmandu, Nepal. The prominent guide of Austria decided to halt his expedition this month and pull out his clients and his team because of coronavirus among this team members. Furtenbach on return from the mountain estimated more than 100 climbers and support staff have been infected by the coronavirus on Everest. (AP PhotoBikram Rai, File)

A total of 408 foreign climbers were issued permits to climb Everest this season, aided by several hundred Sherpas and support staff who have been stationed at base camp since April.

Since Everest was first conquered on May 29, 1953, thousands of people have scaled the peak and many Nepalese Sherpas have done it multiple times. Veteran Sherpa guide Kami Rita scaled the summit a record 25th time this month.

FILE - In this May 27, 2019, file photo, birds fly as Mount Everest is seen from Namche Bajar, Solukhumbu district, Nepal. A year after Mount Everest was closed to climbers as the pandemic swept across the globe, hundreds are making the final push to the summit with only a few more days left in the season, saying they are undeterred by a coronavirus outbreak in base camp. (AP PhotoNiranjan Shrestha, File)

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa has defended players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, saying their apologies for having scuffled were enough to settle the incident that led the club to fine both of them a whopping 500,000 euros ($590,000).

“My players recognized their mistake, expressed their remorse and asked for forgiveness,” Arbeloa told reporters in Madrid on Saturday in his first public appearance since the fight.

“That is enough for me,” he said. “What I am not going to do is burn them on a pyre in a town square, because they don’t deserve that. It is time to turn the page."

The tussle by the two midfielders when Madrid practiced on Thursday ended with Valverde at the hospital to treat a head wound. Valverde said he had hit his head on a table, calling the incident “a meaningless fight.”

Madrid said both players apologized to one another the next day when they met with club officials investigating the incident. They also apologized to their teammates, coaching staff and fans.

The 15-time European champion, however, found the spat a serious enough breach of team discipline to slap the players with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player.

Arbeloa said he was satisfied with how the club had handled the situation, while also adding that he had seen worse behavior in his playing career as a defender, which included Madrid, Liverpool, West Ham and Spain’s national team.

“I had a teammate that hit another with a golf club,” he said, without giving any more detail. “Situations like this have always happened, but I am not justifying them.”

During Arbeloa's playing days at Liverpool, teammates Craig Bellamy and John Arne Riise were involved in an incident in which Bellamy hit Riise with a golf club prior to a Champions League game at Barcelona in 2007.

Arbeloa’s harshest words were not for Valverde and Tchouaméni, but rather for whoever it was who told the media about the fight. It was first reported by Spanish sports daily Marca.

“That what happens in the changing room ends up being filtered (to the media) for me is a betrayal of Real Madrid,” he said. “These things must stay in the changing room.”

Madrid is facing a second straight season without a major trophy, despite having France star Kylian Mbappé on the squad.

The 43-year-old Arbeloa has only been in charge since January when he was promoted from Madrid's reserve team to substitute the fired Xabi Alonso. It would be a major shock if he is not replaced after the season given the inconsistent play of his star-studded side.

Arbeloa now has the difficult task of rallying his players for a game at fierce rival Barcelona on Sunday. Only a win by Madrid can stop Barcelona from clinching a second straight La Liga title, and even then it would likely just delay a title celebration by Barcelona with the Catalan club 11 points ahead of Madrid with four games left.

“There is no doubt I have to take the responsibility for the fact that we have not risen to the challenge this season,” Arbeloa said. “It is clear that feelings of frustration and anger can push you into situations that you don’t desire. But now we must focus on (Sunday’s) game.”

Tchouaméni will be in Madrid's squad for the clasico, Arbeloa said, while Valverde is on medical leave recovering from his head injury.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Real Madrid's Federico Valverde, right, celebrates with Aurelien Tchouameni after scoring his side's opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid at the Vallecas stadium in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)