After an avalanche at Mount Everest’s Khumbu Ice Fall killed an unconfirmed 16 people on Friday, all of whom were Sherpas, the guides gathered for several meetings to discuss future changes that need to be made before they will agree to continue with expeditions.

“We had a long meeting this afternoon and we decided to stop our climbing this year to honor our fallen brothers,” local guide Tulsi Gurung told the AFP news agency from base camp, whose brother is one of those missing in the wake of the avalanche. “All Sherpas are united in this. Some guides have already left and others will take about a week to pack up everything and go.”

In addition to taking the season off, a 13-point list has been given to Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism, complete with demands that must be met before the Sherpas would be willing to take on another expedition. The list was signed by 25 Sherpas, most of whom are highly regarded in the guiding community and mountaineering industry as a whole. In addition, Russel Brice, the owner and operator of Himex, which is the biggest guiding service on Everest, has also signed. Dave Hahn, who is lead guide for Rainier Mountaineering, has signed as well. Hahn holds the non-Sherpa record for most summits on Everest, with 15.

List of requests:

• An immediate payment of 40,000 Nepali rupees (roughly $400) to the families of the victims.
• A memorial park in Kathmandu, commemorating the deceased.
• All expenses for treating the injured be paid by the government.
• A payment of 10 million rupees ($100,000) by the government to the critically injured who will not be able resume mountaineering as a livelihood.
• A mountaineering relief fund with 30 percent of the royalties collected from issuing permits to different mountains, to be created by the government.
• Double the current life insurance policy for mountaineering workers from one million rupees ($10,000) to two million rupees ($20,000).
• Additional helicopter rescue services to mountaineering support staff if insurance fails to cover the cost.
• Perks and salaries, minus summit bonuses, to be paid through concerned agencies to the Sherpas if climbing on Everest is suspended for this season.
• No action against Sagamartha Pollution Control Committee icefall doctors if they refuse to fix ropes and ladders on the route this season.
• Allow Everest expedition teams to call off this season’s climbing if they wish to do so.
• Express sincere gratitude to all individuals and government and non-governmental agencies for their efforts in the search and rescue operations.
• Support the Himalayan Rescue Association and its plans for caution and the coordination efforts on the mountains.
• Express condolences to the family members of the deceased climbers.

The Sherpas did not provide a timeline for when the Ministry of Tourism needed to respond by, and they did not say whether or not any action would be taken if their requests were not approved or responded to by the government.

“This has been a horrific accident for the Sherpa community,” Hahn said.

Image from Pem Dorjee Sherpa on Wikimedia Commons