KATHMANDU — Climbers who stayed in villages close to the Everest base camp are packing their gear and leaving the mountain because Sherpa guides have refused to rebuild a climbing route destroyed by the earthquake-triggered avalanche, mountaineering officials said on Tuesday. A handful of climbers still wanted to go ahead with their climbs, but without the route fixed over the Khumbu Icefall it was not possible. Gyanendra Shrestha, an official at Nepal's Mountaineering Department, said some of the climbers had stayed in the mountain villages to help the Sherpas and their families who had their homes damaged by the April 25 earthquake. The government has not formally canceled the climbing season and climbing permits are valid until the end of May, but the Sherpas have said they would not rebuild the climbing route because of safety and time reasons. It would be the second consecutive year that the climbing season has been called off because of deaths on the world's highest peak. The season was canceled last year after an avalanche killed 16 Sherpa guides. Mountaineering teams have until the end of this month to climb the peak, but the route must be fixed before it is possible to attempt the climb. The Sherpas bring the ladders, ropes and equipment needed to clear the trail, but they feel the area is too dangerous and too little time is left before warmer weather melts the ice and monsoon rains bring bad conditions. Climbers and Sherpas attempting to scale the mountain's northern side in Tibet have left already after Chinese authorities closed all climbing for the spring season. The April 25 earthquake has already killed more than 7,500 people in Nepal, flattened mountain villages and destroyed buildings and archaeological sites in the capital, Kathmandu. — AP
