• For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

New pilgrim record, May 26th ;)

Join our full-service guided tour and let us convert you into a Pampered Pilgrim!
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
It's everywhere. Here is the traffic jam of people lined up on a knife edge trail at over 28000 ft. (the "death zone") for their turn to step onto the summit of Everest. Climbers were running out of oxygen in their tanks. Some were just getting loopy from the altitude. Many deaths up there this year.
 
Last edited:
It's everywhere. Here is the traffic jam of people lined up on a knife edge trail at over 28000 ft. (the "death zone") for their turn to step onto the summit of Everest. Climbers were running of of oxygen in their tanks. Some were just getting loopy from the altitude. Many deaths up there this year.
I saw the photo of the line going up the summit of Everest. It's really shocking. And death tolls this season are already over last year as a whole. Since Everest is by permit only, I don't understand how it turned into a conga line like that.
 
I saw the photo of the line going up the summit of Everest. It's really shocking. And death tolls this season are already over last year as a whole. Since Everest is by permit only, I don't understand how it turned into a conga line like that.

Too many permits and only four days to summit.
 
Technical backpack for day trips with backpack cover and internal compartment for the hydration bladder. Ideal daypack for excursions where we need a medium capacity backpack. The back with Air Flow System creates large air channels that will keep our back as cool as possible.

€83,-
Yes, definitely too many permits. I wasn't aware of the time restrictions. That certainly complicates the situation.

The time restrictions were dictated by the weather. As far as I understand there are "windows" for permits to prevent exactly this situation, but there were only 4 usable days in May, causing everyone to scramble for the top anyways... with the tragic result we're now seeing.
 
There was an article on Canadian news CTV online about the hordes of tourists arriving in Quebec City, far beyond what they used to get. Cruise ship loads. To the point that local resident populations are declining as apartments get shifted to bnb rentals. Other pretty cities around the world face the same issue.

Clearly, the global population has some serious fun money available to spend on travel.
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Apparently, there have been new plans instituted, but not implemented, to
“timetable ascents to avoid congestion.” (by the Nepalese tourism authorities.)
(The Guardian, 24/5/19)

There are many more Nepalese companies now operating on the South Col route .. which is as it should be, imho.
... and too many ill-prepared people to whom the ‘conquest’ of Everest is another achievement to tick off on a bucket list.

I’ll stop now ... in danger of indulging in a rant ...

That photograph horrified me ...
 
Clearly, the global population has some serious fun money available to spend on travel.
With the world’s population nearing 8 billion people, it seems as if everyone is Doing All The Things All The Time All Over The World. From Venice to Amsterdam, the Caminos to the Appalachian Trail, National Parks to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, etc... people are lining up en masse to “tick off bucket list items.” Social media also adds to this as people post up their scenic locations complete with geo locations. I am not sure there is even an “off-season” anymore...
 
Last edited:
Yes, I'm definitely glad I did the Camino when I did, and that we were all but alone; participation'll only go up from here.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
The demand for many experiences is growing too quickly--Everest, Camino, Burning Man, USA National Parks, Sturgis, Great Wall, etc. The administrative folks running these 'events' are trying to limit the demand to avoid overcrowding. I do not see a perfect solution anywhere between a pure 'capitalist/market' system where prices increase until the demand is throttled (doesn't work on Everest climb even with $10,000 permits) and the 'socialist/planning' where resources are administered by policy (donativo beds until full).

I have also been involved in white water rafting and Elk hunting-both of which have restrictive lottery/permit systems, In Oregon, you can draw/win-the-lottery for an Elk hunting permit about every third year.
Of course the Camino is a Econ101 example of something highly desirable with almost no cost to allocate the resources (beds). The users can grow to infinity!! And I believe the low cost is driving the demand almost as much as the publicity from movies, vlogs, blogs, books, and forums.

I count my blessings in having the Camino on my bucket list while it was not so mobbed!! I will walk again but moving more and more to the ever shrinking shoulder seasons or not-CF routes where the competition for resources is not so severe.
 
Meanwhile, it's still not that hard to find untrammeled spots. You're not going to find a Parque Guell outside of Barcelona. But when I lived in the Caribbean, I found it very easy to find unspoiled beaches and villages, authentic local celebrations, etc. that were not discovered by tourists. In Latin America, I was able to find local markets and plazas that seemed not to have changed in hundreds of years where I didn't see another foreigner. The same is true for Caminos or climbing high peaks. Just don't go to the ones that have been publicized yet.
 
I agree. Also: knowing the language of the place you go to can vastly increase the possibilities of what you can go see. I was able to visit a speleology museum, a wind museum and an old WW2 bunker in Italy - no information existed in English, but in Italian it was all right there.
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
All too often I find some people, like lemmings, follow one another in their endevours which sometimes creates lots of the crowding. All of this overcrowding makes it even more tempting to branch out and try the other lesser known and utilized Caminos throughout Europe.
 

Most read last week in this forum

Could I ask what may be naive question. This will be my 1st Camino and I will be mostly staying in alberques. Could you please explain the bathroom/shower etiquette to me? I have no idea what...
Do i need both these apps? I want to spend as little time my device as possible so if one app will do fine that’s my preference.
I was planning to document my journey through my blog (or Vlog, as I would probably take lots of videos). I was thinking of using my iPhone, and I ordered a foldable keyboard to facilitate typing...
I did the Norte in 2017. This set off a wild ride of changes in life - shifting many things. I am now at a new plateau and it feels like the right time to do Camino #2, this time the...
Hi to all, I'm looking for a really, really good place (an artist) to get a Tattoo in Santiago, it could be before Santiago but I presume in Santiago I will be ready to have my first one. The...
My daughter and I will be on the Portuguese on June and July starting in Lisbon. We will arrive in Porto about the 27th of June. We want to stay for three nights. Can we stay in an albergue for...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top