A First World Problem: "The growing problem of mountain queues, from Everest to the Alps"

Previously titled "The Ultimate First World Problem...", we were just directed to the post immediately above.
Original post:
From the Financial Times:

‘The hunt for fresh snow, the new scarce commodity, has begun to resemble a Klondike gold rush’ 

Whether it is the Alps, the Himalayas or the snows of Kilimanjaro, and whether it is a climber, a hiker or a resident, the mountains have for centuries attracted a certain type of person. These are people who seek serenity, solitude and escape from the hustle and bustle of modern life – who want to be surrounded by nature in its most imposing form, if not tested by it, in order to feel alive.

It is desolate, snowy peaks and majestic sunsets over untouched glaciers that they are after, but nowadays this sense of isolation is becoming more elusive. The business of mountain living is running away with itself, and in so doing threatening the very thing that makes it desirable in the first place.

Nothing illustrates the problem better than the pictures of kilometre-long queues that appeared in 2013 of oxygen-masked climbers standing in line to reach the summit of Everest. The mountain climbing community was ablaze with talk about how the overcrowding problem was now endangering the summiting process, if not undermining the very point of climbing Everest in the first place.

Talk to experienced climbers or guides, meanwhile, about who is really to blame for the cramped conditions on the mountain and their answer is forthright: it is all down to the rise of the amateur climber with more money than sense – the millionaire who has it all but wants to impress with an adventure story.

In the Alps, the mountain refuges servicing Mont Blanc are beginning to experience similar overcrowding. Last year, the huts got so busy that many climbers opted to pitch camp themselves – a problem because it was the reservation system for the mountain refuges that had helped to control the summit crowds.

The French authorities responded aggressively by placing high-mountain gendarmes by the Goûter hut – the starting point for the ascent to Mont Blanc – to police and fine people pitching unauthorised tents. But this was seen as being against the spirit of the mountain, and many objected to the authoritative nature of the crackdown. In their opinion, the mountain is common land, and access to it is a universal right.

Overcrowding isn’t just an issue for big mountain climbers. Poor snow at the season’s start rendered many of Europe’s low ski resorts out of action this year, generating unprecedented crowds on the pistes of the higher altitude resorts.

Some locals say they’ve never seen it so busy at peak periods. Usually clear pistes began to resemble clogged-up motorway junctions, endangering skiers and forcing many who could not necessarily handle it into riskier off-piste territory. The problem of skier sprawl is now so prevalent in key resorts that the opportunity to ski virgin trails lasts at most a morning. The hunt for fresh snow – the new scarce commodity – has begun to resemble a Klondike gold rush....MORE

I believe this may be the famous photo that inspired both that last line and the accompanying illustration, a Kaminska original?

Miners Ascending Summit of Chilkoot Pass, 1898