The normal route on the Nepalese south side of Mount Everest is secured with ropes up to the South Col at an altitude of just under 8,000 meters. The ten Nepalese climbers responsible for this reached the final camp site on the route to the 8,849-meter-high summit yesterday, Friday, at 7:15 p.m. local time.
Today, dozens more Sherpas from commercial teams followed with equipment for the South Col. With weather currently relatively stable, the first Everest summit success of the season is expected next week.
Rope-fixing team on the north side at 8,300 meters
On the Tibetan north side of the mountain, according to information I received from Mingma Sherpa, the normal route is secured up to Camp 3 at 8,300 meters. The Director of the Nepalese expedition operator Climbalaya has excellent connections in China and is always well-informed. From Camp 3, the rope-fixing team still has to install ropes along nearly the entire Northeast Ridge up to the summit.
For this spring, the Chinese-Tibetan authorities had not issued any climbing permits for foreign climbers. Only Chinese citizens are permitted to ascend via the north side of Everest.
More than $7 million in permit revenue
The closure of Everest in Tibet to foreign expeditions has led to a new permit record in Nepal. As of 8 May, the Tourism Department had issued 492 Everest climbing permits to foreigners – more than ever before.
This brings the Himalayan nation more than seven million dollars in revenue from Everest permits alone, which have cost 15,000 dollars per person since this spring, up from 11,000 dollars previously.
Most of the Everest aspirants on the south side this year come from China (109), the U.S. (76), and India (61). The previous record, set in spring 2023, was 478 permits.