The Nepalese government wants to kill two birds with one stone. Firstly, to silence the critics who have been calling for decades for inexperienced mountaineers to be banned from climbing Mount Everest. On the other hand, to make additional money. The responsible Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation has now introduced a draft law to replace the Tourism Act, which has been in force since 1978 and has been amended time and again. It also contains the rules for mountaineering in Nepal.
The most exciting planned innovation: Everest aspirants are only to receive a climbing permit for the highest mountain on earth if they have an official summit certificate issued by the Department of Tourism for a Nepalese mountain at least 7,000 meters high.
More than 50 eight-thousanders in Nepal
In addition to the other seven eight-thousanders that are wholly or partly located in Nepal – Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Annapurna I – more than fifty seven-thousanders are eligible for this. These include some peaks in Nepal that are already frequently offered by commercial expedition operators – such as Himlung Himal (7,126 m), Baruntse (7,152 m) – or Putha Hiunchuli (7,246 m) which, incidentally, I tried to climb in 2011 without success.
More Everest permits than 2024
Whether the planned new tourism law will really lead to fewer crowds on Mount Everest remains to be seen. In any case, it comes too late for this spring season. So far (as of 25 April), the Ministry of Tourism has issued 427 climbing permits for the 8,849-meter-high mountain, which is already more than last year (421 permits). The rush is also great because new permit fees come into force in September. A permit to climb Everest in the spring season will then cost 15,000 US dollars per person – instead of the previous 11,000 dollars.
Fixed ropes up to 7,400 meters
Conditions on the mountain are difficult this year. After the Icefall Doctors opened the route through the Khumbu Icefall, some of the seracs collapsed and the route had to be rebuilt. The team from the operator 8K Expeditions, which is to fix the ropes up to the summit, has secured the route up to an altitude of around 7,400 meters. That is above Camp 3.
