The spring climbing season on Nepal’s highest mountains is slowly but surely gathering pace. According to its own figures, the Nepalese Tourism Departmend issued a total of 114 climbing permits for foreign expedition members in March. Among them were the first 18 permits for Mount Everest.
There is great anticipation regarding how many people will attempt to climb the world’s highest mountain this season. Will the now higher permit fees -$15,000 per person instead of the previous $11,000 – cause demand to drop? What role will the extremely tense situation in the Middle East, resulting from the Iran war, play, given that many Everest candidates typically travel to Nepal via that region?
Will the announcement that climbers must have summited at least one seven-thousander in Nepal to be eligible to attempt Everest lead to more inexperienced climbers wanting to ascend this year to beat the rule? How many will switch from the north side to the south side of Everest because the Chinese-Tibetan authorities have closed the eight-thousanders in Tibet for this spring?
Strong winds and snowfall
The Icefall Doctors are currently working to establish the route through the Khumbu Icefall up to Camp 2 at 6,400 meters and secure it with ropes and aluminum ladders. A team from Seven Summit Treks, Nepal’s largest expedition operator, is responsible this season for fixing the ropes along the normal routes from Camp 2 to the summits of Everest (8,849 meters) and neighboring Lhotse (8,516 meters).
Strong winds and heavy snowfall recently delayed the Icefall Doctors’ work. According to meteorologists, snow showers are expected to continue on Everest in the coming days.
Dhaulagiri: Fixed ropes up to Camp 3
Climbers also had to contend with adverse weather conditions as they ascended the eight-thousanders Annapurna I (8,091 meters) and Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters) in recent days for their first so-called rotations to the lower high camps to acclimatize. In recent years, the first summit successes of the season have typically been achieved on Annapurna I.
On Dhaulagiri, the rope-fixing team from the expedition operator Imagine Nepal has secured the route all the way up to Camp 3 at around 7,400 meters.