Nepal’s KathmanduFor the first time in almost ten years, Nepal will raise the permit costs for climbing Mount Everest by more than thirty-five percent, officials announced Wednesday, making the world’s tallest peak more costly for climbers.
The financially constrained country, which is home to eight of the world’s fourteen tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, depends heavily on the money earned from permission fees and other expenditures made by international climbers.
The director general of the Department of Tourism, Narayan Prasad Regmi, announced a 36% increase in the $11,000 charge that has been in force for almost ten years to $15,000 for a permit to climb the 29,032-foot Mount Everest.
For a long time, the royalty (permission fees) had not been examined. Regmi informed Reuters that we had now updated them.
Beginning in September, the revised tariff will be applicable for the well-liked April–May climbing season along the South East Ridge, also known as the South Col route, which was established in 1953 by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand.
Additionally, there will be a 36% increase in fees for the less frequented September–November season and the infrequently visited December–February season, to $7,500 and $3,750, respectively.
The hike, which has been discussed since last year, is unlikely to deter climbers, according to some expedition organizers. Every year, roughly 300 permits are granted for Everest.
Lukas Furtenbach of Furtenbach Adventures, an Austrian excursion organizer, stated, “We anticipated this increase in permit fees.”
He claimed it was a reasonable move on the part of the Nepali administration.
Furtenbach stated, “I have no doubt that the extra money will be utilized in some way to enhance safety and preserve the environment on Everest.”
Regmi did not specify the purpose of the additional funds.
Every year, hundreds of climbers attempt to reach the summit of Mount Everest and a number of other Himalayan peaks.
Mountaineering professionals frequently criticize Nepal for permitting too many climbers on Everest and failing to take adequate measures to maintain its cleanliness or climbers’ safety.
Regmi stated that rope mending and other safety precautions were routinely carried out, and that cleaning efforts had been planned to gather trash.
With less snow or other precipitation, climbers returning from Everest report that the mountain is become drier and more rocky. Experts speculate that this could be because of global warming or other environmental changes.