Kathmandu: Even as concerns about overcrowding remain, the Nepal government has issued a record number of permits to climb the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest.
So far, the Himalayan country has handed out 463 permits as part of 42 expeditions for climbers from 65 nationalities. The number is likely to increase as the Department of Tourism, a government agency mandated for the regulation of mountain climbing, continues to receive more applications for climbing during the spring season, which begins from the second week of May.
Chinese climbers were granted 96 permits, the highest, followed by 40 climbers from India.
In 2019, there were reports of overcrowding and winding queues. At the time, only 318 permits were handed out. While there were deliberations to fix a ceiling for the number of permissions that can be handed out, it has not been implemented. In 2021, the Department of Tourism issued 409 permits, followed by 325 in 2022.
The record number of permits handed out this year will likely mean that long queues of climbers will be seen on Mt Everest again. The window of climbing, due to uncertain weather, will be narrow. The increased number of climbers will leave the Nepal government with challenges in regulation and monitoring. It has set up an office at the South Base Camp in order to monitor all the activities.
Apart from the climbers, around 1,500 Nepali Sherpas and staff will be part of the climb. The climbers will spend two weeks hiking to the Everest base camp at an altitude of around 17,000 feet. After acclimatising to the altitude, the climb will continue for another four days – weather permitting – to reachthe summit.
Of late, many problems are reported, including quarrels among the climbers, queues, and lapses in the rescue.
In previous years, the government used to send some officers to facilitate the climbing process and for monitoring. But there were reports that the officers did not reaching the base camp on time and that they were not doing their duty.
So, this time, according to the Department of Tourism, the government has decided to open an office. Bigyan Koirala, an officer at the Base Camp, said seven-members will man the office.”Considering the problems faced in the previous years, we have decided to set up the office. It will be operational by next week,” said Koirala.
During the spring season, around 1,100 climbers have taken permission to ascend 24 mountains in Nepal. Mountaineering is an important source of revenue for the country, which is home to eight of the 10 highest mountains in the world.
