KATHMANDU, April 15: More than 200 climbers have received permits to scale Mt Everest this spring, according to the Department of Tourism (DoT).
As of Thursday, the DoT has issued expedition permits to 214 climbers from 22 teams, comprising 38 women and 178 men. With permits in hand, climbers from various countries are now making their way toward the Mt. Everest.
The DoT began issuing permits from the third week of March. Director Aarti Neupane said that a significant number of climbers have already begun their journey toward the mountain.
Over 300 climbers reach Everest Base Camp for summit push
Citizens from 31 countries, including Nepal, have obtained permits to climb Everest. So far, the DoT has issued expedition permits for 17 peaks including the Everest collecting a total royalty of Rs 365.8 million. Of that, Rs 316.9 million has come from Everest alone.
In total, 497 climbers – 99 women and 398 men from 54 expedition groups – have received climbing permits for various peaks this season.
Meanwhile, the route up to the Khumbu Icefall has already been constructed and “icefall doctors” deployed by the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) have completed route fixing through the area. The DoT has praised the SPCC team for their efforts.
Likewise, a 10-member SPCC team was assigned to build the route from Everest Base Camp to Camp II via the icefall. Meanwhile, the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal is responsible for fixing ropes from Camp II to the summit. This year, that task has been contracted to the company called 8K Expeditions.
