KATHMANDU, May 10: A South African man, who was caught while attempting to scale Mount Everest without permit, will most likely face a ban on another climb from Nepal for five years. Officials, however, said it could take up to a week to announce this decision.
Liaison officer Gyanendra Shrestha of the Department of Tourism caught Ryan Sean Davy, 43, while he was climbing above the base camp on Saturday. He has already been airlifted to Kathmandu for a deicion on the charges against him, according to Durga Datta Dhakal, director and information officer at the department.
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“His passport has been confiscated and he will most likely face a ban on climbing in Nepal for five years,” said Dhakal.
Under the current provisions, tourists who go on a mountain expedition sans the government permit face fines up to thrice the amount of the expedition fee. Foreigners are charged US $11,000 to climb the world's highest peak.
“However, in this case, Davy will not face a harsh monetary fine because he did not finish the expedition,” added Dhakal. Davy had only taken the permit for trekking in the Khumbu region, which does not permit him to be involved in any kind of expedition.
Such fraudulent activities have become common of late. Just last year, an Indian couple had managed to obtain Everest summit certificates after showing a doctored photograph.
As trekking is one of the most important sources of revenue for the country, such fraudulent activities have resulted in huge losses of revenues for the government.
