Kathmandu: A total of 84 mountaineering teams have acquired permits till April 13 to climb mountains in Nepal this spring season. These expedition teams have 689 members. Through the issue of climbing permits, the government collected royalties of over Rs 373 million.
The expedition teams receiving permissions for 19 peaks including Mt Everest comprise people from different 65 countries including Nepal. Of them, 250 members (194 males and 56 females) from 45 countries will be attempting to scale the world’s tallest peak.
The royalty collection so far from the permission to climb Mt Everest this season is calculated at over Rs 310 million. It may be noted that the last year’s spring season witnessed the highest number of 45 expedition teams for Everest.
The Department of Tourism (DoT) expects that the number of mountain expedition teams will climb this year too as mountain tourism getting vibrant after the Covid-19 crisis and the climate is favorable for the climbing.
Tourism entrepreneurs say they are enthusiastic to see the atmosphere suggesting good indicators in the tourism sector with the slowing down of Covid-19 infection risk.
Outgoing chair of Nepal Mountaineering Association and noted tourism entrepreneur Aang Chhiring Sherpa said, “Though a lesser number of climbers this year relative to the previous year, it seems Nepal’s mountain tourism is attracting more foreign climbers and it is indeed noteworthy. The number is gradually rising.”
Both Nepali and foreign climbers are continuously setting out for this season’s expedition to Mt Everest after taking the climbing permit. So far 250 climbers belonging to 31 expedition teams have alone acquired permission for climbing Mt Everest.
Similarly, 64 climbers of nine expedition teams have acquired permission to climb Mt Lhotse (8516 meters), 65 climbers from six teams have taken permission for climbing Mt Amadablam (6814 meters) and 38 mountaineers of five expedition teams have got permission to climb Mt Kanchanjangha (8586 meters).
Likewise, 38 mountaineers belonging to five groups have taken permission for climbing Mt Nuptse (7855 meters), 26 climbers of four groups have acquired permission to climb Mt Annapurna (8091 meters), two expedition teams have taken permission for climbing Mt Dhaulagiri (8167 meters), two teams for climbing Milung Chuli, and three mountaineering teams for climbing Bhemdong, Gangapurna and Thapa Peak, the Mountaineering Section of the DoT stated in a press release.
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