In Nepal, at least 454 mountaineers have been granted permission to climb the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest. This is the highest number of permits ever issued in one season for the 8,848-meter-high mountain, said the responsible Ministry of Tourism in the capital, Kathmandu.
Such a permit costs 11,000 dollars in Nepal, which is a good 10,000 euros. For the entire expedition, one person usually pays around 40,000 to 100,000 euros. This also includes amounts for equipment, tents, domestic flights, food, oxygen tanks and a local support team.
In the current spring season, a total of 361 mountaineers and 93 mountaineers from 61 countries have received permits. Most of them come from China (96) and the USA (87). Seven people from Germany would have received a permit. The spring season from April to June always attracts a particularly large number of mountaineers, since that is when there are the best “weather windows” for the ascent. The number of permits applied for and issued is likely to increase.
In 2019, when traffic jams in Mount Everest’s so-called death zone made headlines, the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism had issued 381 permits. In the death zone at over 8000 meters, the human body breaks down and cannot recover.
Mount Everest is on the border between Nepal and China. In principle, you can climb the mountain from both countries. But from 2019 it was no longer possible for foreign mountaineers to come from China. Also in this spring season there are no corresponding permits from China, said the founder of the Austrian expedition operator Furtenbach Adventures, Lukas Furtenbach, the mountaineering news portal “Explorers Web”.
