A photo of the rush of climbers on Mount Everest on May 21. The last sprint to the summit is critically dependent on the weather, and predictions of several hours of clear skies brought some 250 of the 381 climbers who were given permits this year, out at the same time. Nepal has been criticised for not having a policy for permits, and for allowing virtually anyone who pays on to Everest. (AP Photo)Nepal is considering tightening access to Mount Everest after eleven mountaineers, including four Indians, were killed this climbing season-the largest number of deaths since 1996. Overcrowding and inexperience are being blamed for the deaths.
“We are looking into having a minimum requirement for climbers, fixing more ropes or taking more oxygen and sherpas,” news agency AFP quoted Mohan Krishna Sapkota, secretary at Nepal’s tourism ministry, as saying.
A photo from May 21 of a long line of mountaineers struggling to make their way to the top of a ridge had gone viral last month. It was when good weather forecast drove around 250 climbers, and almost as many sherpas, to scale the mountain all at once, leading to a long line at a bottleneck, which proved fatal for many.
Explained | What does it take to climb Mount Everest? What are the risks involved?
Generally, all applications received at the NTB are granted permits on a first-come-first-served basis. The NTB awards permit to groups of mountaineers against a payment for $11,000 (approximately Rs 7.65 lakh), plus a refundable deposit of $4,000, which is returned after verifying that the climber has adhered to all regulations. Critics have said that the absence of a policy has allowed many non-serious or inadequately trained individuals to attempt the climb, putting lives at risk. This year, the NTB issued permits to a record 381 climbers in 44 teams.
Unlike Tibet, which caps the number of Everest climbers at 300, there are no limits on the Nepali side, making for an exceedingly profitable — and dangerous — business.
As cheaper operators have entered the fray, the number of climbers has shot up, creating deadly bottlenecks en-route to the top of the 8,848-metre (29,029-feet) peak — especially when bad weather cuts the number of summit days, as it did this year.
