Fees for single climbers cut from $25,000 to $11,000, but veterans warn of increased cost of safer group expeditions. Mount Everest rises 8,848m through the clouds.
Nepal is slashing the climbing fees for Mount Everest
to attract more mountaineers to the world's highest peak, despite
concerns about the environmental and safety implications of more
climbers joining the thousands who already crowd the mountain in high
season.
Madhusudan Burlakoti, head of Nepal's department of mountains, said
on Friday that from next year licence fees for single foreigners will be
cut from $25,000 to $11,000 (£6,500).
However, discounted fees for group expeditions to Everest will be
abolished, to discourage large numbers climbing together and reduce
tensions on the mountain during peak months. Last year a brawl between European climbers and Nepalese guides made headlines.
Under existing rules, a group of seven pays $70,000, which officials
say encourages climbers of varying abilities to club together. But under
the new fee structure, the same group will pay$77,000, as the
government charges a flat, per-person fee regardless of the group's
size. The government has also, for the first time, set separate fees for
Nepalese climbers, who will pay $750 for a permit during the spring.
"We hope to attract more climbers and at the same time better manage
the climbing teams," Burlakoti said. "This will allow the smaller teams
and individuals more freedom when they climb Everest."
However, those with experience of the dangers of climbing Everest
have said the prospect of more smaller groups attempting the summit is
terrifying.
"These changes open the possibility of individuals going up without
being part of a big team anymore," says Simon Lowe, managing director of
Jagged Globe, the first British organisation to lead a commercial trip
up the mountain. "I find that terrifying frankly; safety comes from
being in a team.
"This will open the floodgates for anyone to say 'I'm an expert
mountaineer', get a client and away they go. If something goes wrong
they'll have to reach out to other teams. Help is always given, but it's
frustrating when you end up having to help people who shouldn't be on
the mountain."
The cost of climbing Mount Everest has drawn criticism from those who
say the sky-high prices allow only the very rich to climb the peak.
"From a Nepalese point of view, they want to make the mountain more
accessible for their own citizens, and I can't argue with that. I don't
think the Nepalese government should deprive themselves of an income.
"Responsible organisations should be able to take people up and there shouldn't be a financial bar on people like that going."
Mark Watson, executive director of Tourism Concern, which has
campaigned to improve working conditions for sherpas, says it is
important that increases to the number of climbers on the mountain are
properly managed.
"Last year there was a concern about the number of climbers going up,
with people literally queueing to go up the mountain," he says. "We
don't want this to increase the number of climbers so it isn't
sustainable or end up creating a worse deal for the sherpas. And for the
climbers too, we want to make sure it's not a disappointing
experience."
The environmental impact of increased tourism on Everest has been a
growing concern. Waste, including food wrappers, climbing gear and
oxygen cylinders, has littered the mountain, with some referring to
Everest as the world's highest garbage dump.
The Italian climbing legend Reinhold Messner has called for Nepal to
close access to Everest for a few years to allow the mountain to rest
and recover, but Nepal
has refused. The country collects $3.3m annually from climbing fees.
Tens of thousands of Nepalese hotel owners, trekking guides and porters
depend on these climbers for their livelihoods.
Nepal has eight of the 14 highest mountains in the world. The fees
for other peaks are already much lower, but are also being reduced for
the thousands of climbers who come to the country each year to scale
those mountains.
Ang Tshering, who headed a government committee to review mountain
tourism in Nepal, said the government plans to more strictly monitor
climbers to make sure they bring down all their climbing gear, food
wrappings and oxygen cylinders.
