KATHMANDU, APRIL 25
The Department of Tourism (DoT) has issued 876 climbing permits for this spring climbing season, an increase by 153 permits compared to the corresponding climbing season last year.
A total of 685 male and 191 female climbers have been issued permits to scale various mountains and peaks of the country. Of the total permits issued, the highest number of permits (302) have been issued for Mt Everest (8,848.86 metres).
As many as 230 male and 72 female climbers are vying to summit the world's highest peak this spring.
The DoT has issued climbing permits to a total of 108 teams to scale 25 mountains and peaks across the country this spring climbing season as of Sunday. The department has collected more than Rs 448.09 million in royalties from issuing the climbing permits. Of them, Rs 378.06 million was collected just from issuing permits to Mt Everest.
Similarly, a total of 103 permits for 11 teams have been issued to climb Mt Lhotse (8,516 metres). Likewise, 97 permits have been issued for Mt Amadablam (6,814 metres), 68 permits for Mt Kanchenjunga (8,586 metres), 57 permits for Mt Nuptse (7,855 metres), and 39 permits for Mt Makalu (8,463 metres).
Likewise, a number of permits were issued for other mountains and peaks including Mt Annapurna 1 (8,091 metres), Mt Annapurna 4 (7,525 metres) , Mt Baruntse (7,129 metres), Mt Bemdang Ri (6,150 metres), Mt Dhaulagiri (8,167 metres), Mt Gangapurna (7,455 metres), Mt Himlung (7,126 metres), Mt Kangchung/UIAA Peak (6,063 metres), Mt Manaslu (8,163 metres), Mt Mukot (6,087 metres), Mt Norbu Khang (6,005 metres), Mt Phu Kang (6,694 metres), Mt Pokhar Khang (6,348 metres), Mt Putha Hiunchuli (7,246 metres), Mt Ratna Chuli (7,128 metres), Mt Saribung (6,234 metres), Mt Saula (6,235 metres), Mt Thapa Peak (6,012 metres) and Mt Urknmang (6,150 metres).
According to DoT, the highest numbers of climbers this spring climbing season are from the United States. As many as 132 climbers have arrived from the US so far. Of them, 105 are male while 27 are female.
Similarly, 105 climbers are from the United Kingdom, 58 from India, 47 from France, 34 from Canada, 29 from Australia, 25 from Spain, 24 from Germany, and 22 from China, among other nations, for mountaineering purposes.
Also, 28 climbers from Russia have been issued permits to scale the country's mountains this spring.
Last spring, the DoT collected over Rs 530.67 million from issuing permits to just 16 mountains and peaks. Of the total amount, Rs 477.77 million had been collected from issuing permits to Mt Everest alone.
As many as 394 people had been issued permits to scale the highest mountain back then. Of them, 303 were male, while 90 were female climbers.
Nepal has attracted climbers from 72 different countries to scale its peaks and mountains for this spring climbing season. Meanwhile, a total of 62 Nepali climbers have also received permits for mountaineering purposes this year.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 26, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
