Government extends 2015 spring climbing permits by two years

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The government has decided to extend the climbing permits of 103 different expeditions by two more years, waiving the permit fee for 801 world climbers. According to Minister for Information and Communications and spokesperson of the government Sherdhan Rai, a meeting of the Council of Ministers has approved a proposal tabled by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation seeking an amendment to the existing mountaineering regulation that ensures a two-year extension to the climbing permits, which were issued for 32 mountains in the last spring season.

The decision taken by the government aims to improve and support Nepal’s mountaineering sector which was worst hit by multiple disasters in the last two consecutive years, MoCTCA secretary Prem Kumar Rai told this daily. The decision will be implemented after publishing the gazette in a day or two. “The expedition teams can apply at the Department of Tourism to validate their old permit anytime within 2017 but they need to give at least two weeks to the Department of Tourism for further processing of their documents,” the decision reads. As per the data, 801 climbers including 265 members on Mt. Everest had cancelled their expeditions on different mountains post the earthquake.

The mountaineering fraternity are happy with the move taken by the government. National Tourism Promotion Committee member Nima Nuru Sherpa said the decision will certainly facilitate climbers who are planning their expeditions in the coming season. “Nepal is well prepared to welcome climbers in the spring season,” Sherpa, owner of Kathmandu-based Cho-Oyu Trekking, added. Navin Trital, Managing Director at Expedition Himalaya, described the new move as a positive step taken by the government. It is a new approach to welcome more foreign climbers and is equally supportive of the international operators to finalize their trip for the spring season.

According to Gyanendra Shrestha, an official at DoT’s mountaineering section, only four Mt Everest expeditions, including a 14-member team led by an Austrian climber have notified the department that they would be applying for spring climbing till date. DoT charges each foreign climber of US$ 11,000 to issue a climbing permit for Mt Everest in the spring season while permit fee varies for other mountains according to their height and location.