Nepal officials have announced that there will be an increase in the permit fees for climbing Mount Everest by more than 35 per cent, making the world’s tallest peak more expensive for mountaineers for the first time in nearly a decade.
The financially constrained country, which is home to eight of the world’s fourteen tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, depends heavily on the money earned from permission fees and other expenditures made by international climbers.
The director general of the Department of Tourism, Mr. Narayan Prasad Regmi, announced a 36% increase in the US$11,000 charge that has been in force for almost ten years, making a permit to climb the 8,849-meter Mount Everest cost US$15,000 (S$20,300).
The new rate will come into effect from September and apply for the popular climbing April to May season along the standard South East Ridge.
Fees for the less popular September to November season and the rarely climbed December to February season will also increase by 36 per cent, to US$7,500 and US$3,750 respectively.
Some expedition organisers said the increase, under discussion since 2024, was unlikely to discourage climbers. About 300 permits are issued each year for Everest.
Hundreds of climbers try to scale Mount Everest and several other Himalayan peaks every year.
Mountaineering professionals frequently criticise Nepal for permitting far too many climbers on Everest while doing little to maintain it clean or safe.
Mr Regmi stated that cleaning campaigns were planned to collect waste, and rope mending and other safety precautions were carried out on a regular basis.
Climbers returning from Everest report that the mountain is becoming increasingly dry and rocky, with less snow or other precipitation, which experts believe could be due to global warming or other environmental factors.
