Latest news with #IntegratedTourismBill
New Straits Times
16-05-2025
- New Straits Times
Filipino mountaineer dies climbing Mt Everest
ISTANBUL: A Filipino mountaineer has died while attempting to reach the summit of Mount Everest, Nepal's Department of Tourism confirmed in a statement on Thursday, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported. According to the local daily Kathmandu Post, Philipp Santiago, 45, reached Camp IV visibly fatigued at around 8 pm local time (1415 GMT) on Wednesday but later died of exhaustion. His body was found at the site. The department said Santiago's remains have been left at Camp IV, located at an altitude of 7,900 metres (25,919 feet), due to extreme conditions and the logistical challenges involved in recovery. More than 300 deaths have reportedly occurred in the Everest region since climbing records began a century ago. In light of the increasing fatalities, the Nepalese government is considering stricter regulations for Everest expeditions, such as higher permit fees and mandatory experience requirements. On April 18, the government tabled the Integrated Tourism Bill in the upper house of parliament, mandating that climbers must first have summited a mountain over 7,000 metres (22,965 feet) before attempting Everest. – BERNAMA-ANADOLU
The Hindu
30-04-2025
- The Hindu
Nepal to restrict Mt Everest permits to only those who have already done 7,000m climbs
Nepal is planning to restrict expeditions to Mount Everest only to those mountaineers who have climbed at least one peak above 7,000 metres aimed at reducing deaths in the high altitude zone, a media report said. Why is climbing Mount Everest so dangerous? Ever since New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepal's Sherpa Tenzing Norgay summited the 8,849 metres (29,032 feet) high Mt Everest, popular as Sagarmatha in Nepali, on May 29, 1953, thousands of climbers from all over the world, including India and Nepal, have been attracted to the highest peak in the world. Official data shows that since 1953's Hillary-Norgay summit, around 9,000 mountaineers have successfully scaled Mt Everest while over 300 have lost their lives. 'Prove yourself first' 'The 8,848.86-metre Everest is about to get a stricter gatekeeper. No longer will just any climber with ambition and a permit be able to attempt the world's highest peak. A new draft law says: 'Prove yourself first'. Nepal hikes Mount Everest climbing fee by 36% 'According to the Integrated Tourism Bill registered in the upper house of Parliament on April 18, any climber wishing to set foot on Everest must first have conquered a mountain over 7,000 metres,' The Kathmandu Post said. Pointing out that this spring alone, more than 400 enthusiasts have been granted permission for the Everest climbing and the number will likely increase to at least 500, a leader in the Kathmandu Post on Tuesday said: Such high numbers, no matter how beneficial for Nepal's economy, have a darker side: unusual traffic jams, an increase in the deaths of climbers (for instance, 17 deaths in 2023 and eight in 2024), rapid glacier melt and the spreading image of Everest as the 'world's highest garbage dump'. Health check mandatory Among the many restrictions mentioned in the Bill, health checks will be mandatory; climbers will need a certificate from a government-approved medical institution, issued within the past month, to confirm their medical fitness for ascent, and individuals with health complications will be excluded from participating in an expedition. The bill is still in draft form and must pass through debates in both houses of Parliament with changes likely before the final law is signed off, the newspaper said, adding, 'Still, what's already outlined in the bill paints a clear picture: the government is trying to bring order, accountability, and safety to the mountains.' Expensive to retrieve bodies Retrieving bodies of those who die on Everest is an expensive and risky operation, often costing anywhere between $20,000 and $200,000. The new bill proposes better dead body management insurance. Another top priority for the government is cleaning up Everest and the draft bill replaces the current $4,000 refundable garbage deposit with a non-refundable garbage fee, the Kathmandu Post added.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
We Analyze What the Proposed New Everest Law Actually Means
While a snowy spell keeps climbers in Base Camp this week, the Nepal Parliament is considering a new law to regulate the highest mountain on Earth. The so-called Integrated Tourism Bill reached Nepal's upper House of Parliament on April 18. It includes measures aimed to "address the issue of overcrowding, enhance climber safety, and mitigate ecological concerns on Everest," according to an article in The Kathmandu Post. This sort of news is familiar from previous years. Typically, well-meaning or well-sounding laws are proposed to radically alter the business of Everest climbing in the name of safety and the environment. They never get far. Small adjustments that do make it through usually benefit the local expedition operators. For now, the initial proposed law includes what sounds like some potentially strong measures. Let's look at them more closely: 1. Everest climbers must have previous experience at 7,000m Many accidents have shown that previous experience at 7,000m or 8,000m does not prove a climber is skilled or self-sufficient enough to make his or her own decisions. It only ensures these climbers will buy their way onto another expedition before Everest. Because here's the rub: The law requires that the "preparatory" 7,000m peak must be in Nepal. Mountains like Denali, Aconcagua, or even Ama Dablam (which is slightly less than 7,000m) are not considered suitable preparation. It is little wonder that local operators approve of this idea. They are already planning to enlarge their offerings for fully supported expeditions on Nepal's 7,000m peaks. There are seventy-two 7,000'ers open for climbing in Nepal, not counting the secondary summits of 8,000m peaks. They range from the extremely difficult, like Jannu, to the relatively straightforward, like Himlung Himal and Baruntse. The proposal does not mention the climbing style, use of oxygen, or support. 2. All guides must be Nepalese citizens The new proposal mandates that the guides accompanying the climbers must be Nepali citizens. Theoretically, that eliminates international mountain guides. But nothing prevents a foreign guide from climbing with a private client, as long as both have Nepali guides with them. This is already the usual strategy on expeditions. It is unclear how the law will identify a "guide" among Nepalese workers with vastly different experience at altitude. 3. Mandatory health checks and declaring record quests The law establishes that all Everest climbers must have a medical certificate proving they are in good health. Almost everyone already does this voluntarily. Many international outfitters insist on such precautions from potential clients. However, the certificate mentioned in the law must come from a "government-approved" medical institution, meaning it must be obtained in Nepal. Climbers must also declare if they are pursuing any kind of mountaineering record. There is already a record-oriented market well-publicized by the outfitters (and by the climbers who attempt them). The law suggests that if force majeure -- war, disaster, etc. -- disrupts their climb, they won't get a refund, but they will receive a permit valid for two years or a discounted fee for another peak. 4. New routes approved by Liaison Officer There is an interesting note about climbers aiming for new routes on Everest, if anyone is still interested. First, they must receive permission from the Department of Tourism in advance. Second, they must stick to their planned line once on the new route. "In emergencies, climbers can reroute, but only with the approval of a government liaison officer," it says. This refers to an expedition's official liaison officer (LO), a sinecure position that The Kathmandu Post calls "a form of institutional bribery." These LOs are rarely in Base Camp. "It is hard to picture a climber opening a new route on Everest who gets into an emergency situation and waits for a green light from a LO," the article points out. The proposed law contains a few other points related to garbage disposal, retrieving dead climbers, and other costs. The proposal is noticeably silent on any limitations to the number of climbing permits or restrictions on how many people can climb the mountain at the same time. According to the latest update from Nepal's Department of Tourism, there are 374 permits granted for Everest until April 21. However, The Kathmandu Post had access to the unpublished list that covers up to April 26. Just five days later, the tally had risen from 374 to 402. Local operators expect a record year, with up to 500 foreign climbers, plus an even higher number of local staff assisting them. In the end, the question is whether the proposed new rules are meant to improve safety and prevent pollution or to further squeeze the country's golden goose. This draft proposal has a long way to go. It has to be debated, modified, and then pass through the two chambers of Nepal's parliament. Officials at the Ministry of Tourism told The Kathmandu Post that changes are likely before the final law is enacted. After that, there is usually at least one year before the law is implemented to allow the market to adjust. Here is a PDF of the proposed bill in Nepali.
Mint
29-04-2025
- Mint
Nepal to tighten rules; climbers need to summit 7,000-m peak before attempting Everest. All you need to know
In an effort to address the issue of overcrowding, enhance climber safety, and mitigate ecological imbalance on Mount Everest, the Nepal government has proposed a law to grant permits to climb the world's highest mountain only to those who have previously scaled at least one 7,000-metre peak within the country. Everest has faced mounting issues such as pollution and dangerous bottlenecks due to permitting too many climbers, including inexperienced ones, to try to scale the 8,849-metre (29,032 ft) peak. On April 18, the Nepal government had proposed the Integrated Tourism Bill in the upper house of the Parliament, which aims to ensure that climbers have adequate high-altitude experience to handle the challenges during the Everest climbing. According to the proposed law, climbers will have to submit a certificate of climbing at least one peak above 7,000m in Nepal before applying for an Everest permit. It also says the head of local staff, called the sardar, and the mountain guide accompanying climbers must be Nepali citizens, medical check-ups of the climbers will be mandatory, climbers will be required to furnish a certificate from a government-approved medical institution, and climbers will not be allowed to transfer their permits to others if their expedition is halted due to unforeseen events such as natural disasters or war. Nepal's Department of Tourism said a total of 402 climbers from 53 countries, including 74 women, have been granted permission to scale Mount Everest this spring. According to the department, permission has been issued to 41 expeditions so far. In the same season last year, 414 climbers -- including 75 women nd 330 men -- from 41 expeditions had obtained permits to ascend the 8,848.86 metre peak. The department has collected a total royalty of ₹ 684 million from permits issued for climbing various mountain peaks this year, among which ₹ 595.5 million was collected from Everest permits alone, senior official Liladhar Adhikari said, as per a PTI report. He said that a total of 987 climbers from 105 teams have received permission to scale 26 different mountain peaks during the ongoing season. So far, more than 8,000 Nepalese and foreign climbers have successfully summitted Mt Everest. First Published: 29 Apr 2025, 11:11 PM IST
The Print
29-04-2025
- The Print
Nepal to restrict Mt Everest to only those who have done 7k mtrs climbs
Official data shows that since 1953's Hillary-Norgay summit, around 9,000 mountaineers have successfully scaled Mt Everest while over 300 have lost their lives. Ever since New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepal's Sherpa Tenzing Norgay summited the 8,849 metres (29,032 feet) high Mt Everest, popular as Sagarmatha in Nepali, on May 29, 1953, thousands of climbers from all over the world, including India and Nepal, have been attracted to the highest peak in the world. Kathmandu, Apr 29 (PTI) Nepal is planning to restrict expeditions to Mt Everest only to those mountaineers who have climbed at least one peak above 7,000 metres aimed at reducing deaths in the high altitude zone, a media report said. 'The 8,848.86-metre Everest is about to get a stricter gatekeeper. No longer will just any climber with ambition and a permit be able to attempt the world's highest peak. A new draft law says: 'Prove yourself first'. 'According to the Integrated Tourism Bill registered in the upper house of Parliament on April 18, any climber wishing to set foot on Everest must first have conquered a mountain over 7,000 metres,' The Kathmandu Post said. Pointing out that this spring alone, more than 400 enthusiasts have been granted permission for the Everest climbing and the number will likely increase to at least 500, a leader in the Kathmandu Post on Tuesday said: Such high numbers, no matter how beneficial for Nepal's economy, have a darker side: unusual traffic jams, an increase in the deaths of climbers (for instance, 17 deaths in 2023 and eight in 2024), rapid glacier melt and the spreading image of Everest as the 'world's highest garbage dump'. Among the many restrictions mentioned in the Bill, health checks will be mandatory; climbers will need a certificate from a government-approved medical institution, issued within the past month, to confirm their medical fitness for ascent, and individuals with health complications will be excluded from participating in an expedition. The bill is still in draft form and must pass through debates in both houses of Parliament with changes likely before the final law is signed off, the newspaper said, adding, 'Still, what's already outlined in the bill paints a clear picture: the government is trying to bring order, accountability, and safety to the mountains.' Retrieving bodies of those who die on Everest is an expensive and risky operation, often costing anywhere between USD 20,000 and USD 200,000. The new bill proposes better dead body management insurance. Another top priority for the government is cleaning up Everest and the draft bill replaces the current USD 4,000 refundable garbage deposit with a non-refundable garbage fee, the Kathmandu Post added. PTI NPK NPK NPK This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
