More climbers visited country this spring

A total of 3,005 climbers came to Nepal this spring.Among them, some 2,225 mountaineers climbed peaks recommended by Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), and 780 climbed expedition peaks that are under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.

According to NMA, there were 400 more ascents from Nepal this spring, of which 208 were new summiteers. Similarly, there were 165 summits from Tibet, of which 99 were new summiteers.

The total number of ascents on Mt Everest till today is 6,149, whereas the actual number of persons having summited it is 3,755. “It is estimated that various expeditions to Mt Everest contributed a total of $ 11.64 million to the country’s economy,” said former president of NMA Ang Tshering Sherpa.

According to Sherpa, NMA peaks contributed around $ 7.9 million to the economy. “This spring was a good time for mountaineering, with more than 3,000 climbers and more than $ 26.5 million for the nation,” said Sherpa, adding that this year not only Mt Everest, but other lower and lesser known peaks also drew the attention of climbers.

The country can attract more quality climbers if the government focuses on improving infrastructure and trails, streamlining bureaucracy to make it more convenient to obtain permits, reduces permit fees and strictly monitors environmental impact, runs regular clean-up campaigns, removes the ‘one-team, one liaison officer’ rule, and ensures law and order in the remote mountain districts.

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, this spring, issued 104 permits to mountaineering teams for various peaks including Mt Everest.

NMA issued permits to 519 climbing teams that included a total of 2,225 foreign climbers.

These teams recruited 2,540 people as climbing guides, assistant guides, cooks and kitchen staff. On NMA peaks, the highest number of climbers were from the UK with 394 climbers, second were Germans with 336, third were Australians with 218, fourth France with 212, and fifth was USA with 205 climbers. This year 34 per cent of climbers were Nepalis.

Mt Everest climbers in spring

Country Number of climbers

Nepal 222

India 45

America 40

UK 19

Canada 10

Chile 10

Germany 5

Australia 4

Argentina 4

South Korea 3

(Source: Nepal Mountaineering Association)

News Source: The Himalayan Times,24 Sept 2012