Nepal issues record climbing permits for Mt. Qomolangma amid pandemic

Kathmandu, April 25 : Nepali authorities have issued record number of expedition permits for Mt. Qomolangma, defying expectations of reduced number of permit issuance compared to past years amid Covid-19 pandemic.
The Himalayan country issued a record 394 permits for the Mt. Qomolangma, the world’s tallest peak by Friday, which broke the earlier record of 381 permits issued in 2019, according to the Department of Tourism, which issues such permits, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.
“We had not expected that such a large number of mountaineers would be climbing the Mt. Qomolangma in the middle of the pandemic,” Mira Acharya, director at the mountaineering section of the department told Xinhua on Friday. “This suggests the massive charm of Mt. Qomolangma among the mountaineers as well as their passion towards climbing the mountain despite the risk of the Covid-19.” The department had initially estimated that maximum 325-330 permits could be issued this spring season for the Mt. Qomolangma. “We later estimated the number of permits to be issued could be around 370,” said Acharya. “But, the flow of people willing to climb the world’s tallest mountain defied our expectations.” According to the department, there is no additional application in the pipeline for expedition to Mt. Qomolangma. Before new permits issued on Friday, such applications were not in the pipeline until a few days ago. “So there is still a chance that some more permits could be issued for the Mt. Qomolangma,” said Acharya.
The world’s tallest peak, whose revised height is 8848.86 meters, continues to attract a large number of adventure lovers.