Mount Everest (l.)
The news comes as no surprise. A year and a half ago, the Nepalese government announced that it would be raising the price of a permit to climb Mount Everest by a good 36 percent from 2025: from 11,000 to 15,000 US dollars per climber from abroad. It is now official.
However, the new prices will not yet apply for the upcoming spring season on Mount Everest, but only from 1 September. The permit price for an Everest ascent in the fall will then rise from the previous 5,500 to 7,500 dollars per person, and in winter and during the monsoon season (June to August) from the previous 2,750 to 3,750 dollars, both of which also represent an increase of a good 36 percent.
Prices at Tibet level
With the new prices, Nepal is roughly on a par with what the Chinese-Tibetan authorities have been charging for an ascent of Everest via the north side of the mountain since 2020. The last time the government in Kathmandu raised prices for the south side of Everest was on 1 January 2015, ten years ago.
Tibetan north side of Mount Everest (in spring 2005)
It is not yet known whether and how the climbing fees for the six other eight-thousanders in Nepal – Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Manaslu, Dhaulagiri and Annapurna I – will change. They will probably also rise in line with the prices on Everest. So far, they have been 1,800 dollars in spring, 900 dollars in fall and 450 dollars during the monsoon and winter.
Poo bags, more guides, shorter permit duration
The Nepalese government also announced some new regulations for Everest and the other eight-thousanders. Mountaineers will be obliged to bring their faeces back down the mountain in special “poo bags”. Before the 2024 spring season, the regional administration of Everest, the Khumbu Pasanglhamu Rural Municipality, had already ordered all summit aspirants to buy such poo bags at base camp and use them on the mountain. 1700 of the bags were sold.
Another new regulation is that – in order to increase safety – there must be one guide for every two climbers. The exact wording is likely to be interesting. Most Nepalese “guides” do not have an international mountain guide certificate. In spring 2024, there was an average of one and a half Climbing Sherpas for every client.
From September, the permits will only be valid for 55 days instead of the previous 75 days. This is intended to better regulate activities on the mountain. This new regulation is also unlikely to have a significant impact, as the “normal” Everest expeditions are designed for 55 to a maximum of 60 days anyway.
