Nepal raises the cost of climbing Everest as more dead bodies are thrown

The spokesperson stated that insurance may be mandatory for search and rescue operations. Photo: PEMBA DORJE SHERPA/AFP

Nepal will make climbing Mount Everest more expensive amid growing concerns about the cost of removing corpses from its dangerous slopes.

Tourism authorities have announced that the cost of climbing permits for foreigners will increase by $4,000 to $15,000 (about £11,782) from 2025. this is the first such price increase since 2015.

The move comes amid a rise in cases of dead climbers being abandoned in the mountains.

Attempted scaling costs $11,000 (8,640 pounds). a 5.5 mile high mountain which, at over 29,000 feet, is the highest in the world. Nepalese climbers are charged a lower fee of around £400.

The rules will also be changed to include a rule that climbers' dead bodies must be dumped off the mountain.

Most climbers' bodies are left behind due to the difficulty and cost of recovering them, especially in the atmosphere. Everest's «death zones», even though some degree of insurance coverage is mandatory for anyone attempting to climb.

Edmund Hillary leading an expedition to Mount Everest in 1953. Credit: George Lowe/Royal Geographical Society/Getty Images

Mountaineering officials told the Kathmandu Post that the descent of the corpse is from an area that is 4.9 miles high, where temperatures can drop to minus 30°C (-22F) or colder , could cost between £15,704 and £157,000.

Deadly year

Experts say this year is likely to be one of the deadliest in the mountain's history, with 17 people killed on its slopes since early 2023.

Rakesh Gurung of the Department of Tourism of Nepal said that insurance coverage, wages for porters, climbers and guides, and amenities will be improved with the additional income generated from climbing fees.

Among other rule changes, foreign agencies will also need to formalize their business practices and transactions, he said. There is no record of how much such agencies charge their clients for climbing Everest.

“Since some agencies have already accepted bookings for expeditions in 2024, we have given them time so that their business is not affected,” Mr. Gurung said.

Since the beginning of 2023, 17 people have died on Everest. Photo: Lakpa Sherpa/8K Expeditions. search and rescue operations.

«Compulsory insurance»

«We are discussing making insurance mandatory in search and rescue operations for everyone to ensure that the bodies are lifted from the mountain,» he said.

< p>«If the corpses are not removed within a certain time or season, we called on the government to issue a free permit for their removal at any time during the season or next year.»

This spring climbing season Nepal has issued a record 478 Everest climbing permits.

More than 300 people have died since 1953, when Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reached the summit. More than 200 bodies are said to still litter its slopes.