Nepal bans novice climbers from Everest

Nepal is considering placing age and fitness limits for people who want to climb Mount Everest. Last week Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki, who had lost nine fingers to frostbite, abandoned his fifth unsuccessful attempt to scale Everest. Everest climbing permits earn the impoverished nation millions of dollars but the government has come under criticism after a series of disasters over the last few years. (AP Photo/Tashi Sherpa, file)

Facing increasing criticism over safety and the environmental impacts of climbing on Mount Everest, Nepalese tourism officials have banned novice climbers from the world’s tallest peak and are considering additional limits, says CNN reports.

“We must maintain the glory of Everest climbing,” Mohan Krishna Sapkota, joint secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Tourism, said Tuesday. “Everest climbing is a matter of adventure and competence, not a matter of luxury.”

Climbing Everest has exploded in popularity in the past few decades, resulting in hundreds of ascent attempts each year.

Some climbers complain that the novices aren’t up to the task, while environmentalists worry about the impact of thousands of climbers and their garbage left behind on the mountain.

“That the world’s highest peak and an object of religious significance to Nepalese people could become an open cesspit is a sad indictment of how commercialization is destroying the environment of the mountains,” climber Paul Hart wrote in an op-ed for the UK newspaper The Telegraph in March.

Last year, Nepal began requiring climbers to pack out their own waste plus 18 additional pounds of garbage. But critics have said the rule is difficult to enforce.

Now, the country has banned climbers who have not previously reached the peak of at least one 6,500-meter (21,325-foot) mountain, according to Sapkota. This will weed out less-experienced climbers who critics say pose a safety threat to themselves and others.

The ministry, which has the authority under Nepalese law to set conditions for climbing permits, is also considering setting minimum and maximum age limits for climbers, and rejecting those who are visually or physically disabled.

“We understand a lot of people want to climb Everest, but some of them are not physically able to do so. We cannot risk the life of the climbers,” Sapkota said.

Without specifics, it’s hard to say how much impact the regulations would have on people who want to take on Everest, especially since the implementation of these new rules has no timeline.

At least 219 people died while trying to summit Mount Everest between 1922 and 2010, with a few dozen perishing since — including at least 17 in the massive April earthquake in Nepal.

Balancing safety, environmental impact and tourism considerations is a delicate act for Nepal, which receives substantial income from Western tourists who come to climb the country’s many mountains. As tourists, including climbers, spent $508 million in the country in 2014, supporting 487,500 jobs, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council.