Photo: Lakpa Sherpa Archives Agence France-Presse Every spring, when temperatures are milder and winds generally weak, Nepal welcomes hundreds of people in search of adventure to its mountains, as seen in this photo from May 2021.
France Media Agency to Kathmandu
Published yesterday at 1:01 p.m. Updated yesterday at 11:55 p.m.
- Asia
Nepal's Supreme Court has ordered the government to limit the number of permits issued for climbing Everest and other Himalayan peaks, a lawyer who filed a suit told AFP. request to this effect.
“She ordered to limit the number of mountaineers” on the highest mountain in the world, which rises to 8,850 meters above sea level, said Mr. Deepak Bikram Mishra, as the spring climbing season begins in this country.
Nepal is currently granting permits to all those who wish to climb Everest and are willing to pay US$11,000. Last year, 478 were granted, a record.
The carrying capacity of mountainous areas “must be respected” and an adequate maximum number of permits must be determined, ruled the Supreme Court according to a summary of its decision which does not provide any figures on this subject.
The decision of Nepal's highest court was handed down at the end of April, but the summary was only made public this week.
Preserve the environment
Me Deepak Bikram Mishra explained to AFP that the Court had thus responded to the population's concerns regarding nature protection in Nepal, which is home to eight of the ten highest peaks on the planet.
In addition to limiting the number of climbers, she recommended “measures for waste management and preservation of the environment” in mountainous areas, underlined this lawyer.
Every spring, when temperatures are milder and winds generally weak, Nepal welcomes hundreds of people in search of adventure to its mountains.
A huge human traffic jam on Everest in 2019 forced expedition members to wait for hours on the mountain, in very low temperatures.
At least four of the 11 deaths recorded this year -these had been attributable to overcrowding.
“We are putting too much pressure on the mountain and we need to give it a little respite,” said Deepak Bikram Mishra.