UKH

According to a BBC news item, the Nepalese Government is introducing a ban on solo attempts on Everest and other mountains in Nepal.

According to the article, all climbers on Everest will need to be accompanied by a Sherpa guide.

They are also reportedly banning blind and double amputees from attempting the mountain also - I can see their point regarding blind people, but not double amputees, bearing in mind neither the South Col or North Ridge routes are technically difficult.

And while I can see the rationale for preventing the average Joe from having a punt on a solo ascent, and also the monitary aspect for the Sherpa comunity, applying the same restrictions to a world class climber seems a bit silly - Sorry Mr Messner, you'll have to have a guide with you?

Of course at this stage, we possibly still can't be certain of the veracity of this news item?

In reply to Goucho:
Hmmm I really hoped that the new government would be a little more forward thinking... I talked to a lot of people at the tourist ministry and beyond last month, sadly I am pretty sure this is an accurate report.

A lot of the agency's in Nepal right now actually already believe that you have to have a Nepali guide leading you to climb ANYTHING in the country. Whether they really believe that this is a legal obligation or a good ploy to get more business is debatable. The Ministry confirmed his as untrue, you dont have to be guided to climb but looks like the new government may well reconsider that too.

We witnessed some interesting guiding practises out there, maybe enforcing the use of Nepali guides will lead to proper training for those in the role! Don't expect IFMGA caliber...

In reply to Goucho:

Isn't the necessity to be accompanied by a Sherpa guide an income raising initiative rather than a true safety issue? There is at least one precedent for this ie Kilimanjaro. IIRC if you want to climb it, you have to go on a recognised organised trip which employs local porters and "guides", you can't do it privately. It's way of raising revenue for the Tanzanian Government for the benefit of locals.

In reply to Trangia:

Shame it looks like it's on ALL nepali mountains. I'll chase it up with my contacts...

In reply to Goucho:
Sorry Mr Messner, you'll have to have a guide with you?

To be fair there is also the Tibetan side, which I think Reinhold used.

In reply to emily roo:

That would be interesting to have confirmed.

If so, that's mindblowingly myopic regulation, and another rule that will have close to no relevance for your average Everest plodder but be very freedom-curtailing for the more adventurous. It would be good to know what counts as a mountain too.

In reply to Goucho:

This seems to be better reported than the BBC:

https://www.mountainiq.com/new-climbing-regulations-mount-everest/

Prerequisite for climbers to have previously scaled a 7000m peak. Guess that means Pik Lenin is going to get a lot busier!

I stumbled across this two year old link also. Interestingly they announced a 75 year ago limit two years ago, despite an 85 year old dying on Everest this year.

http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2015/09/29/nepal-to-limit-everest-climbers-...

In reply to Trangia:

I suppose when you're a government trying to balance maximising the commercial and economic asset of having the world's highest mountains in your back yard, with not wanting to be seen as turning a blind eye to what has become the mountaineering equivalent of Death Race 2000, this might seem a sensible and politically expedient move?

Unfortunately, one size fits all solution's, tend to just drag everything down to the lowest common denominator.

In reply to Trangia:

Kilimanjaro sounds like a circus.

In reply to Goucho:


I'm actually a qualified prosthetist (although just practice orthotics these days). If you're an amputee climbing at high altitude the biggest challenge can sometimes be maintaining the residual limb in good condition rather dealing with the technical difficulties of the climb. Prosthetic limbs rely on a good volume match between the residual limb and the socket and at high altitude this can alter a little bit, which leads to increased chances of pressure sores or similar developing. A group of amputees from the hospital I used to work at attempted Kilimanjaro a number of years ago and all I think were thwarted by residual limb soreness rather than by the terrain. They all made it down again though!

Personally I think it's a rather discriminatory to ban double amputees outright. What if you're missing one arm and one leg. Is this ok? Somebody with one leg amputated through the hip could well be less able than a bilateral below knee amputee. The proper way would be to assess people individually based on functional ability and experience.

It's worth saying that the welfare of any sherpas who are to accompany a less abled climber are equally as important as maintaining the rights of those that want to climb Everest. Particularly given that sherpas may have no past working relationship with the client and may not be experienced enough to deal with certain adverse situations.

In reply to Goucho:
My initial reaction was to agree with your view that this seems silly for some climbers. However the more I think about it, Everest is a bit of a circus nowadays by all accounts and rightly or wrongly isn't seen as a serious mountaineers mountain. I'd love to see Everest stripped of fixed ropes, oxygen etc , and become a true challenge where we can marvel at future ascensionists, but it's not going to happen. The direction of travel for Everest is ever more commercial, less risky, more controlled, less adventure. I don't believe it is any longer a mountain for the serious mountaineer. It will however always be a serious mountain.

In reply to emily roo:

"Don't expect IFMGA caliber..."

Why do you say that?

In reply to Martin Haworth:


I completely agree regarding Everest, although there are still probably challenges for the serious mountaineer on the South West and Kangshung faces, the Big S (Nuptse, Lhotse and Everest linked).

I'm more concerned about the role out of these kind of regulatory controls on other 8000 metre peaks in Nepal. It would be a shame if the Everest circus dictated styles of ascent on these, which still offer challenges for the serious and skilled climber.

In reply to Martin Haworth:

There are plenty of alternative routes for serious mountaineers on Everest. It's just that no one seems to do them anymore.

In reply to Mr. Lee:

From what I`ve read; they are not banning blind and double amputees but they require a Doctors note (or possible one from a qualified prosthetist )

it sounds to me that they are reacting to a problem they have had before..

In reply to Goucho:

Shame if it includes all peaks. I have climbed a number of the lower one solo and they gave been some of my best outings.

In reply to Lion Bakes:


Fairly obvious why I guess. Whilst Everest seems really busy, in reality it can only keep a limited number of people employed for a very limited season.

In reply to Ffat Boi:


Yes I've since read that in a couple of places as well.

Himalayan Times states:

The government has revised the Mountaineering Expedition Regulation under the Tourism Act barring people with complete blindness and double amputation, as well as those proven medically unfit for climbing, from attempting to scale mountains.

I think the only way to achieve the above objectives would be to request a medical certificate from all climbers wanting to attempt Everest. Otherwise how can one begin to properly assess who is actually medically unfit. Not read anything that actually states this fully though.

In reply to Lion Bakes:


I can't really tell how other peaks are affected based on what I've read. Everest regulations are irrelevant to me on a personal level but I'm more interested about other peaks. A mandatory guide would basically rule out alpine style for example. Problem is all the information is secondary source and probably contains misinformation. Nothing's been published on the NMA website. Could all just be a load of hot air and unenforceable regulations.