Everest expedition operators in Nepal are indicating a significant drop in bookings ahead of the upcoming 2022 climbing season. This is likely due to the continued covid pandemic, global economic woes, and Nepal’s poor handling of the previous expedition season. China’s continued closure of the north side of the mountain and travel ban has also hit Nepali operators hard.
In 2021, Nepal issued a record-setting 408 Everst permits – a full 20 percent more than initial projections. However, a spell of bad weather and a raging covid outbreak on the mountain resulted in far fewer successful summits than usual, with less than half of aspiring climbers successful in making it to the top.
Chhang Dawa Sherpa, one of the managers of the Seven Summit Treks, said that the early signs were not very encouraging for Nepal. This year, Seven Summit has received inquiries from only 70 clients – a decline of 30% the same time last year. They do not have a single booking from China – an increasingly important and growing demographic in the expedition industry.
Mingma G. Sherpa, the Managing Director of Imagine Nepal Trek and Expedition blames China’s strict quarantine policy as the reason behind the significant drop in bookings from Everest climbers. “China has probably the toughest quarantine policy. Any traveler has to go through so many hurdles,” he said. “We are not expecting many climbers or trekkers from China this year.”
China’s strict travel ban has also left several Chinese climbers stuck outside of their homeland for nearly a year. These climbers came to Nepal despite warnings from the Chinese Government, and now are in a sort of limbo, hopping between countries as their tourist visa terms expire.
Indian climbers are also an important demographic for agencies like Seven Summits. In recent years, interest in Everest has grown rapidly amongst Indians due to cash incentives or promises of promotion for state government employees or members of the military and police who reach the highest point on earth. This year, these incentives are still in question as the Indian government has failed to sanction their overall budget for the country.
Gobinda Gurung, managing director of the expedition company, TAG Nepal, also expects a significant drop in the number of climbers this year. He cites a new rule that mandates all Everest climbers have proof of climbing another 6,000 meter peak as deterring potential clients. To add to the confusion, the government of Nepal has proposed yet another rule that undermines this requirement, which still awaits implementation.
“Currently, a climber is required to climb a 6,000 mountain before they attempt to reach the Everest summit,” said Gurung. “As the world remained shut due to covid, climbers could not go out and try climbing these peaks to prepare themselves.”
As the world comes to grips with the ongoing covid pandemic, fears of contracting the virus in the crowded basecamp area or of losing their chance to climb are undoubtedly deterring prospective climbers. During the 2021 season, authorities were unable to properly manage the spread of covid and hundreds of climbers were forced to abort their climbs at great personal and economic cost. To date, the Department of Tourism still denies that such an outbreak ever occurred and has not created any provisions for reimbursement of permit costs or free permits in the future, as they did after the 2015 earthquake.
We have not heard of any reports of high-profile climbers this year on the scale of last year’s expeditions that included royal family members of Bahrain and Qatar. Of note, British climber Kenton Cool is attempting to scale Everest for his 16th time, and legendary Sherpa guide Kami Rita Sherpa is climbing Everest with an American expedition team. An-all black team is also attempting to climb Everest.
There may be a silver lining, as many expedition companies and travel agencies are indicating a rise in the number of bookings for trekking trips. Trekking is far cheaper compared to climbing, and doesn’t require nearly as much planning.
As the world plunges further into economic and political uncertainty with the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nepal’s tourism operators can only hope for the best.
In light of this, it does seem that the climbers who have expressed interest in tackling Everest this year are still hedging their bets. Surya Prasad Upadhyaye, the Chief of the Mountaineering Division at Nepal’s Department of Tourism told Everest Chronicle that his office has issued only one official expedition permit for Everest team so far.
“We have been receiving inquiries from agencies, but it’s not clear how many of them will confirm the expedition. Let’s hope more and more climbers will come to Nepal to climb Everest this year,” he said.
We hope so too.
