Visit Nepal 2020

    First in 45 years, 22 climbers make rare autumn ascent of Manaslu main summit

The main peak is 8,163 metres high, and the mountaineering fraternity has lauded the climbers for making it to the ‘true summit’.

The team gathered at 8,100 metres, a place where people usually stop because they can’t climb to the true summit because of the tricky ridge and risk. The team then traversed down a little below and again climbed to the main summit, which is 8163 metres. Photo courtesy: Jackson Groves' Facebook page

Mountaineers have scaled the main summit of Mt Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world, in autumn, accomplishing a feat not seen since 1976.

Led by Mingma Sherpa, better known as Mingma G, 14 Nepali and eight foreign climbers achieved the rare feat on September 27 for the first time in 45 years. The main peak is 8,163 metres high, and the mountaineering fraternity has called it the “true summit”.

“Many foreigners have been debating if Manaslu’s main summit can be climbed in the autumn season. On September 27, we proved it,” Mingma G told the Post over the phone.

“In fact, Mt Manaslu has been climbed every year, and even reaching the fore-summit, which is just below the main summit, is accepted as a successful ascent. The main summit is 6-7 metres higher than the fore-summit, and it has never been climbed since 1976,” he said.

                             Photo courtesy: Jackson Groves' Facebook page

As the last short section, a snow-covered rock outcrop, is very steep, climbers normally do not venture there during the autumn and winter.

“It’s like a sharp knife ridge which is daunting and dangerous. So climbers normally go up to the fore-summit and return,” said Mingma G, who was one of the members of the K2 winter ascent. K2, the world's second highest mountain in Pakistan, was climbed in winter for the first time in January.

“The new route was difficult, but we did it with perfection.”

The team started their summit push from Camp 4 at 3am on September 27, and reached the summit at 9:40am.

“I hope there will be no more fore-summits in the future. Top is always Top, no more ups, everything below you,” Mingma G wrote on his Facebook page. “It was not easy. The team gathered at 8,100 metres, a place where people usually stop because they can’t climb to the summit because of the tricky ridge and risk. Then, we traversed down a little below and again climbed to the main summit,” said Mingma G.

“We explored the new route. Hopefully, it will help climbers to follow the footstep.”

                                Photo courtesy: Jackson Groves' Facebook page

Tobias Pantel, who keeps a record of every technical climb on the Himalayan Database, posted on his Facebook page: “This is a big day for Himalayan mountaineering!”

The Himalayan Database, the expedition archives of American journalist Elizabeth Hawley, is a large digital and published record of mountaineering in the Nepal Himalayas since 1903. It has congratulated Mingma G and his team on reaching the “true summit” and the highest point of Manaslu in autumn 2021.

“This is the second time this point was reached during the autumn season, and the first time since 1976,” the Himalayan Database wrote on its Facebook page.

“As this is a significant day for Himalayan mountaineering and will have implications on how the Himalayan Database will report on Manaslu summits, the team will sit together to come up with a strategy on how to deal with future and past summits of the world’s eighth highest peak.”

The Manaslu summit has been marked by real confusion over what constitutes the true summit, and who historically and currently reached it, famed mountaineer Alan Arnette said in a blog post.

                                Photo courtesy: Mount Manaslu Facebook page

One of the climbers, photographer Jackson Groves, flew a drone near the summit and captured stills and footage of the historic summit.

“For Manaslu, the issue is the last few metres to the summit is across a heavily corniced snow ridge that is virtually impossible to place protections (ice screws, pitons, etc) to protect climbers from crossing it,” he said.

“So this year, Mingma, building on his winter K2 success, wanted to make a point. This time he proved he made his true summit with the help of drone pictures and videos he shot. Instead of crossing the corniced ridge, he is shown taking a drop-down route across a 70-degree face then climbing to what apparently is the true summit. It appears genuine,” he wrote.

“Then all the other climbers who claimed a summit this season without following his path will be noted as reaching the fore-summit.”

            Mt Everest Is Overcrowded With Climbers So Nepal Has Banned Photos of Them

The government can ban anyone found violating tourism rules from entering the country for up to five years or from mountaineering in Nepal for ten years.

If there’s one picture of Mount Everest you remember, it is likely a viral image of a serpentine line of climbers waiting for their turn to reach the summit. 

But that may be the last of its kind after Nepal introduced earlier this month to prevent “filming, taking pictures or recording videos of things other than the expedition or mountaineering of the expedition team or team members.” 

                                                  The Picture is taken by Elia Saikaly 

The new rule is actually a clearer, reworded version of existing guidelines intended to protect the “security and reputation” of Nepal. But it goes further, just as the country gears up to welcome climbers again a year after the COVID-19 pandemic halted last year’s season. 

“Climbers are free to take photos and videos of their expedition and team members, but they cannot take photos and videos of other things that may cause controversy and hurt national integrity and social harmony,” Mira Acharya, director with the Department of Tourism, told VICE World News.

“In the past many climbers have told us that they were unaware of the rules so we had to excuse their violations. By issuing this notice, we’re making sure that expedition teams, operators and members are informed of rules and regulations before they start their expedition.”

The government can ban anyone found violating tourism strictures from entering the country for up to five years or from mountaineering in Nepal for ten years.

Home to the world’s eight highest mountains, Nepal is one of the top destinations for climbing enthusiasts. In 2019, the government earned $5.07 million in revenues from the issuance of climbing permits, of which Everest alone accounted for $4.05 million. 

While the government has justified the new protocols on grounds of better management of expeditions, critics believe that it is an attempt to control negative publicity after the viral photo of the traffic snarl at the top of the mountain.

The 2019 image taken by record-smashing climber Nirmal Purja was carried by news outlets worldwide and triggered a debate on overcrowding on Mt Everest, and whether the government was possibly prioritizing profit over climbers’ safety. The day the photo was taken, a record 223 climbers reached the summit, the highest to date. That year also recorded the highest number of deaths—10—on Everest. 

Earlier this year, Nepali authorities were caught off guard by an Indian news broadcast showing footage from Everest. In the clip, the anchor can be seen flying over the peak in a helicopter, and making arguments for India’s claim on the world’s highest mountain. The anchor later apologised after Nepalis criticised his claims. It was also revealed later that he had not obtained permission to film in the region. 

“Both these incidents along with a few others have forced the department to be more proactive when it comes to controlling content emerging out of Everest,” said journalist Sangam Prasain, who covers tourism and business for the Kathmandu Post. “Which is why they’re taking the effort to announce these rules this year even though they have been existing for many years.”

The rule is drawing flak by the climbing community for its impracticality and for the alleged failure of the government to focus on more important issues. 

“This decision once again paints the Nepal government in a negative light,” said Ang Chiring Sherpa, former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. “How do they plan to control what image or video people take at a time when most people have cell phones and access to social media.”

Sherpa said the government announced similar rules banning the distribution of photos and videos of others without consent back in 2008 ahead of the Beijing Olympics. 

“At the time there were some talks about cancelling all expeditions from the Nepal side to avoid any controversy on the mountain as the Olympic flame was being carried to the top of Everest from the Chinese side,” Sherpa said. 

“We requested the Nepal government to instead come up with rules that would allow us to carry on with our expeditions, and that’s what happened.”

        How Much Does It Cost To Climb Mount Everest?

Yaks carry climbing gear to Everest Base Camp Yaks carrying climbing gear to Everest Base Camp

As of 2020, the average cost for a place on a commercial Everest team, from either Tibet or Nepal, is US$44,500. A minimalist attempt to climb Everest could be organized for about US$20,000. At the very upper level, the private climb option on VIP expedition” comes with the hefty price tag of US$200,000.

The minimalist option would suit high-altitude mountaineers who possess extensive experience above 8,000m, and are used to solo-climbing, expedition planning, and operating in the area known as the death-zone.

At the more expensive price point, the Everest Expeditions Nepal team which climbs from Tibet charges US$60,900. A place on the US Alpenglow team costs US$85,000. IMG’s “private climb option,” which includes a personal western guide for each climber, has an all-in-cost of US$118,000. The private climb option with the RMI team tops out at US$135,000. Everest Expeditions Nepal expedition” with private guide, extremely experienced Sherpa's, pre-acclimatization, unlimited oxygen tanks, nutrition and training plans, and other services takes the most expensive slot at $200,000.

As a general rule, the higher the cost, the more services are supplied, but such a fact should not be blindly relied on. These additional services would contain items such as: 

Higher ratio of western guides with experience 

Extra support from the Sherpa 

Extra bottles of oxygen that can be used at a larger flow rate 

Specific requests for diets 

Larger tents for Base Camp 

More communication facilities 

Provision of tents for pre-acclimatization to be used 6 weeks before travel. 

The table below provides a breakdown of typical expenses for an Everest expedition, so that you can better understand where the headline dollar figure comes from.

Cost to Climb Mount Everest in 2021 – Full Breakdown:

You can check out the latest details for our Mount Everest 2021 Expedition here.

 Nepal and China has officially announced the New Height 8848.86M of Mount Everest ! 

The height of Mount Everest has increased by 86 centimeters. Government of Nepal and China jointly announced the increase of height of Mt Everest Tuesday. With this, the height of Mt Everest is now 8848.86 meters. Nepal for the first time measured the height of Mt Everest Challenge with its own means and resources.

Nepal measured the height of Mt Everest taking around two years. During the Nepal visit of                  Chinese President Xi Jinping last year, Nepal and China had made agreement to announce the height of Mt Everest jointly.

With the joint declaration today by China and Nepal, Everest’s new official elevation is now set at 8848.86 Meters (29,031 feet, 8.315 inches to be rather exact).

With the top of the world first measured at 29,000 in the 1850’s, it was then publicized as 29,002 feet high. The 2 feet were reportedly added, as the exact 29,000 was thought to be too perfect to be believed. The defined height of Everest has been controversial and has continued to go up and down ever since.

There was also a point in 1987, when an American expedition measured K2, the world’s second tallest peak, and found that by their calculations, as reported in the Washington Post, K2 could perhaps be a bit taller than Everest. That would have caused a great conundrum in the climbing world, and rumors circulated for a few years that Everest might actually be.

While being a few meters taller or shorter is of little consequence to climbers, with the top of Everest defining the border between Nepal and China, having bragging rights over defining the exact height has recently increased in importance. Mountain ranges involving borders have long created geopolitical challenges, and certainly no more so than in the Himalaya.

    Road to Everest: Tourists can breakfast in Kathmandu and drive to Khumbu for dinner

With a new bridge, Khumbu region has become accessible by land, an alternative to flying to the precarious Lukla airport.

Road to Everest: Tourists can breakfast in Kathmandu and drive to Khumbu for dinner

    The newly constructed bridge over Dudh Koshi river at Orlang Ghat, Solukhumbu. 

                    Photo Courtesy: Khumbu Pasang lhamu Rural Municipality

Pasang Tshering Sherpa of the village of Khumjung in the Everest region was thrilled to hear that a motorable bridge over Dudh Koshi river to complete a road link to the Everest region was inaugurated on Saturday.

“Friends, if you are buying cars, please consider buying one that can roll on the roads of Solukhumbu. The time when we will be able to have breakfast in Kathmandu and dine in the Everest region is not far,” Sherpa posted on his Facebook page.

Khumbu, also known as Everest region, the dream destination for many over the world, will soon become more accessible. As of now, the popular way to get to the top of the world is to take a 25-minute flight to Lukla’s Tenzing-Hillary airport and then trek towards Everest.

But the construction of the bridge over the Dudh Koshi river at Orlang Ghat of Solukhumbu is a landmark for connectivity.

With access only by air, the Everest region is perhaps one of the most expensive places in the world to visit because all supplies have to be flown in or carried on people’s backs, deterring potential tourists, especially domestic ones.

A single cooking gas cylinder costs around Rs15,000, as it is ferried by porters and mules. A trekker has to shell out around Rs300 for a cup of tea. Air freight charges from Kathmandu to Lukla stand at around $1.50 or about Rs180 per kg.

Locals from the region had long been calling on the government to construct the road, citing high costs of commodities, flight service unpredictability and dangerous flights to Lukla Airport, which is considered one of the most dangerous airports in the world.

“Now, vehicles can roll up to Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality ward number 1,” said Binod Bhattarai, chief administrative officer of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality.

Although Lukla, 2,860 metres, lies at ward 2, motorcars will not go directly up to the airport.

“We have planned to extend the road up to ward number 2 by the end of this fiscal year, and up to Chaurikharka in the next fiscal year,” said Bhattarai.

The road will end in Chaurikharka, at about 2,800 metres after going as high as 3,000 metres.

Chaurikharka is about a day’s walk from Lukla and a day away from Chaurikharka lies Namche Bazaar, the largest town in the Khumbu region. From Namche it’s five days’ walk to Everest Base Camp.

The government had first decided to open a track to the Everest region after more than 3,000 tourists were stranded in Lukla in November 2011 after adverse weather conditions halted flights from Kathmandu for six consecutive days.

Flight cancellation due to adverse weather is a recurring problem and in the monsoon season, there are no flights to Lukla.

During the tourist season in spring and autumn, hundreds of tourists are often stranded at Lukla airport as no flights can land due to bad weather and high winds. Tourists are forced to return to Kathmandu by helicopter paying up to $500 per person, again weather permitting, as against $180 for an aircraft ticket.

In case of bad weather, the other option for trekkers now is to walk up to Jiri, retracing the footsteps of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa during their historic ascent to the top of the world on May 29, 1953. Jiri to Surkhe, an hour’s walk from Lukla, is a nine-day walk.

It was the Himalayan Trust, the charity Hillary set up, that built the airport in Lukla in 1964.

Dubbed the Highway to Everest, the project started in 2014, but it hit a roadblock after the 2015 earthquakes.

After the 2017 elections that installed local governments under a federal dispensation, Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality took the initiative to take the road project forward.

According to Dip Kumar Basnet, the municipal overseer for the road project, of the 77-km Salleri-Surkhe-Chaurikharka two-lane asphalt road, track opening works of 58 km have been completed so far.

Salleri is the headquarters of Solukhumbu district. The Kathmandu-Khurkot-Ghurmi-Salleri road section is around 270 km.

If things go as planned, people will be able to drive to the Everest region, crossing highlands and in view of panoramic mountain ranges within a day from Kathmandu, according to Basnet.

“If there is no shortage of budget, the project can be completed within one and a half years,” he told the Post. “The black-topping works will also begin soon.”

Chief administrative officer Bhattarai said they would require another around Rs100 million for the remaining track opening works.

Once the road is completed, said Basnet, the region is likely to receive domestic tourists and trekkers in droves, as the road facility will make commodities and travel cheaper.

“The road will bring tens of thousands of people to the Everest region,” said Basnet.

At present, annually over 57,000 foreign trekkers and mountaineers visit the region, and tourism entrepreneurs believe the road access could take that number close to 500,000, including domestic and international tourists.

The numbers, however, could be damaging for the fragile environment of the Khumbu region.

But Bhattarai said they are conscious about the degradation of the Khumbu environment.

“As part of the local government initiative, petrol and diesel vehicles will be allowed only up to Khari Khola,” said Bhattarai.

Khari Khola, at an altitude of 2,140 metres, is two days’ walk before Lukla.

“From there, only electric vehicles will be allowed to Chaurikharka,” he said. “It’s part of the government’s initiative to keep the Everest region emission-free.” 

  Nepal building a highway to Everest

A new road linking Lukla to the rest of the country will transform the region, not all of it for the better

November 4, 2020

Excavators at work on Thamdada, 24km south of Lukla, despite the fact that the Khumbu Municipality has run out of money to complete the Phaplu-Chaurikharka road. All photos: SURENDRA PHUYAL

Excavators are clawing through sheer cliff faces, rocks tumble down to the Dudh Kosi below, and once in a while the sound of dynamite echoes in the gorge. 

A new road linking the town of Chaurikharka just below Lukla to the rest of the country is due to open by December 2022, and work is going on despite the pandemic.

Although the road will not enter the Sagarmatha National Park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it will make trekking and climbing in the Everest region more accessible. But it will turn Lukla airfield largely redundant, while locals fear an erosion of the region’s Sherpa culture, architecture and lifestyle.

On the Chinese side of Mt Everest, there is a highway from Lhasa right up to North Base Camp below the Rongbuk Glacier at 5,200m. Since 2016, it has become vital to transport goods and people for expeditions to the world’s highest mountain from the north. 

Kathmandu is already linked through a 277km highway to Phaplu of Solukhumbu district, which is a two-day trek below Lukla. Work started on the 77km road linking Phaplu to Chaurikharka six years ago, but progress has been slow due to difficult terrain, delays due to the 2015 earthquake and Blockade, and lack of money.

This means that for at least the next two years, trekkers, climbers, and local people will either have to trek from the nearest road-head near Phaplu or Jiri-Shivalaya-Bamti Bhandar in Ramechhap district or as many do, take a 30-minute flight to Lukla from Kathmandu.

                      Sunkoshi Bridge at Harkapur on the highway from Kathmandu to Phaplu. 

Like all infrastructure projects in Nepal, completion of this road is delayed. Khumbu municipality has run out of money for the remaining 24km dirt track to Chaurikharka from Thamdada. 

The completion of the road was the pet project of the former Chair of Khumbu Rural Municipality, late Nim Dorje Sherpa who died in June. He believed that connecting Phaplu to Lukla would further lift living standards, bring down prices, and reduce the drudgery of his Sherpa people.  

“It’s still our top priority project,” says Lhakpa Tsheri Sherpa of Khumbu Municpality, adding that the construction has been delayed somewhat by the Covid-19 crisis which has also devastated the region’s trekking and climbing income this year. 

Khumbu used to earn Rs200 million a year just from trekking and climbing fees, not counting the what visitors paid for lodging, food and portering. This year, the income is down to Rs60 million.

“It is because of this loss of income that the construction of this last 24km stretch slowed down,” explained Binod Bhattarai, Chief Administrative Officer of Khumbu Municipality. “Now there is hardly any money to complete the project. We are struggling.”

The Municipality has decided to open Khumbu for trekking and climbing even though nine Covid-19 cases were detected in Namche Bazar last month, and it could have spread. Local people have stopped trekkers from going above Pangboche on the Everest Trail.

South of Lukla on Thamdada, bulldozers are at work on the track, while flights to and from Lukla buzz overhead all morning. The road alignment then drops precipitously to the river and Surke helipad below Lukla, before a final ascent to Chaurikharka.  

Bhattarai is not giving up, he says: “The Province 1 government has assured financial support for this project, and other officials and MPs, too, have said that the work need not stop. So, we are hoping that we can make up for a lost time.”  

Not everyone in Khumbu is happy with the road. They think it will spoil the region’s pristine beauty and fragile culture, as has happened when roads have reached other parts of remote Nepal in recent years. 

Sonam Gyalzen Sherpa from Namche, who is chair of the Sagarmatha National Park Buffer Zone Management Committee, says the economy has to be balanced with ecology. 

“The Road will enter the boundary of the national park from Surke and it will surely have some adverse impact on local culture and nature,” he said. “But since the Khumbu is remote and needs a road we are trying to ensure that the EIA is carefully done and its recommendations are strictly adhered to. It will be a big challenge for sure. We are currently discussing how we can mitigate damage.” 

However, there are also strong voices in support of the road. A cylinder of cooking gas that costs Rs1,500 in Kathmandu is Rs15,000 in Gokyo or Lobuje in Upper Khumbu. The cylinders have to be taken on a 12 hour truck ride to Phaplu, then transferred to mule trains that take several days to get up to Namche. Sugar, salt and other food items cost several times more than in Kathmandu.

Zopkyo trains carrying gas cylinders from Phaplu to Lukla. Higher up on the Everest trail, the cylinders cost ten times more than in Kathmandu.

“The road will surely make our life easier,” says Ang Jangmu Sherpa who runs a lodge in Debuje on the Everest Trail. “It will encourage more Nepalis to come trekking, and make certain goods such as cooking gas more affordable.”

Says Ang Rita Sherpa of Lukla’s Nunbur Hotel: “Even if there is a road, most foreign trekkers  are not going to travel to Lukla on a rough 14-hour road, but it will raise living standards in Khumbu.”

“With careful planning to reduce environmental impact and maintain the quality of the trekking experience, tourism in Upper Khumbu can benefit from the new vehicular road access to Chaurikharka,” says Sonia Miyahara, Managing Director of Hotel Everest View.

Yaks and zopkyos carry goods up the Everest Trail near Namche Bazar. Locals hope the road to Lukla will make essential items cheaper.

Besides the lack of money, the road has several other terrain-related hurdles. A dozen bridges need to be built across the Dudh Kosi gorge with a big one in Orlang Ghat that will cost Rs80 million.

Locals lament that despite the central government bragging about Mt Everest and Khumbu as an adventure destination and collecting revenue from fees, it has not chipped in for the road project.

“The federal government has done very little to help despite us knocking on doors of various ministries,” said the Municipality’s Lhakpa Tsheri Sherpa. 

Locals are hoping that even if the 10m wide highway is not fully completed, the track will allow trucks and jeeps to negotiate the final stretch by 2022.

Mules descend from Lukla to Phaplu at Paiya village along the partially completed track.

In Kathmandu, Infrastructure Minister Basata Kumar Nembang told Nepali Times that the federal government was committed to the project: “The Phaplu-Lukla road is one of the plans we have given high priority even in this pandemic situation. That road project will go ahead as demanded by local representatives.”

Whatever the arguments for and against the road, one thing it will do is remove the need for travelers to be stuck, sometimes for weeks in Lukla, due to bad weather.