Deputy Tourism Minister Sushila Sripali Thakuri presented more than 100 of them with an award on Monday. These included mountain guide Kamit Rita Sherpa, who has scaled Everest 28 times, and Sanu Sherpa, who became the first person to scale all 14 eight-thousanders twice.
This was announced by the Nepal Mountaineering Association. Local mountain guides are an important part of the expeditions. There was also a rally of hundreds of people holding placards with pictures of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary in the capital Kathmandu on Monday. The two mountaineers made history on May 29, 1953 when they reached the roof of the world at 8,848.86 meters, which many had previously considered impassable. Since Hillary’s death in 2008, International Mount Everest Day has been celebrated in Nepal every year on March 29th.
The mountain continues to attract hundreds of climbers from around the world every year. In this year’s spring season, which ends in June, 478 people have received permits, according to the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism. This is the highest number of permits ever issued in one season. In Nepal, a permit costs the equivalent of around 10,000 euros, and the entire expedition between 40,000 and 100,000 euros.
At least twelve climbers have lost their lives on Mount Everest in the spring season so far, and several others are missing, said an official on site to the German Press Agency.
According to the Ministry of Tourism, Nepal earned more than 5.8 million dollars (about 5.4 million euros) in the spring season by issuing climbing permits for Everest and 27 other mountains to more than 1,000 climbers.
