the number of climbers on the highest peak in the world limited by Nepalese justice – Libération

2024-05-03 17:13:37

A season in the mountains file Nepal‘s Supreme Court has ordered the government to limit the number of permits issued for climbing Everest and other Himalayan peaks. Last year, 478 permits were issued.

The highest peak in the world is barricading itself against overtourism. 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 petition said. The decision by Nepal’s highest court was handed down at the end of April, but the summary was only made public this week.

Justice “ordered to limit the number of climbers” on the highest mountain in the world, which rises to an altitude of 8,850 meters, explained Deepak Bikram Mishra, at a time when the spring ascent season begins precisely this year. country. Nepal currently grants permits to anyone who wants to climb Everest and is willing to pay $11,000. 478 were granted last year, a record. The carrying capacity of mountainous areas must now “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 roof of the world taken by storm by mountaineers

Me Deepak Bikram Mishra explained that the Court had thus responded to the population’s concerns regarding the protection of nature in Nepal, which is home to eight of the ten highest peaks on the planet. In addition to limiting the number of mountaineers, she recommended “measures for waste management and environmental preservation” in mountainous areas, this lawyer stressed.

Every spring, when temperatures are milder and winds generally weak, Nepal welcomes hundreds of people in search of adventure to its mountains. A massive human traffic jam on Everest in 2019 forced expedition members to wait for hours on Everest in very low temperatures. At least four of the eleven deaths recorded that year were attributable to overcrowding. “We are putting too much pressure on the mountain and we need to give it some breathing space,” concluded Deepak Bikram Mishra.