China has opened up Mount Everest in Tibet to foreign climbers for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
To climb Mount Everest, foreigners must obtain a visa for China and a separate visa for the semi-autonomous region of Tibet. Permits for the climbing route are administered by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA), VisaGuide.World reports.
According to a CNN report, Alpenglow Expeditions, led by mountaineer Adrian Ballinger, will be guiding a group of climbers this year. Adrian, who has successfully climbed Everest eight times, favors the Tibet route over the more famous Nepal route. Ballinger’s team aims to arrive by April 25, as the window for climbing Everest is narrow, typically limited to late April to mid-May.
According to Ballinger, non-Chinese climbers can expect the Tibet side of Mount Everest to be open when the CTMA releases a price list for the season. This list outlines the expenses involved, such as fees for yaks to carry equipment, local guides, translators, and transportation from Lhasa, Tibet’s capital, to Everest Base Camp.
While Nepal boasts the more renowned and frequently photographed route to Everest’s summit, the higher influx of visitors there is associated with increased environmental issues like litter, erosion, and human waste.
China’s Everest Route Dominance (2000-2007)
As the mountaineer Adrian explains, historically, climbing from the Chinese side was more popular than from the Nepali side. Between 2000 and 2007, the Chinese route dominated due to its perceived safety.
However, this changed in 2008 when China hosted the Summer Olympics in Beijing. Despite the presence of tourists eager to conquer Everest, the Olympic Flame made its way to the mountain. Now, with the recent reopening of the northern route through Tibet to foreign climbers in 2020, this trend might gradually reverse.
In 2008, just eight days before our planned arrival on the mountain, authorities closed Mount Everest for the entire season, resulting in significant financial losses for many individuals. As a consequence of this decision, the climbing business shifted towards the Nepali side that year.
241 Reach Everest Peak from Northern Route in 2019
In 2021, China permitted a small group of mountaineers to access Mount Everest’s northern slope after both Nepal and China had closed the mountain to foreign climbers in 2020 due to the pandemic. During this period of closure, China took the opportunity to remove approximately six tons of waste from the mountain, which had accumulated due to the increasing numbers of climbers facilitated by commercial mountaineering companies.
In 2019, 362 individuals successfully climbed Everest from the northern side, with 241 reaching the summit. A slightly larger number climbed from Nepal, where the sale of mountaineering permits and the presence of trekking and mountaineering jobs significantly contribute to the local economy.