Nepal to Limit Permits to Mount Everest

Nepal is considering placing restrictions on people who want to climb Mount Everest.

The announcement came on Tuesday, as the country hopes to increase safety on the world’s highest peak.

The options on the table to bar people under 18 and over 75, the oldest climber to reach the summit was an 80-year-old Japanese man, as well as those with disabilities, said Mohan Sapkota, a spokesman for the Himalayan country’s ministry of tourism.

The rules could require climbers attempting to climb Everest to have some climbing experience. 

“Such a rule is going to be introduced to maintain the glory of Everest,” said secretary of the ministry of tourism Mohan Krishna Sapkota. “The Everest summit should be dignified and an issue of glory, so for that the ministry is working on introducing some limits.”

Climbing permits earn Nepal millions of dollars a year, but there has been pressure from the climbing community to make access to the mountain more difficult.

The youngest climber to reach the summit was Jordan Romero, a 13-year-old from America and he made his ascent from Tibet. China has since set age restrictions at 18 and 60.

Ang Tshering Sherpa, the president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, said he would welcome age restrictions.