Indian Climbers at Mt Everest rises over years
Aug 26, 2020
Kathmandu [Nepal], Aug 26 : The number of Indian climbers at Mount Everest has increased over the years according to official data of Nepal's Department of Tourism.
As per the data, a total of 78 Indian climbers got permits in the year 2019 to scale the world's highest mountain. The number was 59 in the earlier year which saw a leap in the number of Indian climbers in the field of the expedition.
Nepal has been earning millions of rupees from the field of mountaineering and the number of increased Indian climbers over the period of time has contributed to it in recent years.
As per the record of the Himalayan Database till June 2020, out of the total 5,780 climbers who made to the top of Mount Everest 488 are Indians.
"We have been receiving a large number of inquiries from Indian enthusiasts for climbing Mount Everest. Particularly, they are interested in summiting the world's highest peak in comparison to other Eight Thousanders of Nepal," Mithun Shrestha of All Nepal Hiking and Expedition said.
"Due to the COVID-19 situation, we have pushed back our expedition plan for next year. Hope we will be able to host mountain enthusiasts in the coming Spring Season which in fact is way too far but is the hope we are sticking with," he added.
The cost for an expedition to the world's highest mountain in the planet stands at around 40 thousand US dollars if gone through local expedition companies of Nepal. Out of 40 thousand US dollars, the Government of Nepal will receive USD 11,000 dollars as royalty fee.
In the year 2020, Nepal lost all its revenue from expeditions as it decided to close its mountains due to the rising COVID-19 infections around the world. US Citizens usually topped the list of those receiving permits to scale Everest in the year before 2019.
In 2019, Indians stood atop the list of permission received on the basis of the country. A total of 20 Indian climbers lost their lives in due course of summiting Everest from the first ascent in 1993, to 2018, as per the tally maintained by the Himalayan Database.
