The Nepal Weekly 
February 11, 2025
Nepal government has formally ended solo expeditions on Everest and other mountain peaks by revising its mountaineering regulations.
The sixth amendment to the Mountaineering Regulation came into force on Tuesday after it was published in the Nepal Gazette, the government’s official publication.
The revised regulations require that a high altitude support staff or mountain guide is assigned for every two climbers for peaks above 8,000 metres, including Everest. For other mountains, the rule requires at least one guide per group, according to notice published in the Nepal Gazette. Under the previous rule, one mountain guide was sufficient for a group of climbers for climbing mountains above 8,000 metre.
“The government has made guides mandatory to ensure the climbers’ safety on the mountain,” said Arati Neupane, director at Department of Tourism. The amendment to the regulation was made for mandatory requirement of guides to minimize the risk associated with mountain climbing, she added.
This new regulation requiring a support guide mandatory for climbers on the Everest and other mountains should have been made long before, as it would have positive impact on mountain tourism, said Mingma G. Sherpa, Managing Director of Imagine Nepal Treks. He, however, said that the royalty to climb the Everest should not be increased, as it would discourage the expeditions coming to Nepal.
The government has recently announced to increase the royalty to climb the Everest from US dollar 11,000 per person to US dollar 15,000 effective from September 1, 2025 during Spring season.
Under the revised regulations, the royalty fee for foreign climbers attempting Everest from the south route in the spring season (March-May) has increased from $11,000 to $15,000 per person.
The climbing fee for the autumn season (September-November) has increased from $5,500 to $7,500. For winter (December-February) and for monsoon (June-August) season, the fee has increased from $2,750 to $3,750.
