Nepal’s government has announced new safety measures that will prohibit solo climbers and individuals with disabilities from ascending mountains within the country. Starting January 1, all foreign climbers in Nepal must be accompanied by a guide. Additionally, blind individuals and those with double amputations will be completely barred from climbing. These are the latest revisions to the country’s mountaineering regulations.
Due to the rising number of climber fatalities, the Nepalese government has ordered a ban on solo climbers, blind individuals, and those with double amputations of the hands or legs from climbing Mount Everest. The new directive has been criticized as discriminatory against people with disabilities, prompting the Nepalese government to later clarify that the ban only applies to those without medical clearance.
To reach the summit of the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, over 290 people have lost their lives to date. Maheshwor Neupane, Secretary of Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, stated that the revision of the law aims to enhance the safety of mountaineering and reduce accidents.
This ban by Nepal may anger some professional mountaineers who prefer to challenge peaks solo, even without carrying oxygen tanks. They are also dissatisfied with the influx of commercial mountaineering expeditions, which they believe has increased the likelihood of climbing accidents.
In April this year, experienced Swiss mountaineer Ueli Steck died after accidentally falling from a steep cliff while climbing Nuptse (7,861 meters), adjacent to Everest, solo.
However, this ban has raised external concerns about potential discrimination against disabled climbers. New Zealand extreme athlete Mark Inglis, who had both legs amputated due to frostbite during an earlier climbing expedition, successfully summited Everest in 2006, becoming the first double-leg amputee to reach the world’s highest peak.
In 2001, American blind mountaineer Erik Weihenmayer reached the summit of Everest; in 2017, Austrian blind extreme athlete Andy Holzer also successfully summited the peak.