Is it adventure or extravagance? Mountaineering companies cite risks and the need for thresholds, but the debate over whether access should be liberalized continues.
From early September to late October each year is the best season to climb Mount Everest. Last month, several "mountain friends" with experience reaching peaks as high as 7,600 meters planned to climb Everest, but the quotes from guide companies startled them: an initial payment of around 250,000 RMB, plus additional costs later on, bringing the total to at least 300,000 RMB. Unwilling to back down, the mountain enthusiasts attempted to climb without permission but were quickly "escorted" down the mountain.
According to relevant regulations, climbing Everest must be serviced by local professional mountaineering guide companies. These companies state that climbing Everest is dangerous and therefore requires certain thresholds. However, many "mountain friends" suggest liberalizing access to Everest. How to strike a balance between safe climbing and independent ascents is a question being pondered by authorities, mountaineering companies, and enthusiasts alike.
Zhang Jinchuan, a seasoned mountaineer from Yunnan, successfully climbed K2, the main peak of the Karakoram Range at 8,611 meters above sea level, in July this year. Zhang said that mountaineering is inherently a very expensive sport. Climbing gear is all custom-made — a single-piece climbing suit costs 8,000 RMB, knee-high climbing boots are at least 7,000 RMB, and hiring a top-tier high-altitude guide costs 100,000 RMB. Add transportation and other miscellaneous fees, and the total cost for scaling a peak over 8,000 meters is at least 300,000 RMB.
Climbing technology-wise, there's no longer much difficulty
With figures like Wang Shi successfully summiting Everest, the mountain has become a goal for more and more people. In fact, climbing Everest isn't as hard as it used to be. Jinshan (a pseudonym), who once summited Everest through a Tibet-based mountaineering company, told reporters that he had to pay about 250,000 RMB upfront to the company. During the climb, oxygen is also needed at an extra cost: above 7,000 meters, each bottle of oxygen costs 5,000 RMB; above 8,000 meters, each bottle costs 8,000 RMB. He started using oxygen from 7,200 meters.
"Using oxygen at lower altitudes can alleviate discomfort caused by increasing elevation, making success more likely," Jinshan said. Using oxygen early greatly increases the success rate. Some people start using oxygen below 7,000 meters, and summiting Everest may require five bottles, costing 30,000 RMB just for that. Upon successful summiting, a few thousand RMB in tips are also given to guides and support staff. "Before I went up, the company told me, as long as your physical condition allows and you're willing to spend the money, I guarantee you'll make it to the top," Jinshan added. He also mentioned that while regulations require climbers to have experience on peaks over 8,000 meters, in reality, with connections, one can manage even without such experience.
Zheng Zhaohui, general manager of Baiyue Outdoor Mountaineering & Exploration Co., Ltd., also said: "Technically speaking, climbing Everest is no longer difficult. Due to the large number of people climbing it year-round, the routes and services are quite mature — so much so that I know exactly where steep slopes appear or where wind tunnels form. Although Everest is the highest in altitude, mountain friends know its climbing difficulty is actually mid-to-low level. The route ropes are all set up; as long as you’re in good physical shape and have prior experience on peaks over 7,000 meters, picking a day with no strong winds can get you to the top."
"Butler-style" climbs cost 300,000 RMB
With the rise of outdoor sports in recent years, there are now dozens of domestic mountaineering exploration companies. But due to Everest’s unique location, only locals familiar with the climate and terrain provide guiding and coaching services. It’s difficult for out-of-town service companies to obtain climbing permits from Tibet’s sports administration. Currently, the only company in China qualified to offer Everest climbing services is Tibet Shengshan Mountaineering Exploration Co., Ltd. Insiders say Shengshan was previously operated by the Tibet Mountaineering Association, but after national regulations prohibited associations from running such businesses, it became privatized.
For many mountaineers with average incomes, 300,000 RMB is no small sum. Unable to afford it but unwilling to give up, some resort to unauthorized climbs. "Of course, if you’re more well-off, a few million isn’t much either. Wang Shi spent more than 300,000 RMB climbing Everest," Zheng Zhaohui noted.
Many seasoned mountain enthusiasts have experience with unauthorized climbs. On May 22 this year, mountain climber Wang Tianhan was brought back to base camp by Shengshan staff when he reached 7,800 meters and prepared to continue climbing, and was stopped from going further. According to Wang, he only wanted to take some photos.
Shengshan, however, stated that Wang Tianhan climbed to Camp 2 at 7,790 meters on Everest without permission. Without authorization from the Tibet Mountaineering Association, it constituted an unauthorized climb. Moreover, Wang’s equipment was subpar, with no support guide or supplemental oxygen, posing serious danger. His physical condition was also not ideal, so taking him down was a safety measure.
But as an industry insider, Zheng Zhaohui believes that "safety" is just an excuse.
Shengshan exaggerates the difficulty of climbing Everest, using "safety" as a catch-all reason. In reality, this kind of butler-style climbing service is excessive for those who prefer Alpine-style (free) climbing.
Free climbing saves money but is more accident-prone?
But free climbing has also seen accidents. Yang Chunfeng is well-known in the climbing world — he has summited Bogda Peak four times, Muztagh Ata ten times, and Everest twice in 2007 and 2009, making him the only mainland civilian climber to reach Everest’s summit twice. In May 2010, while leading a team to climb Dhaulagiri, the world’s seventh-highest peak from Nepal, three people died during descent due to heavy fog. Since then, his applications to climb peaks over 8,000 meters in China have been repeatedly denied.
"Normally, when climbing peaks over 8,000 meters, route-setting and fixed ropes are essential. But for some reason, this expedition didn’t set up fixed ropes along the entire route. Fixed ropes at least ensure that even in thick fog where the path is invisible, climbers and descenders remain attached to the rope, reducing major risks," said mountain enthusiast "Arctic Snow" in analyzing the tragedy, attributing the danger to insufficient funding, which led to inadequate guides and support.
Zheng Zhaohui said that according to the 'Domestic Mountaineering Management Measures,' climbing peaks over 5,000 meters in Tibet or 3,500 meters in other provinces, municipalities, or autonomous regions requires one month’s advance approval from provincial sports authorities, while peaks over 7,000 meters require three months’ special approval from the General Administration of Sport. Climbing Everest specifically requires prior experience on peaks over 8,000 meters. For many civilian climbers, this is nearly impossible.
As is well known, there are two main routes to Everest — the north side from China and the south side from Nepal. On the other side of Everest in Nepal, as long as you pay a local exploration company, those without prior 8,000-meter summit experience can attempt Everest. Commercial Everest climbs in Nepal typically cost between 20,000–30,000 USD (about 120,000–200,000 RMB), half the price of domestic climbs. Additionally, due to competition among multiple high-altitude exploration companies, going without professional guides or building campsites can further reduce costs. As a result, many mainland climbers often go the long way around, joining expeditions from Nepal to climb Everest.
As the world’s highest peak, more and more people are "challenging" Everest. According to incomplete statistics, nearly 4,000 climbers have successfully summited Everest. But Zhang Mingxing, director of the Tibet Sports Bureau’s Mountaineering Sports Management Center, told our reporter that nowadays, applicants for Everest climbs must book months in advance and join organized teams, with only about ten people actually making the climb each year. Clearly, more people climb Everest from Nepal.
Management
Everest climbs are supporting services, not a monopoly
Faced with external criticism, both the Tibet Mountaineering Sports Management Center and Shengshan Company express some grievance. Zhang Mingxing said this cannot be called a monopoly, as the high-altitude exploration field in China is not yet particularly mature. Shengshan is technically proficient — many of its team members have summited Everest themselves, and safety measures are relatively well-established. Aside from Shengshan, other companies do not yet meet the qualifications. Shengshan’s guides and support staff are trained by mountaineering schools and are familiar with Everest’s terrain and features. "The guiding service is the most mature. To be honest, we don’t trust other companies."
Zhang Mingxing also revealed that they did not consider allowing other companies to offer Everest climbing services when the technology was not yet mature. "We tried opening it up for a while before, and something went wrong. Once, a climber from Jiangsu got into trouble on the mountain, and it was our mountaineering association that carried out the rescue. We also handled the compensation."
"Many people think they’re in good shape and have climbed peaks over 6,000 meters, but the feeling around Everest is completely different. Climbers need to adjust their mindset — the goal should be to experience the joy of high-altitude climbing, not to use reaching the summit as the sole measure of success."
Representatives from Shengshan Company stated that before Shengshan, there was no institution in China capable of providing 8,000-meter climbing services for amateur enthusiasts, and Shengshan fulfilled the dreams of many climbers, offering the most professional services. Mountaineering services come at the cost of life and youth. On commercial climbs, guides have also made great sacrifices. There have been over 20 cases of severe frostbite on hands and feet during service, with many team members losing most of their fingers and toes, causing significant challenges in daily life.
Debate
Should climbing Mount Everest be liberalized?
Of course, senior mountaineers including Zhang Jinchuan and Zheng Zhaohui have spoken highly of the services provided by Shengshan Company, believing it to be the most technically proficient in Everest climbing at present. However, they argue that more companies should be allowed to join the commercial competition for Everest climbs. Safety concerns should not be used as an excuse to completely deny Chinese mountaineers the opportunity to climb Everest, turning it into a luxury sport.
Chen Tuo, head of another domestic adventure company, also lamented that the traditional northern route to Everest has limited capacity, and Shengshan Company has done a lot of work on it, including building roads and laying ropes, so charging certain fees is reasonable. Moreover, climbing Everest is not suitable for everyone and does carry certain risks, so setting some thresholds is justified. Climbers who do not meet the requirements can cause route blockages and rescue issues, which not only prevent everyone from climbing but also put other climbers’ lives at risk. The real question now is, is the commercialization of Everest climbing too intense? Is there too little room left for independent climbers?
Wang Tianhan also believes that the current Everest climbing model has its drawbacks. For example, paying over 200,000 yuan upfront means that if you become physically unfit during the climb and can’t reach the summit, the money is wasted. This easily leads some people to push for the summit just because they’ve already paid, otherwise feeling the money was wasted, which can lead to dangerous situations.
Both Zheng Zhaohui and Chen Tuo expressed concern about the current state of high-altitude climbing in China. They suggest that Everest climbing should be appropriately liberalized—for one, to give other mountaineering adventure companies some space, and secondly, to provide more opportunities for independent climbers.
“Full competition will improve the overall level of mountaineering in China. My suggestion to liberalize is not entirely based on commercial interests. Even if I don’t make money, at least let me have mountains to climb,” said Chen Tuo. He suggested opening up gradually to test the effects. Finding a balance between commercial and independent climbing—giving both their own space—is indeed an issue both authorities and mountaineers need to consider.
But regarding liberalization, the China Mountaineering Association maintains a relatively cautious stance. A spokesperson for the association stated that currently, all climbers must be accompanied by a certified high-altitude guide. Hiring guides from mountaineering companies is a national regulation, and these companies are generally managed by local sports authorities. This means whether Everest climbing should be liberalized, and which companies are qualified to provide such services, still entirely depends on the decisions of local sports authorities.
But there are also differing voices within the government. Leaders from the Urumqi Mountaineering Association have previously suggested liberalizing climbing permissions: “I rarely see foreign mountaineering teams needing guides, while in China, the guide-to-climber ratio of 1:1 has become the norm. Climbing with assistance makes it hard to achieve any real training effect.”
“A price drop would be the most tangible change—300,000 yuan is really quite expensive. It also affects the cultivation of China’s mountaineering community and the development of the climbing industry,” analyzed one mountain enthusiast.
When and how much the Everest climbing door will be opened remains uncertain. Mountaineering adventure companies waiting for business opportunities are eager for progress, and the broader climbing community is also waiting. Perhaps this will, to some extent, impact the future of China’s mountaineering endeavors.