Investigators found that besides mountaineering skills, to climb Mount Everest, one also needs a climbing permit and must prepare no less than 280,000 yuan. And if you want to climb from China, you can’t avoid the Sacred Mountain Expedition Company mentioned in the Weibo post. Some mountaineers exclaimed, "It’s the world’s summit paved with gold."
The 280,000-yuan quote
Including costs for high-altitude guides, food and lodging, training, registration, equipment, etc.
Mountaineer Lao Zhang had been following the story of Wang Tianhan being "kidnapped" until he finally reached Wang by phone and learned he had safely returned to Lhasa before he could relax.
In Lao Zhang’s view, the Wang Tianhan incident was caused by commercial mountaineering.
Mountaineer Beihei believes that according to China’s Mountaineering Management Measures, climbing independent peaks over 5,000 meters in the Tibet Autonomous Region or over 3,500 meters in other provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities requires initiation by a legally qualified entity; the team must consist of two or more members who have participated in basic mountaineering knowledge and skill training as well as physical training organized by provincial-level or higher mountaineering associations. "Individuals cannot climb Everest; it must be applied for by a legal entity. Many legal entities are members of mountaineering associations. Aside from historically existing social organizations, others must turn to guide companies. Also, to climb Everest, you need qualifications—climbing an 8,000-meter peak requires having scaled a 7,000-meter peak, and summiting Everest requires having climbed above 8,000 meters. To climb an 8,000-meter peak through a guide company also costs between 100,000 and 200,000 yuan, and climbing a 7,000-meter peak also requires a guide company, with current prices around 30,000 yuan. Meanwhile, climbing Everest through a guide company now costs 280,000 yuan."
A mountaineer who has summited Everest, Feng Li (pseudonym), said the current cost for a commercial climbing team is 280,000 yuan per person, compared to 250,000 yuan in 2008. A staff member from Tibet Sacred Mountain Expedition Company confirmed that the 280,000 yuan includes the costs for high-altitude guides, food and lodging, training, registration, and equipment.
"Everest is different from other mountains; the climbing window is very short, the route is extremely crowded, and reception capacity is limited. Using money as leverage is not entirely unreasonable," Beihei said. Everest itself already has many commercial and permanent facilities. The mountaineering school and guide companies once self-funded the opening of a route from base camp to the summit, expending a great deal of manpower and resources and building many ladders. It’s also unreasonable to use the ladders without bearing some of the cost. "So Everest is a highly commercialized mountain."
When Feng Li summited, Everest’s commercialization wasn’t so obvious, nor were the costs so high. "Climbing Everest is getting more and more expensive. Now, Everest is the world’s summit paved with gold."
Footage shot by the UK’s Daily Mail shows climbers lined up one after another in a single file. Netizen Wang Chunlei revealed on Weibo that there was also congestion on Everest. One day in May, at around 3,000 meters on Everest, due to the extremely narrow path, 150 people became congested. As a result, four people died after being trapped for over three hours and running out of oxygen.
A game for the wealthy
Legend has it that some people have paid over a million yuan to climb Everest
Lao Zhang once joined a commercial mountaineering team to climb Everest. He believes that climbing Everest nowadays doesn’t require very high professional skills, as long as the climber can handle high altitudes—it’s more about physical strength. Among his team, he met a company boss in his 40s suffering from diabetes. "People with diabetes are generally prohibited from climbing, but the guides from the commercial climbing team were very professional, and the climbing route had already been equipped with ladders and other facilities. Climbing Everest is much easier now than before." He explained that most climbers nowadays are bosses and wealthy individuals. As long as they find the right guide, they can usually reach the summit successfully.
In Lao Zhang’s opinion, climbing Everest requires a certain amount of experience accumulation as well as financial capability. "Just the 'admission ticket' to Everest is 280,000 yuan, and in addition, you must have mountaineering experience at various altitudes, which also come at a cost."
"Many who can afford to climb are CEOs. There are also some mountaineers who join commercial teams, with the boss covering the cost and helping them reach the summit along the way. Without professional help, these bosses would barely survive in the mountains alone." Feng Li, who has climbed Everest several times, learned from conversations with high-altitude guides that many guides don’t actually enjoy climbing frequently. "Although the fees are high, many people still come to climb, and the guides are forced to go up the mountain repeatedly. Among these clients, many are bosses, and a small number are young people chasing their ideals."
High-altitude guides earn income from fixed salaries and commissions, plus bonuses from climbers. "After a successful summit, climbers usually give the guide around 30,000 yuan in bonuses. Some bosses even give 100,000 yuan after reaching the top."
Once, Feng Li noticed during a climb that a boss hired over ten guides to help him summit Everest. "I learned the highest price someone paid was over a million yuan just to climb Everest, with over 100,000 yuan given in bonuses alone. And the total cost of the summit included not only money but also some material sponsorships."
"This goes against the original spirit of mountaineering. Without money, you simply can’t climb. It’s become a club for the rich." Lao Zhang said that climbing the world’s highest peak may satisfy a climber’s vanity, but mountaineering shouldn’t be a game only the wealthy can afford.
The unavoidable “Sacred Mountain”
Many regulations push climbers toward guide companies,yet those guide companies are the only option
"The essence of commercial mountaineering is monopoly—certain people control the resources," Lao Zhang believes. Climbing Everest has become a big business, and anyone climbing from the north side basically can’t avoid Sacred Mountain Company. "Nowadays, many people opt to climb Everest from Nepal because the overall cost is much lower there, and the quality of climbing guides is also quite good."
What kind of company is Sacred Mountain? Why must you go through this company to climb Everest? Feng Li said there are two routes to climb Everest: from the Chinese side, known as the north side, and from Nepal, known as the south side. The high-altitude guides trained by the Tibet Mountaineering School are sent to Sacred Mountain Company as guides. "Besides Sacred Mountain, there are also a few small foreign companies, but in terms of service and safety, they don’t pose any threat to Sacred Mountain."
China’s Mountaineering Management Measures stipulate that climbing high mountains requires certified climbing instructors or high-altitude guides, with one instructor or guide leading no more than four team members.
Feng Li said that if an individual wants to organize their own team, they must apply to and register with the Tibet Mountaineering Association, with a registration fee of 5,000 US dollars. "No matter the number of people, the registration fee is 5,000 US dollars. Without going through Sacred Mountain Company, you have to apply yourself, raising the threshold—you need to have climbed an 8,000-meter peak and pay a 5,000 US dollar registration fee. But if you go through Sacred Mountain Company, many hurdles are lowered, and they handle all procedures. I’ve heard that even people who haven’t climbed an 8,000-meter peak can still get their application approved through the company."
"Many regulations seem to push climbers toward guide companies, and yet those guide companies are the only option, which is essentially a monopoly and also a form of forced transaction," Beihei said. Nowadays, Everest only accepts group tours, so climbers must find a company to sign them up. This rule pushes climbers inadvertently toward guide companies. Commercial climbing teams that don’t hire guides from Sacred Mountain Company still need to hire certified guides, but those with certifications are almost all from the mountaineering school, so you still can’t avoid them.
Personal applicants must specify corresponding conditions as well as the equipment and gear to be provided, with a clear and detailed list. Feng Li said that upon completing the application process, you receive a mountaineering permit. If applying through Sacred Mountain Company, part of the fees, such as the registration fee, goes to the local mountaineering association, and the rest is income for Sacred Mountain Company.
A staff member from the Tibet Mountaineering Association stated that according to China’s Mountaineering Management Measures, approval for climbing activities is mandatory. After approval, inexperienced climbers must be led by certified high-altitude guides to proceed. The regional mountaineering management authority shall allocate 20% of the climbing registration fee annually to the county-level government where the mountain is located. In addition, there is a relatively small environmental protection fee for climbing, 60% to 80% of which is also paid to the local government, which provides free training and guidance on climbing service skills for residents near the mountain area. The collected registration and environmental protection fees are mainly used for managing the mountain and maintaining the relevant environment.
Worries Beneath the "Financial Outlook"
In the past, mountain friends would hug each other when they met, but now guides forbid any physical contact.
In the years since Feng Li reached the summit, the biggest change he has felt is the departure of the Russell team. "They were a highly professional guiding team with relatively high safety standards. Now the Russell team has been ousted from the North Slope and moved to the South Slope in Nepal to provide guiding services. For commercial climbs, there's only one option — the Sacred Mountain Company."
"The commercialization of Everest has gone too far. Nowadays, some high-altitude guides are more concerned about how much tip they receive, and they even compare the tips given by different teams' clients." A few years ago, when Feng Li was climbing Everest, he would greet both domestic and international teams, and everyone would hug. "But that rarely happens now because climbing guides prohibit interaction between teams — they might learn commercial information through conversations, such as climbing costs and spending amounts. Nowadays, everyone is rather indifferent, hardly communicating with one another. It’s just you climb your way, I climb mine."
Feng Li once considered hiring a Nepalese guide to climb Everest from the North Slope, but gave up due to language barriers and coordination issues. "In the mountains, coordination among guides is crucial. Most of the commercial climbing teams on the North Slope consist of guides from the same company. If I don’t use their people, and something happens to me, they may not come to my aid."
Amid the profit-driven dynamics of commercial mountaineering, costs keep rising, but Old Zhang believes that the services provided and the moral standards on the mountain have not kept pace. "Overall quality and professional ethics — the Nepalese guides are stronger in those aspects. They fulfill their responsibilities without making extra demands."
Feng Li once saw guides asking climbers in the team for things. "If you don’t satisfy a guide financially or materially, some will lower their service standards and won’t be particularly proactive in assisting climbers. Under Everest’s vast 'financial outlook,' many people’s eyes are fixed on profits."