'7000m climb, govt-approved health checkup': You now have to 'PROVE YOURSELF' to climb Mount Everest. Here are the new rules

To enhance safety at Mount Everest, Nepal is planning to impose strict restrictions on climbers planning to access Mount Everest, including a prior high-altitude climbing experience and government-approved health checkup.

With an aim to reduce deaths in the high altitude zone, Nepal will restrict expeditions to Mount Everest only to those mountaineers who have climbed at least one peak above 7000 metres, according to the proposed legislation. 

This comes amid the safety concerns and the increasing number of fatalities of climbers attempting the world's highest peak. 

Now, any mountaineer with just an ambition cannot climb Mount Everest and would now have to get a permit to climb it. 

“The 8,848.86-metre Everest is about to get a stricter gatekeeper. No longer will just any climber with ambition and a permit be able to attempt the world’s highest peak. A new draft law says: 'Prove yourself first'."

"Any climber wishing to set foot on Everest must first have conquered a mountain over 7,000 metres," as per the Integrated Tourism Bill registered in the upper house of Parliament on April 18, The Kathmandu Post reported.

The increasing number of enthusiasts wanted to climb Mt Everest might be beneficial for Nepal's economy, but has a darker side too, including unusual traffic jams, an increase in the deaths of climbers (for instance, 17 deaths in 2023 and eight in 2024), rapid glacier melt and the spreading image of Everest as the “world’s highest garbage dump”.

Among other restrictions, now government-approved health checkups will also be mandatory for the climbers. 

They will need a certificate from a government-approved medical institution, issued within the past month, to confirm their medical fitness for ascent.

Individuals with health complications will be excluded from participating in an expedition.

Earlier, five climbers went missing and 12 people died as Nepal issued 478 permits for Everest climbs in 2023. 

According to the official data, since 1953’s Hillary-Norgay summit, around 9,000 mountaineers have successfully scaled Mt Everest while over 300 have lost their lives.

Notably, the bill is still in draft form and have to pass through debates in both houses of Parliament. 

“Still, what’s already outlined in the bill paints a clear picture: the government is trying to bring order, accountability, and safety to the mountains," it stated.