- Nepal has granted a record number of permits to climb Mount Everest this season.
- Experts worry that more permits will lead to more deaths as climbers crowd the "death zone."
Nepal has granted a record number of permits to climb Mount Everest this season, despite criticism over traffic jams in the so-called "death zone" in recent years, according to Reuters.
Nepal's Department of Tourism has so far approved 463 permits for the current climbing season, which runs from March to May, Reuters reported. That far exceeds the 409 permits it granted in 2021 when the previous record was set.
Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries, and revenue from climbing Everest is an important part of its fiscal planning. The fee to climb Everest exceeds $10,000, which means each season brings in millions for the country. Some worry, however, that reliance on Everest for revenue could come at the sacrifice of safety.
"The challenges with more climbers on the mountain will be potential traffic jams on the climbing route, especially if the weather windows are few and far between," Garrett Madison, the president of the Madison Mountaineering Company, told Reuters. "This can lead to climbers running out of oxygen and facing exhaustion/exposure in the 'death zone.'"
The "death zone" is a section of the climb that's above 26,246 feet, where the levels of oxygen are so low that the body's cells start to die and a climber's judgment is impaired.
In 2019, at least 11 climbers died attempting to summit Mount Everest, and almost all of them had been in the "death zone." It was one of the deadliest years ever on Everest, according to ABC News.
The director of Nepal's tourism board, Yubaraj Khatiwada, however, said the government was ready for the crowds and prepared to protect the climbers. He told Reuters that, for the first time, the government would place a team of doctors and officials at base camp.
"We are concerned for their safety and are well prepared to cope with the crowd by spreading summit bids as long as the good weather window provides to ensure the climbing goes smoothly as far as possible," Khatiwada told Reuters.
Nepal's Department of Tourism did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.