Everest Needs Protection, Not Excessive Exploitation

This year’s spring climbing season on Mount Everest once again exposed the growing crisis surrounding the world’s highest peak. More than 274 climbers reached the summit in a single day, setting a new record. Yet behind this achievement lies a disturbing reality: overcrowding in the dangerous “death zone,” mounting environmental pressure, and the loss of at least five lives during the same season. These alarming developments reinforce the urgent need to rethink Nepal’s current mountaineering policy. Everest cannot continue to be treated merely as a source of revenue. There should be clear control over climbing permits, and only qualified climbers should be allowed to attempt the summit. Record-holding mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa, who has climbed Everest 32 times, has rightly stressed that “there should be some control over climbing permits and only qualified climbers should be allowed.” His warning deserves serious attention. Few people understand Everest better than the Sherpa community, for whom Chomolungma is not just a mountain but a sacred symbol of culture, faith, and identity. However, the Government of Nepal continues to issue climbing permits far beyond the mountain’s carrying capacity, ignoring both environmental sustainability and local concerns. For many international climbers, Everest may represent adventure, prestige, or personal achievement. For Nepal, however, Everest is far more than that. It is part of the nation’s identity, economy, ecology, and heritage. The uncontrolled commercialization of Everest risks damaging not only the fragile Himalayan environment but also Nepal’s global image as the custodian of the world’s highest peak.