Climbing Mount Everest is sometimes life-threatening.Image: keystone
Kathrin Martens / watson.de
Mount Everest attracts thousands of climbers every year – but that is precisely what is becoming an increasing problem. Nepal therefore wants to significantly tighten the rules for expeditions and in future only allow experienced alpinists on the highest mountain in the world.
July 25, 2026, 5:54 p.mJuly 25, 2026, 5:54 p.m
Climbing Mount Everest once in a lifetime is a big dream for many alpinists. But the highest mountain in the world has long since developed into a mass destination. Overcrowded routes, fatal accidents and mountains of rubbish repeatedly make headlines. Now Nepal wants to take countermeasures – with significantly stricter rules.
The Himalayan state’s parliament is currently working on a comprehensive reform of the tourism law. A total of 58 MPs submitted 263 amendments. The aim is to significantly tighten the requirements for climbing Mount Everest and other eight-thousanders.
Climbing Everest should only be possible with experience
According to information from the newspaper The Kathmandu Post In the future, mountaineers will have to prove that they have already successfully climbed demanding peaks in Nepal before they even receive a permit for Mount Everest.
Depending on the proposal, at least one mountain over 7,000 meters and one or even two eight-thousanders in Nepal would have to have been climbed. In addition, foreign companies will no longer be permitted to “sell or carry out such expeditions or package tours directly”.
More and more inexperienced mountaineers on the highest mountain in the world
It is no coincidence that Nepal wants to tighten the rules. The number of people climbing Everest has been increasing for years. Around 1,000 people now reach the summit every year. In May 2026, according to the AFP news agency, the mark of 1,000 successful ascents within a single season was exceeded for the first time.
Expedition leaders are concerned that more and more paying customers are arriving without sufficient high mountain experience. “We have seen everything: from teams with people using crampons for the first time to those using fixed ropes and oxygen systems for the first time,” criticize loudly Focus Experts from the mountain guide service provider Alpenglow Expeditions.
Health certificates and stricter environmental regulations are planned
However, the planned legal reform goes far beyond evidence of experience. According to The Kathmandu Post, several MPs are also in favor of mandatory mountaineering training, current health certificates and higher insurance standards for expedition participants and mountain staff.
At the same time, mountain guides should be able to refuse dangerous missions in the future without having to fear consequences under labor law.
The protection of the sensitive mountain environment should also be improved. Plans include a ban on single-use plastic in mountain regions and a zero-waste policy. In addition, items of equipment should be registered digitally. Returned equipment and human remains will be documented in the future.
Garbage on Mount Everest remains a huge problem
The figures from recent years show that stricter environmental regulations are necessary. During the 2024 spring season, the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) collected around 88 tonnes of waste at the base camp and high camps.
According to the SPCC, around 75 tons of waste had already been generated in 2023 – including more than 21 tons of human feces. In addition, there are oxygen bottles, tents, ropes and plastic waste left behind. Due to climate change and melting ice, waste that is decades old is increasingly coming back to the surface.
With the planned reforms, Nepal not only wants to increase safety on the highest mountain in the world, but also reduce the burden on people and nature in the long term.