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Nepal to slash fees to climb overcrowded Everest
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/02/14/nepal-to-slash-fees-to-climb-overcrowded-everest/
Nepal to slash fees to climb overcrowded Everest
By Agence France-Presse
Friday, February 14, 2014 11:13 EST
Nepal will slash climbing fees for Everest and other Himalayan peaks to attract more mountaineers, despite existing concerns of overcrowding during the climbing season, a tourism ministry official said Friday.
The government will cut licence fees for foreign individuals trying to scale the world’s highest peak from $25,000 to $11,000 from next year, Dipendra Paudel said.
However fees for group expeditions to Everest will go up, in a bid to discourage large numbers climbing together and to reduce tensions on the mountain during peak months, Paudel said.
Under existing rules, groups of seven climbers pay $70,000 in total, which officials say encourages climbers of varying abilities to club together. But under the new fees, a group of seven pays $77,000.