The Everest 2021 season is well underway with many teams on their way to Everest Base Camp expecting to arrive around April 15. As of April 3, 138 Everest permits had been issued to foreigners. Around 300 are still expected making this a busy, but not a record season like 2019.<\/p>\r\n
As I’ve noted, the vast majority of the climbing will be on the Nepal side as China has closed Tibet to all foreigners and only a couple of Chinese national teams are anticipated to climb from that side in 2021. We’ll see if they open up for autumn climbs.<\/p>\r\n
By now we would have hundreds of climbers on the trek to EBC, but it looks like around 100 including some Sherpas and trekkers. Most of the Sherpas are already at EBC establishing their tents and camps for the member when they arrive. This is both good and bad. The teahouses will be less crowded but the anticipated business from the influx of tourists might be less than what was expected.<\/p>\r\n
The Nepal Ministry of Tourism posted these foreign permit tally thus far. As I’ve noted, many teams are still arriving and some are planning to arrive in mid-April, rather late. This is probably because of the massive confusion around Nepal’s COVID quarantine and testing rules. Even with this slow start, 300 foreign permits are expected with the Tibet side closed to foreigners.<\/p>\r\n
Many foreign teams have arrived in Kathmandu, passed their COVID tests, and flew to Lukla to begin their trek to Everest Base Camp. Some of the teams include\u00a0Alpine Ascents International<\/a> (AAI), International Mountain Guides<\/a> (IMG), Madison Mountaineering<\/a>, Mountain Professionals<\/a>, and Summit Climb<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Climbing the Seven Summits<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n Others expected this upcoming week include 7 Summits Club<\/a>, \u00a0Furtenbach Adventures<\/a> and Kobler & Parter<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n Nepali companies already on their trek include Asian Trekking, Elite, \u00a0Imagine Nepal, Peak Promotions, Seven Summits Treks all with mostly Indian members, and the 15 person Bahrain team.<\/p>\r\n It appears quarantines are not being required if you arrive and have a negative PCR test. It’s still unclear if vaccines were required before flying to Nepal. \u00a0You can see the new rules, for what it’s with at this link<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I have begun to create my annual team location table<\/a> and tracking climber’s blogs (see sidebar). If you have a team not listed, please let me know and I will add them if I can track them. If you prefer not to be mentioned, please contact<\/a> me.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n I am now posting background articles and interviews between now and early April when the teams arrive at the base camps. If you would like to see anything special this year, post a comment or drop me an email<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Here’s to a safe season for everyone on the Big Hill!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Climb On! Here’s the video<\/strong> version of the weekend update:<\/p>\r\nQuarantine Update<\/h3>\r\n
Follow Along!<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Alan
Memories are Everything<\/p>\r\n