Nepal closes Mount Everest for climbers

Kathmandu

Nepal has closed all of its Himalayan peaks including Mount Everest this climbing season because of fears of the coronavirus outbreak, a government minister said yesterday. Nepal, home to eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains including Mount Everest, earns about $4.4 million a year in permit fees from climbers aiming to scale the world’s highest peak and other mountains.

Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai said expeditions to all peaks in the MarchMay spring season had been suspended. “Climbing this season has been closed,” Bhattarai told Reuters. Asked if the closure was because of the coronavirus, he said: “It is as a precaution for that.”