What’s happening in Everest right now?

Everest, the highest point on earth is the very common name for travel enthusiasts. Almost one million tourists come to Nepal each year, with the hope of viewing the magnificent Himalayas and the culture of Nepal. And Everest is the most preferred trekking route when we are talking about the Nepal trek. There are a lot of trekking trails in Nepal but nothing can beat the vibe. It is the first preference of travelers coming to Nepal. With more than 200 to 300 people flying to Lukla in this travel season, a lot is happening in the Khumbu region. The climbers are also all headed towards the Base camp, ready to conquer the biggest mountain and have the most exciting times of their lives. So, let’s know what Is happening the Everest this year.

Everest Base camp is getting filled with tourist

April and May are the two biggest months for mountain climbing. This is the warmest month in Nepal, after the end of winter and before the arrival of the Monsoon. So, these are the warmest months in the mountains and most of the tourists have already headed to Everest, all ready to climb Mount Everest. This year, the government has issued permits to climb Everest for about 600 tourists. They will be accompanied by a Sherpa travel guide and porters of 1100 in number. So, about 1900 tourists will climb the Everest this year. And, most of these climbing will be completed in 1st and 2nd week of May. This means the Everest base camp is quite crowded now, with over 200 camps. Higher camps such as Camp I, camp II, camp II, and Camp III will also be filled with tourists soon. You might get to see the traffic jam in the Everest all over again this year.

Climbers are carrying their waste

This is the first ever climbing season after the government has urged a notice to tourist for carrying their own waste. Although the news definitely sounds “not pleasing”, some serious action was definitely needed to prevent the waste. Let’s see how that goes now.

Helicopter landings are banned in Everest base camp and kalapatthar

After the big crash of the Manang air helicopter in 2023 that killed five travelers and a pilot, it has been really difficult for helicopters to get to the Everest Base Camp. Not only does the government of Nepal ban the helicopter in EBC, but also in Kalapathar. Unless it’s an emergency case, you cannot go to Everest base camp through a chopper. The band of Everest base camp has made it peaceful. Climbers are very happy that there will not be a helicopter flying near Everest every five minutes. Although the helicopter providers are not so happy about this route, climbers are excited to be in the peaceful Everest Base camp

Flights to Lukla are not available from Kathmandu

For many years, it was very easy to get a flight to Lukla, the entry point of Everest from Kathmandu. Due to its popularity, the domestic airport of Kathmandu got so crowded that they had to move the flight from Lukla to Ramechaap. Now, in the peak season i.e. In Spring and Autumn, you can get flights to Lukla only from Ramechaap.

And Ramechaap is about five hours of flight from Kathmandu. The point is, that travelers now need to get to Everest in the morning i.e. 3 to 4 o’clock, and get a private flight from Kathmandu to Ramechaap if they want to catch a flight to Lukla on the same day. Or, they can go to Ramechaap on a public bus and spend an additional night there before they get a flight to Lukla.

More and more people are looking for other alternative routes

its base camp has always been the center of tourism in Nepal. While that is good news, it is difficult when such crowds are headed into the same area each day. At times, it gets so busy that there is not a single room in the entire village when travelers fail to make a pre-booking. There have been many incidents when the tourist spend the night in a restaurant area, sleeping over a mat on the floor. So, with each passing year of Everest becoming a mainstream area and crowded, travelers are looking for alternative trekking routes. Manaslu and Langtang Valley trek has been a good alternative to the Everest base camp in the present.

So, that was all about the hustles getting. More than 60% of climbers to Everest used to take helicopters to the Everest base camp, the ban of helicopter flight is going to change the landscape this year. Let’s see how that goes. Let’s see how the new records are going to be made and how old records are going to be broken.