Nepal opens 104 new peaks

Nepal has opened 104 new, unconquered peaks to mountaineers, in an attempt to boost tourism after a deadly avalanche effectively ended this year's lucrative Mount Everest climbing season, the government said yesterday.
Climbers can now scale a total of 414 peaks in the Himalayan nation, including two named after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, the first men to successfully summit the world's tallest mountain in 1953, the tourism ministry said.
The newly opened peaks have not been tackled before, officials said, meaning climbers have the chance to be the first to summit them.
The government has also waived climbing fees -- currently $100 for an individual mountaineer -- for peaks under 5,800 metres, Burlakoti told AFP.
All of the unconquered peaks were open for business immediately except for Yalung Khang West, which is awaiting approval from the Bern-based International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation, because it is above 8,000-metres.
Mountaineering officials welcomed the announcement, saying it would revive Nepal as a climbing destination, after the April 18 avalanche saw the effective closure of the climbing season, a key revenue earner for the impoverished country.
Tourism ministry official Burlakoti said the government was keen to open more of its over 1,300 Himalayan peaks in future, depending on demand from climbers. The summer climbing season for the Himalayas usually lasts from April to May and the autumn season from late September to November.