Nepal to slash fees to climb Everest

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 yesterday.
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.