“Yes its official. We got it from the Government of Nepal,” Daniel Mazur writes to me. The head of the expedition operator Summit Climb had announced on Facebook on 11 August: “Everest shocking news! No previous mountaineering experience required for Everest in 2027?!”
I then had asked Dan whether the planned new rule – at least one ascent of a seven-thousander in Nepal – was definitely off the table for the spring 2027 season, and if so, where he had gotten that information.
Premature Reports
Last February, a supposedly imminent rule change for Mount Everest ascents had made headlines worldwide: It was reported that Everest climbers would be required to have scaled at least one seven-thousander in Nepal before receiving a permit for the world’s highest mountain.
What had happened? The National Assembly – Nepal’s upper house, in which the country’s eight provinces are represented – had passed the so-called “Integrated Tourism Bill.” This proposed legislative amendment, which was set to take effect in the spring season of 2027, included the seven-thousander rule. What most media outlets failed to mention was that the new tourism law had thus only cleared the first hurdle. And that the wheels of the legislative process in Nepal usually turn slowly.
More than 260 proposed amendments
Finally, the House of Representatives still had to approve the bill, which was considered the bigger hurdle. New elections were held in early April. On 8 July, the lower house decided to first refer the “Integrated Tourism Bill” to the International Relations and Tourism Committee. As of 22 July, the committee had to review at least 263 proposed amendments to the bill.
Only then will it be submitted to the House of Representatives for a vote. If the lower house approves it, the President of Nepal must still sign the new tourism law into effect. It appears that time has now run out to implement the new regulations in time for the spring season of 2027.
Mingma Gyalje Sherpa agrees. “They’re still under discussion, so I think it should only be applicable starting from 2028,” writes the head of the expedition operator Imagine Nepal to me. Mingma Gyalje expects that, in the end, every seven-thousander climbed will be accepted as a ticket toward an Everest permit: “They (the eligible seven-thousander ascents) don’t need to be from Nepal.”
