Climbers to return to Mount Everest after Nepal’s COVID closure

After a year of closure, hundreds of foreign climbers will likely attempt to scale the world’s tallest peak next month.

Hundreds of climbers are set to return to Mount Everest for the first time next month under strict conditions, government officials and mountaineers said, as the world’s tallest peak reopens after a year of closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than 300 foreign climbers will likely attempt to scale the 8,849-metre (29,031-foot) mountain in the peak climbing season beginning in April, tourism department official Mira Acharya said, compared with a record 381 climbers who attempted the famed summit in the same period in 2019. “This is… despite the one-week quarantine requirement and certificate showing the climber had tested negative for the virus,” said Acharya.