How much does it cost to climb Mount Everest?

Mount Everest is the highest natural mountain on earth, located at the junction of Tibet, China and the Indian subcontinent. Every year, a large number of friends from all over the world challenge to climb Mount Everest. So how much does it cost to climb Mount Everest?

"How much does it cost to climb Mount Everest?" In short, a car costs at least $30,000, but most people pay about $45,000, and the price is rising.

Lots of details and elaboration here:

In 2008, the headlines about climbing Everest were about rising prices for low-end expeditions and extremely high-end services, but this year, the Chinese side Mountaineering expeditions again saw the largest increases.

In 2000, the price of mountaineering from China's Tibet Autonomous Region was still slightly lower, regardless of whether you hired a guide or not, unless it was an extremely high-end western exploration company. The average cost in Nepal is US$41,500 and in China is US$38,500.

The price range for a standard mountaineering adventure is US$28,000 to US$85,000. Full-service rock climbing will cost more than $115,000, and extreme adventurers can keep the cost under $20,000.

In the past five years, prices of Nepalese companies have increased by 6%, while prices of Chinese companies have increased by 12%.

Over the years, cheap Nepali companies have gained a foothold in the market with their price advantages, but now they realize that profits are starting to decline and they are starting to raise prices.

Like all other commercial activities, the climbers and guides they provide are also business relationships based on supply and demand, and this demand is quite huge! Over the past few years, I have noticed an increasing number of Everest climbers from India and China, who have supplemented traditional climbers from the United States, Europe, and Southeast Asia.

Most local tour guides in Nepal can meet these needs. China's growing demand for climbers has given a huge boost to the country's tourism industry while also exacerbating congestion on Mount Everest.

Review of the 2008 Everest Expedition

Unpredictable weather conditions continued to be a major concern in 2008 - on both sides of the mountain - but this was particularly evident on the southern end of the mountain . Forecasters work very hard to make accurate predictions, but they are discouraged by frequent strong winds on the Nepal side.

Anyway, it was an almost record year, with 648 people climbing Mount Everest, 237 in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region and 411 in Nepal. Six people died; three of them did not use supplemental oxygen.

Somewhat unusually, 19 people tried it without supplemental oxygen, and 11 of them succeeded. The year with the largest number of people who climbed Mount Everest was 2013, with 665 people reaching the summit, 541 of whom succeeded along the south slope of the mountain, and 124 who climbed to the top from the north slope. Eight people died that year.

Outlook for 2016 Everest Expeditions

After disastrous climbing seasons in 2014 and 2015, Everest returned to "normal" in 2016 and 2015. Regardless, I'm looking forward to an active climbing season on both sides of the mountain and another year with large numbers of people on the Tibetan side of the mountain. In the past two years, the number of tourists here has been the highest since 2006 and 2007.

In 2008, because of the Olympic Games, China stopped climbing Mount Everest, interrupting the gradual establishment of commercial climbing, but that has passed. Now, climbers reunite every year on Everest's north face.

There are rumors that the Nepalese government will increase the mountaineering license fee from 11,000 US dollars to 15,000 US dollars starting in 2000, so some people will look for opportunities to come here in 2008.

However, this rumor is quite suspicious. It may have leaked from the leader of the expedition team to stimulate business this year!

This year, the Nepal Tourism Board stated at a press conference that they will work hard to make Mount Everest safer. In 2006, the Nepal Tourism Board banned disabled climbers from trying to climb the summit, but in the past five years, some of Nepal’s “new regulations” have never been implemented.

How will my payment be allocated?

Travel expenses: $500 to $10,125

The cost of travel depends entirely on where you live and how you like to travel. Flying to Nepal costs hundreds to thousands of dollars.

Most people choose Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways or China Eastern Airlines to go to Nepal.

Once in Kathmandu, you need to fly to Lukla or Lhasa in the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China to start your trip to base camp, so in addition to airfare, you will need to spend several hundred dollars. Of course, you can save some money by taking a bus to Gyirong (Editor's note - the port between China's Tibet Autonomous Region and Nepal), or walking for five days to the Lukla area, and then go to the base camp on the southern slope of Mount Everest.

It takes more than a week to walk from Lukla in Nepal to reach the base camp, so you need to buy food and accommodation along the way, which costs $400 to $1,000 per person. In recent years, the cost of teahouses in the Khumbu region has increased rapidly. Hotels that used to cost $5 a night are no longer available. Of course, to save money, climbers can also camp in tents.

However, in addition to yourself, you have to bring all your equipment: tent, food, supplementary oxygen, etc. Go to base camp. Many people will hire watchmen and yaks, and this fee is at least US$20 per item per day, so generally speaking, the total cost can be as high as US$1,000. Larger expeditions will hire a helicopter and the cost is included in the total quote.

In China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, all transportation costs are included in your mountaineering permit fee, and you also need to accept government supervision. Officials from the China Mountaineering Association (CTMA) will greet you when you arrive in China and will accompany you throughout the entire journey.

Individual travel costs: $2,425-$8,350

Fares range from $1,500 to $7,000, depending on accommodation, route and excess baggage.

One-way round trip transportation from Kathmandu to Lukla costs USD 350.

Hotel and dining costs in Kathmandu range from US$300 to US$700, depending on delays.

The Nepal visa fee is US$100.

Vaccination costs $200.

The cost to reach Everest Base Camp: 1240 to 1800 US dollars

The cost of yaks to and from the base camp is 40 US dollars per day, which can carry 120 pounds of goods (at least 4 yaks are hired for 4 days Requires $640).

In China, additional yaks can be rented for US$300 per yak.

The cost of transporting a porter to and from base camp is $20 per person per day, and he can carry 60 pounds of cargo (a minimum of 3 porters must be hired for 6 days of transportation, which costs $360).

On the way to Everest Base Camp, the cost of food and accommodation is US$20 to US$100 per person per day - US$140 to US$700 for 7 days.

Admission to the park is $100 per team.

Mountain license and insurance: US$9,950-29,500

The price of a rock climbing license in Nepal is US$11,000 per person. In Nepal, the cost of a permit just allows one to climb the mountain, compared to $800 for Aconcagua in Argentina or $365 for Denali in Alaska. Costs also include helicopter rescues, maintaining high-altitude mountain patrol camps, hiring seasonal staff, providing climbing information and keeping the mountain environment clean.

Nepal requires the use of a local company to organize the permit application process, which costs US$2,500 per team. In the meantime, the team is required to pay a refundable trash deposit of $4,000, plus the cost of a liaison officer, which is $3,000 per team.

The total *** was $9,500, and this was before applying for the $11,000 climbing permit. So even before you hire a guide and transport food or equipment on a yak, you have to pay around $20,000 in Nepal.

Nepal implemented a new regulation in 2013 requiring every foreign climber coming to Nepal to hire a local Sherpa guide. These provisions shall also apply.

It’s not clear how it will be implemented, or if each team leader will need to do it, but it adds at least $4,000 to the absolute minimum price.

In 2000, a climber climbed without permission and was eventually deported by the Nepali government and banned from climbing and exploring in Nepal for the next five years.

Most tour guide companies in Nepal will require the team to purchase at least rescue insurance, and most will also require medical insurance.

One of the best investments you can make is to include cancellation risk in your insurance policy.

In 2014 and 2015, the Everest climbing season came to an abrupt end, and those who purchased trip cancellation/interruption insurance received 100% of their travel expenses.

Travelex is a popular choice. To save money, you can join the American Alpine Club, which will pay $7,500 in rescue costs through GlobalRescue. But before you can start getting relief, you have to go to your will or home yourself. Most people will pay an extra few hundred dollars to upgrade to the most basic service.

With all these agreements, you have to follow the rules to the letter or you don't get compensation - and I mean, follow them to the letter, and you don't get compensation for a mistake.

The Chinese side of the Tibet Autonomous Region

Recently, China's side has blamed an increase in Everest climbing permit fees, which effectively limits cheap exploration. A climber from China's Tibet Autonomous Region wants to climb for less than $20,000, forcing him to form a team with at least three other climbers.

For solo climbers, this doesn't matter as many guides are happy to put your name on their climbing license for a small fee, but they don't offer any actual help.

At the Chinese end (North Slope), a group of four or more people will need to pay US$9,950 per person for a climbing permit; if the group consists of three or fewer people, the price will soar to USD 19,500/person.

Includes transportation costs from the entry point in China to the summit base camp (usually Lhasa or Zhangmu), hotel to the summit base camp, liaison officer, garbage removal fees, as well as 5 yaks and 4 yaks per person The cost of a yak to transport supplies. During your stay in Lhasa, there is an additional fee of USD 200 per person per day.

If you want to take a Nepali Sherpa mountaineering in China's Tibet Autonomous Region, the budget will also include a "work permit" of $3,300 per Sherpa, and the CTMA will also require them to pay $5,000 salary.

China's rescue insurance regulations used to be complicated because the person fixing the rope could get some rescue, but basically it was climbers helping other climbers.

Helicopter search and rescue is not allowed, and rumors suggest this is unlikely to be possible within the next few years. When rock climbing on the Chinese side, it is wise to double-check all terms and conditions of your insurance company for details.

Mountain climbing fee: US$20,600 to US$25,650 (for Nepal)

The agency fee in Nepal is US$2,500/group (usually including the full cost of a tour guide)< /p>

The cost of a Nepalese liaison officer is US$3,000 per team (usually including all expenses of a tour guide)

Medical coverage at the South Slope Base Camp, Everest Emergency Room, US$100 per person.

On the south side of the mountain, the climbing permit fee is $11,000 per climber, regardless of group size.

On the Chinese side, the license fee for a mountaineering team of four or more people is US$9,950, in addition to US$195,000, and the license fee for each Nepalese Sherpa is US$3,300.

Trash and human waste deposit in Nepal is $4,000/group permit (refundable, but not always)

Glacier doctors cost $2,500/group or 600 USD/climber to secure the rope.

The cost of fixing ropes on the glacier is US$150 per climber, but it is more expensive on the Tibet Autonomous Region side of China.

The cost of a weather forecast ranges from $0 to $1,000.

It will cost $300.

Insurance costs: US$70-3,000

Insurance costs range from US$70 (American Alpine Club) to US$500 (Global Rescue/TravelEx)

Only the medical insurance fee is $500.

Rescue insurance, medical insurance and trip cancellation payment for any reason - $3,000 (TravelEx)

Private helicopter rescue costs on the south slope of Everest range from $5,000 to $20,000 , depending on departure and arrival locations (this service is not available on the North Face of Everest, but is planned)

All insurance amounts are examples only, they vary according to age, travel time and total cost.

Material/Equipment Cost: US$800-29,450

You need to eat and keep warm. Ninety-seven percent of the summit of Mount Everest uses supplemental oxygen.

You can buy and cook your own food, but most people hire a Nepali chef and a few assistants. At base camp, that fee is $5,000, and budget for food and fuel during the six weeks of the Everest attempt is about $800.

Each bottle of supplemental oxygen costs approximately $550. A minimum purchase of five bottles is required, for a total cost of $2,750. But you also need a $450 mask and a $450 regulator for the same price.

You can bring your own extra supplemental oxygen to high-altitude camps, but most people hire Sherpas to help carry the oxygen bottles to high altitudes, and also hire a personal Sherpa to help. The standard is that he also needs to use supplemental oxygen for the climb, even if the flow rate is adjusted to a slower rate, which costs you an additional $2,000.