[ti:Nepal Increases Cost of Permits to Climb Everest]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:01.28]The government of Nepal
[00:03.40]has increased the cost of a permit
[00:07.16]to climb Mount Everest by about one-third.
[00:12.12]Officials say the price increase aims
[00:15.72]to help reduce pollution
[00:17.96]and increase safety
[00:20.32]on the world's highest mountain.
[00:24.00]The director of Nepal's tourism department
[00:28.00]is Narayan Prasad Regmi.
[00:31.16]He told the French news agency AFP
[00:36.28]the cost for a permit
[00:38.20]in the popular spring climbing season
[00:41.64]will increase from $11,000 to $15,000.
[00:49.40]Regmi noted the price
[00:51.68]had remained the same for about 10 years,
[00:56.04]so the government decided
[00:58.68]it was time to make a change.
[01:02.36]The costs, or fees,
[01:04.96]for climbing during less popular
[01:08.08]and more difficult times of year
[01:11.00]-- such as during winter
[01:13.24]or the summer monsoon rains
[01:16.12]-- have also increased.
[01:18.88]This includes an increase
[01:21.36]from $5,500 to $7,500
[01:28.08]during the autumn climbing season.
[01:32.12]Thousands of climbers come to Nepal each year.
[01:36.88]The country is home to eight of 14
[01:40.76]of the world's tallest mountains over 8,000 meters.
[01:46.76]Everest is 8,849-meters tall
[01:51.80]and sits on the border between Nepal and China.
[01:57.88]Foreign climbers spend tens of thousands of dollars
[02:02.08]on their efforts to climb Everest.
[02:05.92]More than 400 people
[02:08.16]bought climbing permits for Everest last year.
[02:13.12]This brought in around $4 million to the government.
[02:19.20]Nepal uses the money to remove waste from the mountain
[02:23.92]and to finance search and rescue operations.
[02:29.28]Some mountain climbing companies worry
[02:32.80]the higher price could lower the number of climbers
[02:36.72]wanting to climb Everest from the Nepalese side.
[02:41.16]The companies warn that some climbers
[02:45.32]might decide to climb Everest through China.
[02:50.40]"Some climbers might shift to Tibet
[02:53.84]where the facilities are much better,"
[02:57.00]said Mingma G Sherpa.
[02:59.76]He runs the Imagine Nepal mountaineering company
[03:04.96]and says Nepal must use the money
[03:08.68]to improve conditions.
[03:12.04]"Our government just increases the royalty,
[03:16.04]but doesn't do much.
[03:18.88]It needs to also provide support
[03:22.12]to the climbers and guides," he added.
[03:26.52]Some groups have criticized Nepal
[03:30.00]for permitting too many climbers on Everest
[03:33.64]while not doing enough to keep the mountain clean.
[03:38.80]Last year, Nepal's government
[03:41.60]ordered all Everest climbers to carry trackers
[03:45.96]and bags to remove their human waste.
[03:51.12]The government approved the fee increase in January,
[03:55.72]but it was first published on February 3.
[04:01.56]I'm Andrew Smith. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM