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Ammon News - For the first time since the pandemic, China is allowing foreign climbers to access Mount Everest via Tibet.

Adrian Ballinger, who has summited Everest eight times, is one of the Western guides who prefers the Tibet route to the top of the world’s tallest mountain (from the north), as opposed to the more well-known Nepal route (from the south). This year, he will lead a group of climbers through his company, Alpenglow Expeditions.

Rather than a tourism official or council in Beijing, all passes to use the Chinese route up the mountain, which is known in China as Qomolangma, are distributed by the China Tibet Mountaineering Association (CTMA).

There is also no official announcement released by the Chinese government notifying the public that passes will be given out.

As a result, says Ballinger, the best way for a non-Chinese climber to know that the Tibet side of Everest will be open is when the CTMA sends out a price list for the season. These lists include the costs of yaks (which carry gear up and down the mountain), local guides, translators and transport from Tibet’s capital of Lhasa to Everest Base Camp.

Foreigners who obtain tourist visas to China must get an additional, separate visa for Tibet, which is a semi-autonomous region. The CTMA assists with this for climbers.

There are a maximum of 300 permits available annually for non-Chinese climbers.

The window to climb Everest is small – usually between late April and mid-May. Ballinger’s team will arrive in China on April 25 after pre-acclimatizing at home to save time.

CNN