China announced that it will allow foreign climbers to reach Mount Everest via Tibet, this world for the first time since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.
It is worth noting that Adrian Ballinger, who has climbed Mount Everest 8 times, is one of the Western guides who prefer to take the Tibet Trail to the summit of the highest mountain in the world.
This year, Ballinger will lead a group of climbers through his company, Alpenglow Expeditions.
All permits to use the Chinese trail up the mountain, known in China as Qomolangma, were distributed by the China Tibetan Mountaineering Association (CTMA), rather than a tourism official or council in Beijing.
But there is no official announcement made by the Chinese government to notify the public about the granting of transit permits.
For his part, Ballinger said that the best way for a non-Chinese climber to know that the Tibetan side of Mount Everest will be open is when the Tibeto-Chinese Mountaineering Association sends out the price list for the season.
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These lists include costs for yaks (which carry equipment up and down the mountain), local guides, translators, and transportation from Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, to Everest Base Camp.
Foreigners on tourist visas to China must obtain a separate additional permit for Tibet, a semi-autonomous region, and the CTMA will help climbers with this.
A maximum of 300 permits per year are provided to non-Chinese climbers, and the opportunity to climb Mount Everest is short, usually between late April to mid-May.
Ballinger’s team members will arrive in China on April 25 after undergoing pre-acclimatization in their home countries to save time.
