Solo climbers banned from climbing Everest

Solo climbers, along with blind people and double amputees are now not able to climb Mount Everest, due to a ban passed by Nepal’s tourism ministry aimed at reducing the number of people dying on the mountain.

While a record number of climbers have attempted the perilous climb up the mountain this year, there has been the usual number of casualties.

Six people have died this season, so far, including Min Bahadur Sherchan, who at 85 was trying to relclaim his title as the oldest person in the world to reach the mountain’s peak.

Foreign climbers will also have to attempt the climb in the company of a guide under the new rules, in an effort to create more job openings for Nepal’s mountain guides.

The ban has attracted some criticism, including by Hari Budha Magar, an amputee who lost both legs while deployed in Afghanistan, who claimed the move to be “discriminatory” and an “injustice”.

Magar said he would be defying the ban and would “climb Mount Everest whatever the cabinet decides.”