China reopens Mount Everest access to foreigners [Video]

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.

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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 …