By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Sept. 5: The Department of Tourism (DoT) on Friday granted permission to a mountaineering team to ascent Mt. Barun Tse (7,129 m).
This is the first permission granted by the Department to climb the mountains this autumn season. No permission was granted in spring this year due to COVID-19.
According to the Department, a national mountaineering team comprising six members led by Dawa Steven Sherpa of Asian Trek has given permission to climb Barun Tse for this autumn season.
Meera Acharya, director at the Mountaineering Section of the DoT, said that the permission was granted as per the request of the team by fulfilling all required health safety standards.
Acharya said that there was no any legal restriction to issue the climbing permission as the government had already removed the restrictions on mountaineering and trekking.
This will also be a test expedition to gather experience in operating expeditions during this pandemic, she said.
All team members have submitted certificate of negative PCR tests for COVID-19 to get the permission and they have to comply with health safety precautions, including quarantine provision of the local level in the concerned peak, she said.
This year, the DoT has made COVID-19 insurance mandatory in addition to previous provisions to climb any mountain of Nepal, she said. If foreigners come to climb Nepali mountains, they should stay in quarantine for 14 days, she added.
Due to the pandemic of COVID-19, the DoT had suspended all mountaineering activities for last spring after issuing permission to five expedition teams.This expedition is expected to draw the attention of adventure climbers across the globe.