Fresh off the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference last week where Nepal committed to lofty goals for electric mobility, one would think the Finance Ministry would have taken a big leap forward to promote electric public transport.
But the bright side is that Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel did not take a step back and kept the status quo in excise and import taxes for electric vehicles. He did not build on the gains to push more aggressively on public transport.
Past tax cuts on electric cars boosted battery-powered vehicles, and this year Nepal was only behind Norway for the highest percentage of new electric car sales. More than 75% of vehicles sold in Nepal last year were electric — with 1,400 imported in just the past month because of worries that the budget would raise taxes.
Tax rebates, monsoon power surplus, time of day metering, and improved range of EVs have contributed to the phenomenal increase in electric mobility. Even though car owners make up less than 3% of the population, there has also been a massive increase in electric vans on intercity public transport routes. And regardless of who owns EVs, conversion helps reduce Nepal’s petroleum import bill — which makes up 25% of all imports. 
Taxing outsized luxury electric SUVs would have been reasonable, but much more urgent are tax subsidies on big battery-powered buses. 
Replacing diesel buses with an efficient electric public transport network would also lessen air pollution and reduce road congestion. Furthermore, the life cycle cost of electric variants is much lower than that of those with internal combustion engines (ICE), and will be even more affordable as battery technology evolves.
When Nepal Rastra Bank increased the ‘Loan-to-Value (LTV) Ratio’ for electric vehicle financing to 40%, up from 20% in March, it dampened sales of public electric vehicles — showing extreme price sensitivity of buyers.
The constant flip-flopping on EV taxes over the years because of the need to compensate for revenue shortfalls has confused consumers. The Finance Ministry often takes an easy short-term fix to boost government income by increasing the tax on EVs, but does not look at the huge medium-term gain from reduced petroleum imports. 
During the monsoon, battery-powered cars are using electricity that would have been wasted. The benefits to public health and national productivity from reduced street-level emissions with more EVs is incalculable. 
More importantly, the discourse on sustainable transport in Nepal is limited to fiscal taxes, when it should be on regulating transportation management. 
Nepal imports most of its vehicles from China and India, and both countries will soon be switching completely to electric 4- and 2-wheelers. We have no choice but to transition accordingly, and have the charging infrastructure and transport regulation in place. Furthermore, Nepal might soon be in a position where it could ban all private petrol cars and switch to only battery cars and tax them at the current rate on ICE vehicles.
For now, the government must urgently come up with a long-term financing and subsidy mechanism for electric buses, and it could start by using the Rs3 billion in ‘pollution tax’ that it collects every year from diesel and petrol sales.
Our National Transport Policy dates back to 2001, and it prioritises road infrastructure rather than transport management.
The former mayor of Bogata Enrique Peñalosa who implemented a successful bus rapid transit system for his city once said: “An advanced city is not a place where the poor move about in cars, rather it’s where even the rich use public transportation.” We could paraphrase that to ‘electric public transportation’.
Public transport is a public service, and the onus lies on the government to ensure reliable and efficient electric buses. At present public transport is almost entirely provided by private companies with the government only setting fares.
True to its name, the Department of Roads is all about building roads, and even that it does so poorly that 2,500 Nepalis are killed on dangerous highways every year. The Department of Transport Management keeps itself busy only issuing driving licenses, and is a hotbed of corruption with people waiting years for their licenses.
This year’s budget could have turned things around. The coalition government’s main preoccupation seems to be staying on in power and countering pro-monarchy rallies fuelled by discontent when it should have focused on improving public services. 
Sonia Awale

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Nepal needs a new green energy policy

Given the government’s revenue crunch, there were many ways Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun could have balanced his budget while putting Nepal on a path to green energy. But he chose the easy way out. Taxes on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ev-year">electric vehicles</a> have been increased once again, including for battery-powered public transport. There are no incentives for electrical appliances to boost power consumption now that generation capacity is going into surplus. Taxing electric SUVs makes sense since they are luxury vehicles, but making them less competitive vis-a-vis petrol cars means petroleum imports will not go down. There are no tax rebates for electric buses, scooters or home appliances to promote consumption of surplus electricity. Nepali households should have been incentivised to switch from LPG to electrical cooking. To be sure, the new budget was an improvement on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/1-step-forward-2-steps-back-in-nepal">the 2023-2024 tax range</a>. Last year’s budget had increased taxes on entry-level EVs, electric public utility vans and battery-operated microbuses, while reducing taxes for luxury SUVs and larger variants.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240531050512_26e7a6ea9c6c1c503abc74d56ee6098dc954ff3a4643dda6651cc68ee3461c0b.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240531050512_26e7a6ea9c6c1c503abc74d56ee6098dc954ff3a4643dda6651cc68ee3461c0b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1342" height="392" loading="lazy" alt="EV tax after new budget"> </figure>  Nonetheless, overall tax on electric vehicles has increased with excise and customs up by 5-20%, and there is a backlash from importers who had been enjoying a boom in sales. More than 60% of the cars imported in the past six months were electric. ‘There is no clarity in the government's intention to support and promote electric vehicles,’ said NADA (Nepal Automobile Dealer’s Association) in a statement. ‘The fluctuations in EV taxation don’t only affect the EV business but also discourage entrepreneurs who want to produce electric vehicles in Nepal.’&nbsp; On Tuesday, Finance Minister Barsha Aan Pun unveiled a Rs1.860 trillion budget for 2024-25 in Parliament and said it would set Nepal on an annual economic growth track of 6%. Yet, he managed to allocate only 0.46% of the total budget for environmental protection. In fact, he gave the green light to controversial projects like the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/dam-dangerous">Nagmati Reservoir in Shivapuri National Park</a>, and the proposed $3.5 billion <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/fight-or-flight">international airport at Nijgad</a>. Both would mean large-scale logging, and lack ecological and economic rationale. These announcements directly contradict Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s own commitment to achieve net zero by increasing forest cover and reducing petroleum use in the next 20 years, which he repeated at last week’s International Expert Dialogue on Mountains, People, and Climate at Chandragiri. In light of the budget, the prime minister’s speech at that event rang hollow: “We must build upon the momentum of past efforts to translate commitment into tangible action preserving the delicate balance between mountain environments for future generation… Climate change is a great concern for us who are experiencing the peril of our pristine natural resources.”&nbsp; Like previous budgets, Pun’s speech was sprinkled with words like pledge, promise, commit, undertake. He used the word गरिनेछ (will be done) 379 times during his 2 hours speech. विकास (development) was repeated 107 times. Energy and the environment barely made the mark.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240531050516_442012c6086fabfc0a6f5a9f0ae17be12ece7866204752255c0bf1652d2eb2d3.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240531050516_442012c6086fabfc0a6f5a9f0ae17be12ece7866204752255c0bf1652d2eb2d3" data-rendition-name="original" width="622" height="447" loading="lazy" alt="Budget Nepal"> <figcaption>Made with Flourish by Ramesh Kumar.</figcaption> </figure>  There were some announcements on renewable energy like the plan to add another 900MW of hydropower to the national grid. Nepal will be generating 6,500MW of power once under-construction projects come on line, and the challenge is to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/missing-pieces-of-the-hydropower-jigsaw">increase household and industrial consumption for which transmission lines need streamlining</a>. Switching to electric transport would also benefit public health by reducing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-pollution">Kathmandu’s atrocious air pollution</a>. Kathmandu was the world’s most polluted city on multiple days in the past two months. The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/71-3-fa3osch5">life expectancy of Nepalis might have increased</a>, but air pollution has <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/cleaner-air-longer-lives-0z0okfeu">slashed nearly 5 years</a> of our lives. At least a quarter of children visiting hospitals have asthma with school children in Kathmandu inhaling at least eight times more toxic air than the safety threshold.&nbsp; Nepal’s moral high-ground at the climate summit in Bonn next month will be diminished with budgetary policies that directly contradict our public commitments. A clear national policy that balances economic growth with ecological preservation would give our negotiators more weight when they demand adaptation or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-is-lost-cannot-be-repaid">loss and damage</a> funds.

Sonia Awale

Charging Nepal

If there is one thing Nepal’s annual budget is consistent about, it is being inconsistent. In 2020, the government reduced the taxes on electric vehicles, the next one re-imposed it for electric SUVs while cheaper vehicles were still taxed less, this year Finance Minister Prakash Mahat increased the tax on smaller EVs and electric vans while inexplicably reducing the tax on luxury SUVs. &nbsp; By increasing the tax on entry-level battery-powered vehicles, the government has effectively discouraged the public from switching to clean energy at a time when Nepal is all set to have year-round electricity surplus. The decision also undermines the government’s own decarbonisation goals. &nbsp; Continued proliferation of diesel and petrol vehicles will also keep worsening air pollution in the cities, affecting public health. &nbsp; Customs and excise tax on electric cars between 50-100KW has increased by 5% and 10%, meaning they now have to pay 15% customs tax and 10% excise duty, the latter of which was not applicable before. Vehicles in this bracket include electric public utility vans, battery-operated microbuses and smaller e-cars which were gaining popularity across Nepal. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/an-electric-shock-to-nepals-energy-future/">An electric shock to Nepal’s energy future</a>, Ramesh Kumar “This is a blatant disregard for the country’s environment policies because the government has significantly increased the tax on more affordable EV options,” says environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar. “To add insult to injury, they have slashed the tax on bigger vehicles. This is suspicious, especially as it does nothing for government revenue even if that was the reasoning. It’s not just EVs, even the taxes for higher-end 350cc motorcycles have also been lowered.”&nbsp; Indeed, mid-range and high-end EVs enjoy reduced tax rates or a very minimal increase. Customs and excise for 100-200KW EVs is down from 30% to 20%. Similarly, customs duty for 200-300KW EVs has gone down from 45% to 40% while excise remains the same at 45%. Customs for EVs in the 300KW or above bracket is set at 60-80% against 60% previously with excise maintained at 60%. EVs with 100KW motors will now be at least 20% more expensive.&nbsp; ‘It is deliberate sabotage,’ wrote Atmospheric Scientist Arnico Panday who is also a central committee member of the RSP, the fourth largest party in Parliament on Twitter. ‘The present leadership does not care about clean air, health, people, domestic energy, new technology or the country's future, &amp; probably got bribed by dealers of polluting vehicles in segments with popular EVs.’ The government has changed the tax rates for EVs five times in two years, disrupting the market and raising suspicions that the rates are adjusted based on political patronage of power lobbies among car importers. Especially egregious is the increase in the tax of electric micro-buses which had started becoming a popular form of public transport, and fingers are pointing to diesel microbus importers. &nbsp; “The tax hike is also unfair from a social justice aspect as we are essentially denying those who could otherwise afford entry-level EVs,” says climate activist Shilshila Acharya. “Our EV landscape is being shaped by vested interest groups.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/potholes-on-the-highway-to-nepal-s-ev-future">Potholes on the highway to Nepal’s EV future</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230609020628_e4164e59b5982f63d1246eaebbbb6c118a33f051112cdf9885d2c430fd64d862.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230609020628_e4164e59b5982f63d1246eaebbbb6c118a33f051112cdf9885d2c430fd64d862" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="ELectric bus NT"> <figcaption>Photo: GOPEN RAI</figcaption> </figure>  By 2024 Nepal’s peak power generation capacity is expected to reach 4,500MW while domestic demand will only grow to 2,000MW at current rates of consumption. Much of this surplus therefore risks being spilled. And as of now, Nepal is not allowed to export more than 420MW to India which has rejected any and all Chinese involvement in Nepal’s hydropower projects. Tax incentives for electric public transport would reduce Nepal’s growing petroleum import bill, and improve air quality. Air pollution was the direct cause of over 42,000 deaths in Nepal in 2019.&nbsp; “Our policies contradict our climate targets, but more importantly they make no sense even from an economic point of view,” adds Acharya who is with the Avni Centre for Sustainability. She adds: “We want to reduce our trade deficit and increase the consumption of hydropower. Electric vehicles would have been the best strategy going forward and yet we keep changing our mind about taxing them.” At COP26 in 2021 in Glasgow, Nepal’s prime minister committed to achieving net zero by 2045 and increasing the sales of private electric vehicles to 25% by 2025 and 90% by 2030. Electric public transport would be 20% by 2025 and 60% by 2030. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/e-2-wheelers">e-2 wheelers</a> Another sign of contradictory policies was the signing of two petroleum pipeline deals during Prime Minister Dahal’s visit to New Delhi last week. Both India and China have publicly announced that they would stop manufacturing petrol cars by 2030. By that time, Nepal will not be able to import fossil fuel-powered vehicles even if it wanted to. But perhaps the biggest letdown is the disincentives on switching to electric buses. The budget provides no concessions to electric public transport. India subsidies electric buses, but in Nepal government ministries have been putting up obstacles on charging station to run 40 electric buses by Sajha Yatayat.&nbsp; Within the electric vehicle bracket, it is the electric buses that benefit any country the most. Reliable public transport is accessible to most people, discourages consumerism and reduces traffic. “Things we could do immediately to correct our course of action is reduce the tax on electric micros, the market will boom benefiting small time entrepreneurs and help finance electric buses to rapidly shift to cleaner energy,” says Tuladhar who is also the director of Sajha Yatayat. He adds: “We could use the Rs4 billion already collected as pollution tax, just 5 million will buy 200 electric buses. If you must tax something, increase the pollution tax which is less than 1% of all the taxes we pay, and then divert the fund for clean alternatives.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-goes-electric-but-conditions-apply">Nepal goes electric, but conditions apply</a>, Ramesh Kumar Corrigendum: Corrected some new car prices from print edition.

1 step forward, 2 steps back in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110161124/636d18449c7e80680e0ac7b6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Chinese electric two-wheeler company Yadea's electric mountain bicycle, the Yadea SS800.</figcaption></figure>Even as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/e-vehicles-prepare-for-post-lockdown-boom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">importers try to meet increased demand</a> for electric cars following the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/new-nepal-budget-sparks-electric-comeback/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reinstated tax rebates </a>on battery-operated vehicles, electric two-wheelers remain relatively on the sidelines.Now, here come electric bicycles which purists have problems with, but are catching on despite the steep price tag.In 2018, Nepal’s oldest bicycle shop <a href="https://pancbike.com.np" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pancha Asta Narayan Cycles</a> (Panc) began to roll out Electric Conversion Kits (ECKs) that turn regular bicycles into e-bikes. Now the shop is also importing battery powered bicycles.This year, Kuzu Nepal, the distributor of the Chinese electric vehicle company Yadea’s two-wheelers, introduced four of its all-terrain electric mountain bicycles in Nepal: the Yadea SS1000, SS800, YS500, and YT500.<a style="font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://yadea.com.np" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Yadea Nepal</a>’s customer base has grown steadily since then. It has sold 30 electric bicycles in recent months. Interestingly, the higher-end SS1000 and SS800 are bestsellers, says Ritesh Shrestha of Yadea Nepal. Most customers are avid Kathmandu-based long-distance cyclists, doctors, and expats.However, the company recognises that the reach of e-bikes is limited and that they may not be for everyday Nepali users.“Our customer base is largely people who know their bicycles, and people over age 35 who want a less taxing mode of a healthier lifestyle,” says Shrestha.He recalls some recent feedback from a young client who purchased an e-bike recently, but his father has been using it to commute to and from work:“The Dad told us that despite not being in top form, the rides are not stressful or tiresome, and his commute is helping him to exercise.”The primary objective of an electric bicycle is to enable a healthy way of travelling and enhance one's performance. Cyclists need not exert nearly as much energy pedalling, and can ride further without taxing their bodies.Among the four all-terrain e-bikes, the Yadea SS1000 and SS800 mountain bikes are for Nepal’s off-roads, while the YS500 and YT500 models are more suited to urban and city roads. The high-end Yadea SS1000 is the most expensive at Rs430,000, while the two city bikes are priced at Rs250,000 each.Yadea e-bikes use a Samsung lithium-ion battery attached to the down tube of the bicycle frame, which takes four-and-a-half hours to fully charge for the SS1000 and SS800 bicycles, while the YS500 and YT500 models take six-and-a-half hours to charge fully.The bicycles are equipped with the company’s independently developed 350W Fusion mid-motor located near the bicycle’s bottom bracket, which provides a maximum torque of 85NM.The controls of the bike, which allow the rider to manage the motor input according to levels, are on the left handlebar, with a display monitor at the front. The bikes have 11 gears that can be changed using a tab along the right handlebar.Nearly 80% of all registered vehicles in Nepal are privately owned two-wheelers, most of them polluting fossil fuel guzzlers, and contribute 8% to total emissions from transportation.And while battery-powered electric scooters and motorcycles significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, some point to the “redundancy” of e-bikes, as bicycles require no fossil fuel to begin with.“Electric bicycles, and electric two-wheelers in general, haven’t made an impact in Nepal like electric four-wheelers,” says Lokesh Oli of Olizstore, who has tested and reviewed several electric vehicles, including Yadea’s SS1000 e-bike, and posted videos on YouTube.The expensive price tag is a drag. Many viewers commented on Oli’s review of the Yadea SS1000 that they would rather buy new motorcycles than spend so much on electric bicycles.Other companies that promote e-bikes in Nepal agree with the public consensus and sell the bicycles without much exposure or promotion.“Considering the costs as well as exposure, e-bikes in Nepal, whether they be for the daily commute or more long-distance off-road travel, are currently for hobbyists,” he adds.However, Oli, who grew up cycling to and from school and around his village, as well as for a few years after he relocated to Kathmandu, is optimistic about the future of battery-operated bicycles.“This is true especially as bicycles remain the primary mode of transport for much of Nepal’s population outside the Valley,” he adds.People across Nepal own bicycles for travel and business, and access to e-bikes would reduce their effort as well as make them more efficient.

Shristi Karki

Electric bicycles in Nepal terrain

Fenerbahçe Beko won the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague finals in Abu Dhabi, held 23-25 May, defeating Monaco 81-70 in the final. Olympiacos, who defeated Panathinaikos 97-93, finished the series in third place. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final match, Nigel Hayes-Davis from Fenerbahçe Beko, received a prize of 1,000,000 Miles&amp;Smiles from Turkish Airlines’ Chief Commercial Officer Ahmet Olmuştur. The carrier has been the title sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, a top tier tournament, since 2010.

Turkish Basketball

While Nepal was hosting the Sagarmatha Sambaad international climate conference in Kathmandu this month, on Mt Everest it was pretty much business as usual.&nbsp; The signs of climate breakdown are all there: a river now runs through Base Camp in summer, the Khumbu Icefall is more unstable, and there are more &nbsp;frequent avalanches. When expeditions arrived in March, the mountains were bare: it had not snowed since September, but then blizzards dumped unseasonal snow in May. And despite climate worries, such is the pull of Himalayan mountaineering that the Everest Industry showed no signs of slowdown. More than 600 international climbers and their Nepali guides had made it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain. At one point there were an estimated 2,000 people in the tent city on the Khumbu Glacier. All the ropes and ladders on the Icefall came down on Thursday, marking the official end of the spring climbing season, and just in time to avoid a monsoon cyclone approaching from the Bay of Bengal. It has been an action-packed season. One factor could be that Everest fees will go up from September: each foreign climber needs to pay a $15,000 royalty, up from the present $11,000. The cost for a Nepali climber on the South Col route will also go up: from Rs75,000 to Rs150,000.&nbsp; The fee to climb Everest in autumn is $7,500 (up from $5,500), but most climbers still prefer spring. Winter permit fee (December-February) is only $3,750 per person and the mountain is now also open for monsoon (June-August) climbs, when the fee is ever lower at $2,750. The revised rule also makes it mandatory for every two climbers on an 8,000m peak to hire one Nepali mountain guide.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025053004050_67f856fe52714e4bdcf21ae7d45c6f18c82117b9d0a5f73ed1efa04c96de1046" data-rendition-name="original" width="931" height="732" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry graph 1"> </figure>  In addition, climbers also have to pay for porters and guides, equipment, Base Camp costs, Ice Fall and fixed rope team fees, so climbing Everest does not come cheap. But such is the draw of climbing the world’s highest peak that some say the increased fees will not diminish the crowds next year. The government has tried to spread expeditions out to other seasons and other 8,000ers, but with not much success. Earlier this year, Nepal unilaterally increased the number of 8,000m peaks to 14 by adding six more sub-summits to broaden the choice for climbers. Added were: Yalung Kang (8,505m), Yalung Kang West (8,077m) &nbsp;Kangchenjunga Central (8,473m), Kangchenjunga South (8,476m), Lhotse Middle (8,410m) and Lhotse Shar (8,400m).&nbsp; The announcement could go against the accepted topographic criteria that a stand alone peak has to be at least 300m higher than an adjoining prominence, and at more than 3km isolation from it. The UIAA (Union Internationale des Associations d'Alpinisme) still recognises only 14 mountains as eight-thousanders, and only eight of those are in Nepal, or on the border with China. Nepal’s revised mountaineering regulations also increased the insurance coverage of high-altitude workers to protect porters and high altitude guides who usually take more risks on the mountains. Rescue teams and clean-up campaigners to collect trash and remove bodies of dead climbers up to Camp IV of Mt Everest do not need permits.&nbsp; The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee is now using drones to fly down trash in 20kg sacks. Each climber is also required to bring down at least 6kg of waste and not just their own, but this rule is erratically enforced. With five fatalities on Everest and Lhotse, Spring 2025 had a historically low death toll. Another five climbers died on Annapurna, Kangchenjunga and Makalu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025053004050_38681de22f0fefb6faa12b01755566d09c5064d0ff84e12ccc7b5d68ea9ba38a" data-rendition-name="original" width="665" height="740" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest industry graph 2"> </figure>  Journalist Ben Ayers who ran the Everest Live social media channel from Everest Base Camp with daily updates credited the low death rate to dramatic rescues of climbers from the ‘Death Zone’ by their Nepali guides and longline helievacs — the visuals all uploaded on YouTube.&nbsp; “Ironically, this perception of safety is bringing more and more inexperienced climbers to the mountain, and they need more rescues,” Ayers said in one of his dispatches.&nbsp; American expedition chronicler and summiteer Alan Arnette suspects there is a lot of under-reporting given that the jet stream and storms were lashing Everest even till late in the season. He told us: “I heard a lot about frostbite and rescues that were not made public. It’s become practically impossible to cover the details on Everest. All the teams report nice news, and they don’t talk about bad stuff to avoid hurting businesses.” Although trash on Nepal’s mountains makes headlines, what does not receive as much attention is the climate impact of so many expeditions. The Sagarmatha Sambaad conference sidestepped this issue, which is ironic given that the impact of climate breakdown is most evident on Himalayan peaks and their glaciers.&nbsp; <h2>Need for Speed</h2> The big stories this year have been about speed-running from their home cities to the top of Everest. Ukrainian entrepreneur Andrew Ushakov flew out of JFK on 15 May at 10:15AM Nepal time, and was on the summit 3 days, 23 hours, and 7 minutes later on 19 May at 9:22AM.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250601080640_1c5cc6fc991307861768f07037ed9d30930fb20f35dbb57dc31c9a92a9e1a885" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="1800" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry"> <figcaption>Andrew Ushakov at the summt. Photo: ELITE EXPED</figcaption> </figure>  “I could never find the time for the traditional 40-50 days of acclimatisation,” Ushakov explained matter-of-factly. His ‘Everest Sea-to-Summit’ climb was possible because he spent 400 hours in hypoxic sleep tents over the past four years in New York. However, Ushakov did use ropes already fixed, hired four Nepali guides, helicoptered to Base Camp, and used much more oxygen than an average climber. And after the climb, Ushakov was arrested at Kathmandu airport for being in possession of $20,000 of undeclared cash and spent a night in jail and fined $60,000.&nbsp; The other speedsters were Garth Miller, Alastair Cairns, Anthony Stazicker, and Kev Godlington, all former British Army commandos. They left London and summited five days later on 21 May, and flew right back. They also used hypoxic tents to simulate the thin air high on Everest.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250601080644_90c8dd5cc07b4b43f2989b1dc0c0650ab80f10ebb06680c25a6909c519957bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="The Everest Industry "> <figcaption>All four members of the Furtenbach team at the summit. Photo: Sandro Gromen-Hayes</figcaption> </figure>  But more controversial was their use of xenon gas therapy in a German hospital to ramp up the production of oxygen-carrying haemoglobins in their blood. Xenon is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency for being performance enhancing in sports. Expedition leader Lukas Furtenbach said this rule does not apply to mountaineering, as it is not a regulated sport like swimming. Nepal has no rules about xenon, but the Department of Tourism said it was launching an ‘investigation’ to decide on future policy since it is difficult to ban xenon, but allow oxygen. The controversy has also divided the mountaineering community, with some climbers saying they just want to maximise their chances of survival. Spending less time on the mountain could make climbing safer by reducing avalanche risk. It would also mean less trash on the mountains, but it would reduce the income of Nepal’s expedition industry. It is also unclear how much of the success was due to xenon therapy and whether the ex-special forces were already in good physical shape.&nbsp; The need for speed hides the fact that climbing in the Himalaya is dangerous business, and climbers cannot sprint to the top just by huffing xenon. But ultra-fast climbs could be charged more, and the revenue generated can be used to establish state-of-the-art rescue operations, and increase pay and insurance for guides. Two other speed chasers this season were Swiss-Ecuadorian Karl Egloff and American Tyler Andrews, both on Everest without oxygen. Andrews choppered to Base Camp to catch a weather window, but turned back from 8,500m due to high winds. Heavy snow and wind also forced Egloff to descend from 7,000m. Slow and steady climbers like Anja Blacha from Germany did make it to the summit without oxygen, while Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record with his 31st Everest summit as he led a 26-strong Indian Army group. There were 468 permits issued for foreign climbers from 48 expeditions to Everest this spring. Nepal’s other eight-thousanders together had only 17 expeditions. Nepal has more than 1,000 peaks above 6,000m, and has opened only 476 of them for climbing.&nbsp;

The Everest Industry

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.

Everest summiteers find new life in the US

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