Nepal made significant <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/covid-undermines-nepals-mother-child-gains">gains in maternal and neonatal healthcare</a> in the last 25 years, but the gains have stalled and the country may not meet global targets. The national maternal mortality rate (MMR) dropped from 536 per 100,000 live births in 1996 to 151 by 2021. This progress was driven by improvements in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/altruistic-healthcare-models-in-nepal">healthcare infrastructure</a>, the work of female health volunteers, improvements in perinatal care and a significant increase in hospital deliveries.&nbsp; The National Safe Motherhood Program, Ama Surakshya initiative and the Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHV) have contributed to progress in reducing MMR and increasing institutional deliveries. But the World Health Organisation (WHO) 2025 report puts Nepal’s MMR at 142 per 100,000 live births, which means it has flatlined for the past four years.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250522170556_24b9e04295150a8a64ff56f457e3faebd84eaa22a3e3521499ac17c23ec48027.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250522170556_24b9e04295150a8a64ff56f457e3faebd84eaa22a3e3521499ac17c23ec48027" data-rendition-name="original" width="790" height="542" loading="lazy" alt="Maternal health map NT"> </figure>  The national MMR average hides regional disparities, with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/remove-barriers-to-life-saving-drug-to-prevent-maternal-deaths">maternal deaths </a>remaining high in Lumbini (207) and Karnali (172). Despite Lumbini having a relatively higher <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/age-no-bar-to-go-to-school">female literacy</a>, the province has <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/infant-deaths-up-during-nepal-lockdown">low institutional deliveries</a> and poor hospital care. Similarly, there are wide disparities among<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15775"> ethnic communities </a>and socio-economic groups. &nbsp; “Societal norms, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/educating-girls-to-break-cycle-of-poverty?fbclid=IwAR0XzGho9fTElYVPdnWnajc6AWidkzs-ekeFSnMi8EXh0FVsyGOl8Umwwvo">education for girls</a>, and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/The-right%20-to-have-rights,2656">gender rights </a>play a critical role in shaping maternal and women's health outcomes,” explains public health expert Aruna Uprety. “Comprehensive awareness about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/support-for-reproductive-health-of-nepali-women">sexual and reproductive health </a>is essential, especially in rural areas where there is still a significant knowledge gap.” Indeed, there is a direct inverse correlation between female literacy and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/can-nepal-end-child-marriage-by-2030-gmx92qf3">child marriage </a>with MMR across Nepal. The cause of maternal deaths, perinatal care including post-partum haemorrhage need particular focus.&nbsp; Under Nepal’s national Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the target is to reduce MMR to 116 by 2030, against a global target of 70 per 100,000 live births.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250522170556_2ce41f5b625cb005b9477861d0c208e806601ce7eaa804d525030282675e3856.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250522170556_2ce41f5b625cb005b9477861d0c208e806601ce7eaa804d525030282675e3856" data-rendition-name="original" width="377" height="367" loading="lazy" alt="Maternal health graph NT"> </figure>  The National Planning Commission has also set its own target to improve maternal health outcomes, but they are inconsistent— while one section of its 16th National Plan sets a MMR goal of 100 by 2029, another section of the same document presents a more ambitious goal of 85. Such inconsistency even in target-setting creates confusion and undermines planning efforts, in monitoring, and fulfilment of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16444">maternal health goals</a> — especially when existing health statistics are unreliable to begin with. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-slaughter-of-our-daughters">The slaughter of our daughters</a>, Shristi Karki “Conflicting targets and the lack of clarity at the highest levels of national planning create uncertainty for maternal health professionals, making it difficult to align their efforts and strategies,” says Laxmi Tamang, South East Asia Board Member of the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM).&nbsp; Meanwhile, issues with budget deployment, and a lack of coordination between local and international agencies have also affected maternal and child health outcomes, which has been further exacerbated by the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">USAID funding freeze</a>. The aid agency had allocated $72 million to reduce MMR and enhance access to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/is-free-health-care-possible-in-nepal">healthcare in Nepal</a> for this year.&nbsp; Laws targeted towards sexual and reproductive health have played a significant role in improving maternal health outcomes in Nepal. Legalisation in 2002 brought down the number of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/globe-rallies-to-aid-nepals-women,3841">unsafe abortions</a>. Better access to reproductive health also reduced conditions including uterine prolapse.&nbsp; Currently, over half of the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/saving-nepali-mothers-and-babies-district-by-district"> maternal deaths in Nepal</a> occur at health facilities, 26% at home and 17% during patient transport or referrals.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250522170556_983e3b652b38cee4a1d977742e0211dd85c1ab8085f961876dde1ada78c7c2ac.jpg" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="20250522170556_983e3b652b38cee4a1d977742e0211dd85c1ab8085f961876dde1ada78c7c2ac" data-rendition-name="original" width="359" height="329" loading="lazy" alt="Maternal health pie chart NT"> </figure>  “Legal remedies have definitely helped to reduce maternal mortality rates, but it is important that both men and women be informed about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/caring-for-nepals-women?%2F">women’s health</a>,” says Uprety. However, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-has-progress-in-saving-women-s-lives-stalled">Nepal’s maternal health sector</a> is unlikely to see meaningful progress as long as critical <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nursing-grievances-against-the-state">shortages of skilled health providers</a> persist and the retention of trained professionals remains weak. Strengthening legislation, scaling training, and improving rural infrastructure are critical to aligning Nepal with global standards and achieving SDG maternal health targets by 2030. Says Tamang: “Maternal health must be recognised as a fundamental gender issue. Implementing existing policies, as well as forming a gender-responsive budget and increasing targeted investments in this sector are essential to ensuring equitable and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-far-from-hitting-contraceptive-target">effective healthcare for women</a>.” <h2>Midwives save lives</h2> Along with doctors and nurses, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/midwives-to-the-rescue-in-nepal">midwives are crucial to Nepal’s maternal health </a>workforce, and play an important role in improving Nepal’s maternal health and childcare outcomes. However, those working in midwifery are hindered by the lack of professional recognition and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-less-and-less-able-to-feed-itself">systemic challenges in Nepal</a>, leading to discontent among doctors and nurses in the maternal, reproductive and child care sectors, who fear they will be replaced by midwives.&nbsp; There is a lack of clarity even within the medical community about the job description for doctors and nurses, versus that of midwives. While nurses are taught about multiple human body systems, midwives are specifically trained in sexual and reproductive health to assist in both home and institutional deliveries.&nbsp; Obstetric nursing involves working alongside doctors to administer perinatal care. In contrast, midwives are exclusively trained to only handle pregnancies, deliveries, and postnatal care that are without complications. &nbsp; The introduction of midwifery education in Nepal in 2016 marked a significant step toward improving maternal and newborn health outcomes. But there are currently only 91 professionally trained midwives across the country, which is significantly short of Nepal’s target of having 6,410 midwives by 2030.&nbsp; Says Kiran Bajracharya, founder and former president of the Midwifery Society of Nepal (MIDSON), “A trained midwife is capable of reducing two-thirds of prevalent maternal deaths in Nepal.” Even so, there have been some notable gains: the establishment of the Midwife-Led Antenatal Clinic (MLAC) at Paropakar Maternity and Women’s Hospital in Kathmandu in 2023 placed professional midwives at the centre of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/what-can-be-more-fulfilling-than-saving-lives">maternal health services</a> for the first time in an institutional setting, marking a shift in antenatal care in Nepal. The MLAC has provided personalised care, counselling, and emotional support to over 4,000 pregnant women so far. And unlike the obstetrician model of care, deliveries involving midwives at the MLAC allow husbands and partners to be present during childbirth. “It is imperative that the government prioritise midwifery as a key step toward strengthening the maternal health system,” says Bajracharya. “There is an urgent need to create dedicated positions and deploy trained personnel to address existing workforce gaps.”

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Nepal lagging in safe motherhood

On a certain February morning earlier this year, we gathered in the drawing room of a friend, reading through the drafts of a set of four books for children, by Luja Mathema. The books, “Unstoppable Women Series” features four Nepali women who are icons of courage, intelligence and perseverance. It was the first time I was seeing books for children on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/50-outstanding-women-of-nepal">female figures from Nepal</a>. Our friend Prawin Adhikari, who also translated the books from English into Nepali, had made available his space so that Luja, Iva Maharjan, and I could join him to proofread the books, created over a period of 18 months. Across a slow day, punctuated by coffees and teas, we read the stories about these four women: Entrepreneur<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/ambica-shrestha-1933-2024-9kaynjv7"> Late Ambica Shrestha</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-singing-nun-is-a-hit-in-china">Ani Choying Drolma</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/the-goal-is-empowerment-and-independence-of-women">Jurist Sapana Pradhan Malla</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/pasang-lhamu-sherpa-the-film">Mountaineer Late Pasang Lhamu Sherpa</a>. The first book I picked was the one on Ani Choying Drolma, someone I had met through my work as a journalist. The first time I saw her, she was sat on the floor of a raised platform inside a hall at Yak and Yeti, performing to an audience to raise funds for the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18218">Aryatara School for nuns</a>. I was a rookie reporter and it was one of my first stories. But seated on the floor as Ani’s chants filled the room I felt I had been removed to someplace else. I had been taken on an inward journey, not just one of music but one of profound gratitude. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7229#.YVVcFC8w3u0">Pilgrim's progress</a>, Alexandra Alter I went back to the newsroom, holding three DV tapes to edit, not knowing how I would fit the story of such force in a two-minute broadcast. But I did anyway. Between my news editor Binod Bhattarai and I, we came up with the title, “the singing nun”, for the story. A colleague from The Kathmandu Post came over to watch the tapes and write the story-- he would call her the singing nun, too. Anchor story, Page 1. The experience of writing/producing a story can shift something in you. Covering Ani's performance was such an experience for me. I came away feeling braver. It is this change that Luja hopes to inspire in children through the books she has written. Between proofing, I had asked Luja what had drawn her to write the books and she said she had written them for her daughter, because she found that when buying books, she was hardly ever able to find books about female heroes. So, she felt the need to write them herself!&nbsp; “I want my daughter, as well as the children of Nepal and all over to learn about these individuals and their positive impact in our society,” says Luja whoa lso works as a Gender and Communications consultant outside of her writing career. “I want the children to be encouraged, excited, and hopeful. Having access to such stories at a young age is crucial to increase children’s awareness about all the possibilities in the world.” Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Israeli-authors-in-Nepal,4223#google_vignette">Imagining better futures</a>, Duksangh Sherpa A couple of years ago, I was watching an animated film with my nephew, which had a female ship captain as the lead. I recall how fascinated my nephew was while watching the film. He had many questions about the character. One of the things he asked me was how come he had never watched a film with “girl captains” before? So, it is these beginnings that count and it is what excites me about Luja’s books. Spending a day proofing her books is the only time I’ve ever met Luja. But in those few hours, I was fascinated by her drive to get the books done and to put them out on the shelves for children to come find them. “I hope that both children and parents enjoy the stories of these unstoppable women from Nepal,” says Luja. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/for-children-about-children">For children, about children</a>, Ashish Dhakal The second book I picked to proof from the set was the one on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/ambica-shrestha-92-442e9mix">Ambica Shrestha</a>, who was still among us when we were reading together that day. When we come to the part where she arrives in Darjeeling and joins Loreto Convent, there’s an illustration of her looking out through the window of the convent with a friend. At that, I teared up and I suppose there was a catch in my voice. I had met Ambica Shrestha for the first time at a Loreto alumni meeting. And every time I met her after that, she said hello. What I really took away from seeing her each time was the way she carried herself-- always so tall in the things she did and never afraid. As a fellow alumna, I hoped I had somehow inherited some of her traits. The common thread that binds the four books is the determination and strength of character of all the four women featured. The text is replete with anecdotes of inner strength that helped them forge unique paths.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240901080948_aab1f583e5c1f37f5f69fc48d44dd6b9fdf29a3e9b6348180bff197d16435b70.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20240901080948_aab1f583e5c1f37f5f69fc48d44dd6b9fdf29a3e9b6348180bff197d16435b70" data-rendition-name="original" width="1426" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Passing the baton on, books on female figures from Nepal NT"> <figcaption>Luja Mathema and her books.</figcaption> </figure>  The books series by Luja reminds one of the <a href="https://www.rebelgirls.com/products/good-night-stories-for-rebel-girls">Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls</a> series, stories about girls from around the world who went on to do great things. The marvel in doing so is that even when one might only be doing it for oneself sometimes, the drive and the courage eventually serves as inspiration for others. And while Luja’s attempt in bringing these books together was rooted in the intent to gift them to her own daughter, she has gone on to set substantial precedents for others to create books about Nepali women. The books are illustrated by artists <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/365-is-not-just-a-number">Prakash Ranjit</a>, Shaili Malla and Nhuja Shakya. Shaili captures some details of Boudha in the illustrations that you would only notice if you grew up in the vicinity. Nhuja’s illustration on the last page of the book on Pasang Lhamu is steeped in pathos, and yet salvages the book from what might have been a dreary ending. And on a personal note, Prakash’s drawings of LC, makes me want to visit Darjeeling. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/female-foeticide-to-football">Female foeticide to football</a>, Srijana Singh Thakuri What I like most about these books is that they are bilingual. The Nepali and the English text appear alongside each other on each page. From my experience of reading to my nephew at bedtime, I do wish that the font size had been larger and more eye-friendly. Regardless, I can’t wait to bring the books home to my nephew, so I can share with him the stories of the Unstoppable Ambica, Ani, Pasang and Sapana. The books, published by Nepalaya, will be launched in Kathmandu on September 1, 2024. Suburban Tales is a monthly column in Nepali Times based on real people (with some names changed) in Pratibha’s life.

Pratibha Tuladhar

The Unstoppables

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/6369045e9c7e80680e037d1djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="3000" height="2000"/><figcaption>(Left to right) Soniya Kumary Sada eloped when 16 after her Grade 10 exam, but her husband is away at work in India and she is prevented from studying by her in-laws. Sudesh Rishidev from the Musar community was married at 18, at a time when he had no idea what a husband’s responsibilities were. Navin Rishidev is Sudesh’s friend and was married when he was 18 and his wife was 14 because his parents wanted someone to help with the cooking.</figcaption></figure>Given Nepal’s poor record in enforcement and implementation, it is a given that here, passing laws are not enough. This is glaringly evident in the average age of marriage, which is stuck at 18 despite law raising the minimum marriage age to 20.Data shows that <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/ending-child-marriage-in-Nepal,3864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">37% of girls in Nepal marry before the age of 18</a>, and 10% are still married by the age of 15. This is the third highest rate of child marriage in South Asia after Bangladesh and India. Despite the rise in female literacy child marriage has not gone down significantly. This is taken as a proof that education is slow to reform deep-rooted patriarchy.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/child-marriage-in-Nepal,3863" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Child marriage</a> is highest in districts with low female literacy and the Tarai districts have a particularly high rate. Experts say that even if marriage age can be deferred to 16 for boys and girls in the Tarai, it will be an achievement. This has thrown the government’s target to eradicate child marriage by 2030 in doubt.At a Girl Summit for the youth of Province 1 and 2 here last month, local government officials, lawmakers all made the right noises, expressing commitment to meet the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/on-air-radio-ro-deter-child-marriage,4185" target="_blank" rel="noopener">zero child marriage goal by educating, empowering and employing girls</a>. They heard from adults who were married when they were children, and were informed of pressures in male-dominated society from family and the influence of the Internet in encouraging early relationships lately. The Summit's motto was: ‘Educate Girls To Save Girls’.Sudesh Rishidev from a Musar community in Rangeli of Morang was 18 when he was married and did not know a husband’s responsibilities. “I knew I had to look after my family, but did not know how,” recalls Rishidev, now a 26-year-old anti-child marriage campaigner.Navin Rishidev is Sudesh’s friend and is now 28, but he was married when he was 18 and his wife was 14. His parents had five other children, and wanted him married only so they could have a daughter-in-law to help with the household chores. Today Navin is a well-known Maitihili singer and uses his musical talent to raise awareness against child marriages.Soniya Kumari Sada from Chandranagar eloped with Indrajit Sada when she was 16, just after her Grade 10 exam. However, with her husband working in India, her in-laws refused to let her study and banished her back to her parent’s home. She is now worried about her future.Pooja Shah, 18, from Janakpur had to take care of her mother and three siblings after her father died. Relenting to pressure from her mother to get married, she wedded 21-year-old Sarkar Shah, but says: “I did this for my mother, who was facing financial pressure to raise the family.” She is sad about dropping out of school, but understands why her mother forced her to do it.Rani Mahato is now 37 and an active member of a political party, but was married when she was 11. “I was not even aware that I had been married,” recalls Mahato, who is now district vice-chair of her party. She is glad the average age of marriage has climbed to 17, even though it is still low.Ajay Kumar Rishidev, from Morang is now 23 and in Grade 12. He is under pressure from family to get married but has evolved a clever strategy to deal with it: he brings his friends to talk to his parents, or he disappears from his home when he hears that prospective bride families are visiting.This has helped him to stay single till now, an he is involved in performing street dramas to show the Musar communities reasons on why child marriage deprives women of opportunities in life.Saroj K Patel, ward Chair of Jeetu Simra Sub Municipality in Province 2, is with the Rastriya Janata Party, but says the campaign against child marriage crosses party lines. But he adds that banning registration of marriage below 20 is depriving many young married women of their rights.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/mr-province-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chief Minister of Province 2 Lal Babu Raut</a> is convinced that increasing female literacy is the first order of business to fight patriarchy and caste system that lie at the high rate of child marriages in the Tarai. He is trying to amend the relevant clauses in the Civil Laws, and impose a 50% quota in the provincial police.Raut seems to know what he is talking about when he says: “Women are less corrupt than men, so if they are educated and employed, they will also benefit along with their families and the community.”namrata1964@yahoo.comRead also:<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/child-marriage-in-Nepal,3863" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Far too young</a>, Sonia Awale<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/on-air-radio-ro-deter-child-marriage,4185" target="_blank" rel="noopener">On air to deter child marriage</a>, Shipra Jha<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/ending-child-marriage-in-Nepal,3864" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Not just a social problem, but an economic one</a>, Elizabeth Hanna Satow

Can Nepal end child marriage by 2030?

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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