Qomolangma climbing season likely to be called off for 2nd straight year

Mountaineering officials said that the base camp has already been empty as all the teams have returned to Kathmandu and their homelands.

Ginesh Sindurakaar, CEO of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, told Xinhua "It's been confirmed that the route cannot be ready. Most of the climbers have already returned to their nations and the injured have been sent to hospitals by air ambulances."

This year, the tourism department has issued climbing permits to 370 individuals for this spring climbing season.

Temba Tsheri Sherpa of Dreamers Destination Expedition Pvt. Ltd. told Xinhua "It's a huge loss to mountain tourism business owing to a halt in climbing for two consecutive years. There is no calculation for the losses at all."

From his company Dreamers Destination Expedition, 25 foreigners had received the climbing permit, among which 3 foreigners including one Chinese, one American and one Japanese lost their lives in an avalanche.

The Sherpa added "From my team alone, more than 60 local staff have been injured and are undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Kathmandu."

The period between April and May is considered as the peak tourist season for climbing and trekking in the region.

The Qomolangma expedition was halted even in 2014 following the deaths of 16 Sherpa guides in a snow disaster, which had grabbed the international attention to the risks and challenges of climbing the peak.

Regarding the refunding of royalty fees to the climbers, the Department of Tourism is yet to take any action as the priority is on rescue and relief program for the earthquake victims.