With Everest's Pricetag at $15K, Nepal Frees Up 97 Mountains

It's not only dangerous to take a crack at summiting Mount Everest, it's an exclusive and pricey club to try to join. With permit fees set to hit $15,000 next month (a $4,000 hike, and the first in nearly a decade), the BBC reports that Nepal is offering adventurers 97 different alternatives—in the form of making that many of its Himalayan mountains free to scale for the next two years. The move is aimed at drawing more climbers to the country's largely ignored northwestern peaks in Karnali and Sudurpaschim provinces, and thus drumming up tourism in the area as well. "Despite their breathtaking beauty, the number of tourists and mountaineers here is very low as access is so difficult. We hope the new provision will help," says Himal Gautam, director of Nepal's Tourism Department.

Lest one confuse the newly free mountains with the kiddie slopes, Reuters notes that they range in height between a rather steep 19,258 feet and 23,398 feet (Mount Everest towers at 29,032 feet). But they are so far off the beaten trail that only 68 climbers have attempted them in the last two years, and it's unclear if Nepal plans increased infrastructure to increase accessibility. In all, Nepal has 491 mountains open for climbing, though adventurers tend to focus on around 25 of those, primarily in the country's northeast and central regions. Climbing permits for those smaller mountains not on the free list will rise from $250 to $350 in September.