April 28: A total of 109 teams have so far acquired mountaineering expedition permit for this spring season.     
According to the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, some of the expedition teams have kicked off their attempts to climb 25 peaks. The teams comprise 876 aspiring climbers from within the country and aboard.     
According to the Mountaineering Section of the department, 302 climbers of 38 teams have alone received permits to climb the world's highest peak Mt Everest measuring 8848.86 meters for this spring season. Likewise, 97 climbers of nine teams have been granted permission to climb Mt Ama Dablam (6,814 meters).     
Similarly, four teams will be attempting to scale Mt Annapurna (8,011 meters), Mt Nuptse (7,861 meters), Mt Makalu (8,463) while two teams will be climbing Mt Dhaulagiri (8,167 meters). One team has been allowed to climb Mt Lhotse (8,516 meters).     
Likewise, four teams each have been granted permits to scale the Himlung Peak and the Dhambus Peak.     
The department has Rs 448.94 million in royalties by issuing mountaineering permits. -- RSS