KATHMANDU, Oct 4, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A team of climbers including a Bahrain
prince has completed the first summit of a Nepal Himalayan peak this season
after being given permission despite a coronavirus ban on tourist arrivals.
The group, which includes members of the Bahrain Royal Guard and three
Britons, climbed the 6,119-metre (20,075-foot) Lobuche, expedition organiser
Seven Summits Treks told AFP.
It was not revealed if all 18 members of the team reached the summit, a
precursor to them next tackling the 8,163-metre Manaslu, the world’s eighth-
highest mountain.
Tourists and climbers are officially barred from the country until mid-
October.
The team arrived in Nepal in mid-September and quarantined in the capital
Kathmandu for a week before heading to Everest base camp and on to Lobuche.
More than 50 Sherpas are part of the expedition, but the identity of the
royal climber was not disclosed.
The group plans to climb Everest next year.
Nepal closed its borders in March and grounded international flights just
ahead of the busy spring climbing season, devastating the local tourism
sector.
The country of 28 million people has recorded an average of 1,300 daily
infections since August, for a total of more than 86,000 cases and 535
deaths.
Limited international flights resumed last month, but only for citizens
and foreign diplomats.