Nepal Supreme Court Overturns Rules Banning Disabled Climbers

Yesterday, The Adventure Blogger posted a story about a legal brief that was filed with the Supreme Court in Nepal asking to overturn new regulations that banned disabled climbers from Everest, most notably blind mountaineers and double amputees. This new rule has been widely criticized in the mountaineering community, and apparently rightly so. The highest court in Nepal took very little time in rendering its judgement, ordering the government to remove the clause altogether.

Several lawyers argued in front of the court on behalf of disabled climbers saying that the new rules were discriminatory against the disabled. They argued that not only were the new regulations unconstitutional under Nepali law, but they were in violation of United Nations conventions as well. Apparently, those arguments were well founded, as the five-person Supreme Court quickly issued a request to the Council of Ministers in Nepal to withdraw these new regulations.

This is good news for a number of climbers with disabilities who had hoped to attempt Everest this year or next. Most notably amongst them is Hari Budha Magar, a double-amputee who summited Mera Peak this past autumn and had hoped to potential go to Everest this spring. Magar lost both of his legs above the knee while serving as a British Ghurka soldier in Afghanistan.

Read More Here