71 climbers to scale Everest

Nepal's Department of Tourism has said that 71 climbers will scale the Everest this spring season, nearly a year after the devastating earthquake and avalanche that struck the Himalayan nation.

"Till date, 10 expeditions comprising 71 mountaineers have applied to the Department of Tourism seeking permits to attempt to climb Mt Everest as diversified mountaineers are expected to arrive in the country in the next couple of weeks," the Himalayan Times quoted Department of Tourism official Gyanendra Kumar Shrestha as saying.

The Nepal Government had earlier decided to extend the climbing permits of all 2015 spring expeditions by two years.

Shrestha said that this decision would certainly attract more climbers in the next couple of weeks.

Nepal since hit by earthquake and avalanche on its Everest's base camp has struggled hard to revive the country's tourism sector, the major sector for revenue.

Meanwhile, 31 climbers from seven teams have applied for permits for few other peaks, including Mt Lhotse, Mt Nuptse and Mt Dhaulagiri. The Department of Tourism has already issued two permits for Mt Annapurna and Mt Saribung.

The earthquake last year forced at least 44 local trekking companies, running 103 expeditions with 801 climbers on different mountains last spring, to abandon climbing activities.