Nepal has failed to 'decentralise' Himalayan mountaineering from Mt. Everest: Experts

Nepal's years-old plan to spread out mountaineering activities across its Himalayas to ease pressure on certain mountains including Mount Everest has had little effect, according to experts.

A third of the hundreds of peaks open to climbing see no visitors at all.

According to professional mountaineering operators, this is because of a focus on renowned mountains over lesser-known peaks. But they say a lack of infrastructure development, in particular in the far west of the country, is also to blame, reports BBC News.

Plans to "decentralise" mountaineering and promote the western region has been confined to paper only, they say.

Ang Tshering Sherpa, former chairman of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), a professional body of mountaineers said they have offered their expertise and also proposed to bring in foreign experts to identify and promote mountains feasible for mountaineering, but the government has not been quite supportive.

Government officials respond that many such ideas are pushed by private mountaineering operators only in their own business interests.

The Everest region in eastern Nepal and few mountains in the western part see most of the expedition teams, and that has raised concerns mainly among environmentalists.

Mount Manasalu and certain peaks in the Annapurna region in western Nepal are the other most climbed mountains.

Of the 1,310 mountains identified as appropriate for mountaineering in the Nepalese Himalayas, nearly 330 are opened for mountaineers. But only certain mountains in the Everest and Annapurna regions see the crowds.

In a bid to get climbers in the far western region, the government has even waived the substantial climbing fees for 49 mountains in that area for many years now.

Sushil Ghimire, secretary of the tourism ministry said they would continue the policy for the next five years and there will soon be a cabinet decision on it.