Veteran climbers of Mount Everest are skeptical that proposed new regulations by the Nepalese government to tighten the permit process for adventurers will address the root causes of this year's heavy death toll on the world's tallest peak.
American mountaineers Ed Viesturs and Alan Arnette said planned new laws — if they are introduced at all — are unlikely to tackle the growing trend of inexperienced climbers rushing in packs to scale the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) Himalayan peak.
"I've seen this movie so many times it's totally predictable," Arnette said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "Every year since 2013, something goes wrong and they (the Nepal government) announce all these new rules and never implement them."