Trekking and mountaineering companies hoping to capitalise on the recent resurgence of tourism in the country may be slightly disappointed with the coming spring season that begins in March.

Despite peace efforts and improved security, very few teams have applied for permission to climb various mountains. Election uncertainty and the recent spate of protests in the Tarai seem to have reduced the usual deluge of mountaineers to a trickle. "We should have received more than two dozen applications by now," says Gyanendra Shrestha at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation's mountaineering and trekking section. But Shrestha hopes that March will see more applications to make up for the unusually low funk right now.

Last spring saw 77 Chomolungma-bound teams, whereas this year up till now, only four have applied for permits. "We were expecting at least 40 expeditions to Chomolungma this season but it may now be difficult to go from four to 40" says Shrestha wryly. Trekkers still have the entire month of March to apply for their permits but it doesn't look like the numbers will come close to last year. There are three teams to Makalu but none so far to Manaslu, Ama Dablam, Lhotse or Thamserku, usually popular mountains. "There is a definite buzz about many expeditions, but none have applied for their permits yet. Maybe they're waiting for something," says Shrestha. Planned expeditions that have been in the news like the First Inclusive Women's Sagarmatha Expedition and 77-year old Min Bahadur Sherchan bid for Chomolungma, have yet to file their applications.

Despite the slow mountaineering season, officials at the ministry and the Nepal Tourism Board seem positive that trekking will see an increase. According to Deepak Raj Joshi at NTB, this year should see more trekkers in the Annapurna and Langtang regions while Chomolungma numbers should remain the same. NTB reports a 95 percent increase in hotel and lodge bookings along the trekking routes, a sure sign that trekkers will show up.

Last season's Maoist tax collection drive may have put off potential trekkers but it doesn't seem to be the only reason for uncertainty in the trekking market. "Unless our political situation stabilises and the government works at projecting a better image of Nepal abroad, our business cannot increase as expected," says Hira Dhamala of Karnali Excursions, a Kathmandu trekking agency. Dhamala claims that despite burgeoning political stability, many countries have still not relaxed their travel guidelines to Nepal. "Our trekkers now are those who've already been to Nepal before and know that the situation is not as bad as their governments make it out to be," says Dhamala. "We are not luring in new tourists."

According to the Trekkers' Information Management System (TIMS) implemented by the Trekking Agencies' Association Nepal (TAAN), this January and February saw a total of 1883 trekkers to various regions. This number is usually expected to double in the spring. There were more than a thousand trekkers to the Annapurna region while Everest saw a little over 530. This season, more tourists seem to prefer to go into Tibet than trek around Nepal. But Rara, Dolpo
and the Manaslu region are seeing more trekkers than before, says Deepak Raj Joshi.

Spring may not look so bright but with elections out of the way in April, peak mountaineering season later in the year looks optimistic. NTB expects trekking and mountaineering to increase in a big way and if the politics are under control by then, there's no reason why it shouldn't.

(Pranaya SJB Rana)