and support the children of their sherpas through boarding schools, so it s quite the special relationship. let s talk a bit out about everest in general. nepal was largely closed during a pandemic, a big hit on the tourist income without these tourists coming in. are things going to be back to normal again this year? is there a risk also that we ll some of the huge numbers of climbers congregating on the slopes that we ve seen in the past? no, this year nepal has issued 316 permits to foreigners. last year it was 408 and that was a record. it s down for two reasons china has very strict controls over who leaves the country to climb. and also india, indian climbers rely heavily on sponsorship to climb everest, so that really went on hold with covid. this year is really more of a normal year, as in maybe four orfive years ago. you double the number of foreigners because that s the number of sherpas that will be supporting them it s basically a 1 to 1 ratio. also, right now, we are h
let s talk a bit out about everest in general. nepal was largely closed during a pandemic, a big hit on the tourist income without these tourists coming in. are things going to be back to normal again this year? is there a risk also that we ll some of the huge numbers of climbers congregating on the slopes that we ve seen in the past? no, this year nepal has issued 316 permits to foreigners. last year it was 408 and that was a record. it s down for two reasons china has very strict controls over who leaves the country to climb. and also india, indian climbers rely heavily on sponsorship to climb everest, so that really went on hold with covid. this year is really more of a normal year, as in maybe four orfive years ago. you double the number of foreigners because that s the number of sherpas that will be supporting them it s basically a 1 to 1 ratio. also, right now, we are having an incredibly unusual season with the jetstream not sitting on top of the summit of