Nepal's 'hidden' mountains draw new wave of climbers | International

KATHMANDU, Oct 21, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Nepal's mountains including Everest have long drawn climbers from across the world, but a growing community is exploring hidden summits promising solitude and the chance to be first to the top. The Himalayan nation is home to eight of the world's 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of climbers every year, making mountaineering a lucrative business. While commercial expeditions dominate on Everest and other 8,000-metre (26,246-foot) giants, a new generation of adventurers is looking sideways rather than upward -- towards the countless 6,000- and 7,000m summits studding Nepal. The country has 462 peaks open for climbing and around a hundred have never been summited. "If you are only interested in the height of the...