Nepal lets Everest permit dodger off $22,000 fine

Nepal said Friday that a South African who tried to climb Mount Everest without a permit can go home without paying a $22,000 fine, but banned him from mountaineering there for 10 years, reports AFP.
Ryan Sean Davy, 43, was found hiding in a cave near Everest base camp nearly two weeks ago after being spotted on the world's highest mountain without a $11,000 climbing permit.
The South African, who has no prior mountaineering experience, said he could not afford the hefty permit fee but wanted to scale Everest and document his experience in a book and film. "The tourism department has excused me and given me permission to go home," Davy told AFP on Friday.The head of the tourism department confirmed that Davy had been let off the heavy fine and just given a 10-year ban on climbing mountains in Nepal.
"We have imposed a 10 year ban on him against mountaineering in Nepal. No fine has been imposed," said Dinesh Bhattarai, head of the tourism department.
The department had previously said they were looking at converting the fine to a jail sentence of up to four years if the South African could not pay."I've not yet quite processed it but, yeah, I'm ecstatic. I thought they would give me at least two months to a year (in jail). So this is a big surprise. I better leave before they change their mind," Davy said, adding that he was made to hand over the memory cards from his camera.

 

Nepal lets Everest permit dodger off $22,000 fine

Nepal said Friday that a South African who tried to climb Mount Everest without a permit can go home without paying a $22,000 fine, but banned him from mountaineering there for 10 years, reports AFP. Ryan Sean Davy, 43, was found hiding in a cave near Everest base camp nearly two weeks ago after being spotted on the worlds highest mountain without a $11,000 climbing permit. The South African, who has no prior mountaineering experience, said he could not afford the hefty permit fee but wanted to scale Everest and document his experience in a book and film. The tourism department has excused me and given me permission to go home, Davy told AFP on Friday.The head of the tourism department confirmed that Davy had been let off the heavy fine and just given a 10-year ban on climbing mountains in Nepal. We have imposed a 10 year ban on him against mountaineering in Nepal. No fine has been imposed, said Dinesh Bhattarai, head of the tourism department. The department had previously said they were looking at converting the fine to a jail sentence of up to four years if the South African could not pay.Ive not yet quite processed it but, yeah, Im ecstatic. I thought they would give me at least two months to a year (in jail). So this is a big surprise. I better leave before they change their mind, Davy said, adding that he was made to hand over the memory cards from his camera.