In March 2020, the Nepalese government announced that it was shutting down expeditions to Mt Everest for the rest of the climbing season due to the global coronavirus pandemic. In an age when there are now so many people summiting the world's highest mountain (900 in 2019 alone), with queues snaking up its slopes and piles of rubbish left behind, the closure has prompted officials to reconsider the mountain's future.