Despite a steady drop in tourist arrivals to Nepal, there's good news on the mountaineering front. Tourism ministry officials say 134 climbing expeditions, including 23 American, 13 French and 12 Japanese expeditions received permits to climb in the Nepal Himalaya in 2002 resulting in revenue amounting to Rs 120 million. That's the highest number of expeditions the country has seen since 1998 when 141 expeditions were permitted to climb in Nepal. Officials say the increase in expeditions is a result of recent amendments to climbing regulations, but others attribute it to the Everest 50th anniversary year. Most of the climbing is concentrated in the Solukhumbu, Annapurna, Langtang and Kanchanjunga regions.