Kathmandu, April 26 -- In the heart of the Himalayas, where dreams soar as high as the mountains themselves, Nepal is drawing a new line in the snow.

No longer will just any climber with ambition and a permit be able to attempt the world's highest peak-Mount Everest. A new draft law says: Prove yourself first.

The 8,848.86-metre Everest is about to get a stricter gatekeeper.

According to the Integrated Tourism Bill registered in Nepal's upper house of Parliament on April 18, any climber wishing to set foot on Everest must first have conquered a mountain over 7,000 metres.

This isn't the first time Nepal has tried to raise the bar.

Back in 1995-96, the government had made it compulsory for potential climbers to summit a 6,000-metre pe...