Image copyright Ryan Sean Davy/Facebook Image caption Mr Davy says that he was trying to climb Everest solo at the time he was detained by officials 
 
 A man who tried to climb Mount Everest without paying the $11,000 (£8,510) permit fee has been detained after being caught by officials and told to expect a heavy fine. 
 
 South African Ryan Sean Davy, 43, says he climbed alone to a height of 7,300m (24,000ft) before being found hiding in a cave. 
 
 He has apologised but complained of being treated "like a murderer". 
 
 It is extremely rare for someone to attempt climbing Everest by themselves. 
 
 The overwhelming majority of climbers only tackle the highest mountain in the world with the help of at least one guide and a well-equipped support team at base camp. 
 
 Nepal relies heavily on income generated from Everest expeditions. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The dangers of Mount Everest 
 
 A tourism ministry official told the BBC Mr Davy had tried to escape two government climbing officers on Friday who saw him near the base camp. They followed him to an isolated camp that he had set up in a cave to avoid being spotted. 
 
 The official said they had confiscated his passport on suspicion of not having an Everest permit and ordered him to go to the capital Kathmandu, where his paperwork could be reclaimed from the tourism department. But so far, the official added, Mr Davy has failed to present himself. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Few other climbers attempt to climb Mount Everest on their own 
 
 "He was telling us that he didn't have enough money so he would take the trekking route to reach Kathmandu," the official said. 
 
 "Although we don't know where exactly he is now we do know he's breached the law and needs to face legal consequences." 
 
 Mr Davy said on Facebook: "Expedition companies have no time for wannabe Everesters with no money so someone turned me in." 
 
 He said he had been "harassed at base camp to a point that I honestly thought I was going to get stoned to death right there". 
 
 "I was treated like a murderer," he wrote. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Few other climbers attempt to climb Mount Everest on their own 
 
 The climber said he could expect to spend time in jail in addition to a fine of $22,000. 
 
 He said he was ashamed at not being able to not afford the permit after all the help he had received from family and supporters during his training. 
 
 Now his "stealth entry on to Everest" had been thwarted, he said, he could ask for forgiveness from "a lot of people who are really upset" with him. 

 South African climber Ryan Sean Davy attempted to scale Mount Everest on his own. 
 
 A South African attempting to climb Mount Everest alone and without a permit has been ordered off the mountain, had his passport confiscated and will be fined $22,000, an official said Monday. Ryan Sean Davy, 43, told officials at base camp that he had climbed alone as far as camp two - 6,400 metres (21,000 feet) - to acclimatise ahead of a summit push before he was caught.Foreigners have to pay the Nepal government $11,000 for permission to climb the 8,848 metre (29,030 foot) peak - a major earner for the impoverished country."I saw him alone near base camp so I approached him and he ran away," said Gyanendra Shresth, the government liason officer at base camp."I followed him with my friend and found him hiding in a cave nearby," he told AFP."He had set up camp in an isolated place to avoid government officials."It is highly unusual for a foreign climber to attempt to scale Everest alone -- most do so with the help of at least one Sherpa guide and a large support team at base camp.Davy could be banned from Nepal for five years or face a 10-year ban on climbing in the country.Shresth said he had also seized Davy's passport and told him to return to Kathmandu to retrieve it.He will also be fined $22,000 - double the cost of the permit.Davy could not be reached for comment, but photos on a Facebook page under his name appear to show a climber traversing the Khumbu Icefall, which lies between base camp and camp one.In an accompanying post, Davy -- who identifies himself as a director and producer -- said that he had reached a height of 7,010 metres in six hours."When I heard that most of the expeditions on Everest had retreated to base camp because of incoming weather, I made my move," read the post.AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the Facebook page.Davy told officials that he didn't have enough money to buy a flight from the Everest region to Kathmandu to collect his passport. He said he would instead walk and then catch a bus -- a journey that would take at least four days.Last year, an Indian couple was banned from Nepal after they faked photographs purporting to show them at the top of Everest. The pair -- both police constables -- superimposed themselves and their banners onto photos taken by another Indian climber of his Everest summit.
– A South African man was scooped up by authorities on Mount Everest after attempting to climb the mountain alone and without a permit. As a result, Ryan Sean Davy, 43, now faces a fine of $22,000, reports the BBC. In a Facebook post, Davy explains that he reached the mountain only to learn that he couldn't afford the $11,000 solo permit because of "hidden costs." He also figured his lack of "previous mountaineering experience on record" would prevent him from getting permission. Rather than disappoint his supporters back home in Johannesburg, he says he opted for "a stealth entry." How far he got is unclear: He claims on Facebook to have climbed 24,000 of the mountain's 29,029 feet; the AFP cites Nepalese officials who say Davy told them he made it to camp two, around 21,000 feet. He certainly made it to base camp: One official says Davy was spotted alone near it—Davy says he retreated there when a storm was rolling in—but fled into a cave and was apprehended. "He had set up camp in an isolated place" to avoid detection, says the official. Davy sounded generally apologetic on Facebook, but he also complained about his treatment, saying that he was "treated like a murderer" once caught. He also wrote that "expedition companies have no time for wanna be Everesters with no money." He now has to head back to Kathmandu to pick up his passport. It's not clear how Davy will manage to pay a $22,000 fine if he couldn't afford half that much for a permit, but he told his supporters on Facebook not to pitch in. "This was my doing and I took the risks," he writes. "I am accountable." (A man just died in pursuit of an Everest record.)