Record 274 climbers summit Everest from Nepalese side in single day | Mount Everest

After the spring season started late due to the danger of falling ice on the normal tourist route, a record number of 274 climbers from Nepal reached the summit of Mount Everest in one day.

Rishi Ram Bhandari of the Nepal Expedition Operators Association said climbers took advantage of clear skies on Wednesday.

“This is the highest number of climbers ever in a single day,” Bhandari told Reuters, referring to the Nepalese record, adding that the number could increase because some climbers who have reached the summit have not yet notified the base camp.

All but one of the climbers reached the summit with the help of Sherpa guides and supplemented with bottled oxygen. Ecuadorian climber Marcelo Segovia reached the summit while climbing independently and without oxygen.

Mountaineering experts often criticize Nepal for allowing large numbers of climbers to ascend the mountain, sometimes leading to risky jams or long queues in the “death zone” area below the summit, where natural oxygen levels are below those necessary for human survival.

The big meeting, which occurred on a single day, seems to have taken place when climbers waiting in the higher camps for better wind conditions were joined by climbers from the lower camps, with some reporting queues and a slow climbing pace.

The 8,849-metre (29,032 ft) peak can be scaled from the southern face of Nepal or the northern face of China’s Tibet. There were 223 climbers on the Nepal side and 113 climbers on the Chinese side at the summit on May 22, 2019. However, Chinese authorities closed the route this year.

This week, experienced mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa broke her own Everest summit record by climbing the summit for the 32nd time. Its closest rival, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, reached the top for the 30th time this week. Additionally, Lhakpa Sherpa broke the record for the most summits by a female climber by climbing Everest for the 11th time.

This year’s Everest climbing season got off to a late start due to the risk posed by a giant glacier ice cliff hanging over the main route to the summit.

It is expected that 494 climbers and the same number of Sherpa guides will attempt to climb the mountain by the end of May, when the peak climbing season ends.

Thousands of people have climbed Mount Everest, which was first climbed on May 29, 1953 by Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary.

Tourism Ministry official Himal Gautam said he received preliminary information that more than 250 people had climbed the peak on Wednesday.

“We are waiting for the climbers to return, provide photographs and other evidence to prove their climbs and issue them with climbing certificates,” Gautam told Reuters. “Only then can we verify the figures.”

Nepal has issued 494 permits to climb Everest this year, each costing $15,000.

Reuters and AP contributed to this article