Mount Everest chaos as 275 try to climb world’s highest mountain | World | News
Brave climbers hoping to scale the world’s tallest mountain have had their journey of a lifetime disrupted by a massive human traffic jam with record numbers of visitors. Footage shared on social media showed hundreds of people standing still as they climbed the Hillary Step, a 12-meter vertical rock on the way to Mount Everest in Asia.
“Our team spent about 3 hours to cross this area due to traffic congestion and difficult movement conditions at high altitude,” the Instagram caption reads. “Conditions were tense as delays increased the time spent above 8,000 metres, where oxygen levels are critically low and every extra minute becomes physically demanding. “Numerous accidents and close calls were also witnessed during the crossing. Some climbers slipped while changing ropes, while others showed signs of severe fatigue and altitude stress.” This means an estimated 275 people climbed the summit at more than 29,000 feet last Wednesday (May 27), the highest single-day summit count recorded on the route.
Located at 28,000 feet above sea level, just 60 feet from the summit of Everest, the Hillary Step is a nearly vertical 40-foot rock face. Named after Sir Edmund Hillary and located in the “Death Zone”, this obstacle is the last major obstacle before reaching the highest point on Earth.
According to officials, the record number of climbers who reached the summit came from the Nepal side of the mountain. This milestone surpassed the previous record set on May 22, 2019, when 223 climbers climbed from the south side of Everset.
The Instagram post sparked fresh concerns about overcrowding on the world’s highest mountain, with tight weather conditions in May forcing a large queue of climbers to scramble up the mountainside. Climbers must wait for the jet stream to lift temporarily to avoid hurricane-force winds and extreme cold, with temperatures averaging -28C. When this interval is short or irregular, hundreds of climbers try to climb the mountain at the same time.
This simultaneous thrust causes severe locking in high-altitude chokepoints such as the Hillary Step. The longer climbers wait in line in the “Death Zone,” the higher their risk of deprivation of oxygen, frostbite, or suffering from altitude sickness.
The number of climbers creates another concern; A record number of Mount Everests, including Camp IV, the world’s highest campsite, have been reduced to a garbage dump; Other videos show abandoned tents, empty oxygen bottles and human waste visible in the snow.
Everest Today, an account dedicated to climbing the mountain, posted on “Abandoned tents, empty oxygen bottles, food cans, torn gear and other waste are scattered across the South Col, turning the world’s highest campsite into a graveyard of climbing equipment.
“The mountain deserves better.”
In 2024, a group of Sherpas and Nepalese soldiers cleared 11 tons of garbage from the mountain. Some of the wreckage was from 69 years ago. Climbers have had to pay $15,000 (£11,164) since September 2025, down from the long-standing $11,000 fee for permits; this was the first price increase in almost a decade.
