A record 274 climbers scaled Mount Everest on Wednesday, capitalizing on a brief window of clear weather, a hiking official said on Thursday. This marks the highest number of climbers ever to reach the world's tallest peak on a single day from the Nepali side.
According to Rishi Ram Bhandari of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal, mountaineers took full advantage of the favorable conditions on the popular southern face of the peak.
Everest, which stands at 8,849 meters (29,032 feet), straddles the border between Nepal and the Tibet region of China and can be climbed from both sides. However, expedition operators noted there were no climbers on the Tibetan side this year, as Chinese authorities closed the northern route and did not issue permits.
The previous single-day record on the southern route was set on May 22, 2019, when 223 climbers reached the summit from Nepal, alongside 113 from the Chinese side.
This week also saw historic individual milestones. Veteran mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa scaled the peak for a record-extending 32nd time, breaking his own previous record. His closest competitor, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, completed his 30th successful ascent. Meanwhile, Lhakpa Sherpa reached the summit for the 11th time, topping her own record for the highest number of climbs by a female mountaineer.
This year’s Everest climbing season began later than usual due to safety risks posed by a massive serac—an unstable block of glacial ice—hanging over a key section of the summit route.
Around 494 registered climbers, accompanied by an equal number of local Sherpa guides, are expected to attempt the climb before the spring season concludes at the end of May.
More than 11,000 people have scaled the peak since it was first conquered on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa partner, Tenzing Norgay.
