Nepali hiking officials said 274 climbers reached the summit of Everest on Wednesday, making it the largest number to reach the summit from the southern side of the mountain in a single day.
This is nearly 50 more than the previous record of 223 people set on May 22, 2019, but the overall number was even higher that day as some climbers climbed from the north side of the mountain in Tibet. According to reports, China did not issue permits to climb the North Face this year.
Rishi Bhandari, secretary general of the Nepal Expedition Operators Association, confirmed the numbers to CNN, acknowledging the favorable weather conditions and the large number of climbers waiting to scale the 8,848-meter (29,029-foot) summit. Bhandari said strong winds were expected later in the week.
Overcrowding has been a problem on Everest for years, and an infamous photo taken by mountaineer Nirmal Purja in 2019 shows a long line of climbers huddled on an exposed ridge waiting to reach the summit. He told CNN at the time that about 320 people were in line to reach the top in an area known as the “death zone.”
Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, has a crucial spring season for alpinists aiming to reach the summit, usually in mid-to-late May. At this time of year, the harsh winter winds ease, allowing climbers to exert more effort in their quest for the summit.
This year, the annual spring climbing season began after routes to the summit were cut off, causing confusion for hundreds of people hoping to climb the mountain.
Glacial ice blocking the path stranded the alpinists at base camp, where high-altitude workers known as “icefall doctors” worked for weeks to remove large frozen blocks known as seracs.
The route was finally unblocked on May 13, but the increased number of climbers and the shorter time it took to reach the summit raised concerns that delays could lead to overcrowding on the mountain.
Nepal has issued nearly 500 climbing permits this year.
