Record 274 climbers summit Everest from Nepalese side in single day

A record 274 climbers have reached the summit of Mount Everest from the Nepalese side in a single day after a spring season that started late because of the threat of ice fall on the normal tourist route.

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

“This is the highest ​number of climbers in a single day so far,” Bhandari told Reuters, referring to the Nepali record, adding that the number could rise as some climbers who had summited might not have informed the base camp yet.

Members of an expedition team at Khumbu icefall last month. Photograph: Purnima Shrestha/Reuters

All but one of the climbers reached the summit assisted by Sherpa guides and using supplementary bottled oxygen. The Ecuadorian climber Marcelo Segovia summited while climbing independently and without oxygen.

Mountaineering experts often criticise Nepal for allowing large numbers ​of climbers on the mountain, ​which sometimes leads to risky jams or long queues in the “death zone” area below the summit, where the level of natural oxygen is below what is required for human survival.

The large convergence on a single day appears to have occurred as climbers who had been waiting in higher camps for better wind conditions were joined by climbers from lower camps, with some reporting queues and a slow pace of ascent.

The 8,849-metre (29,032ft) peak can be scaled from either the southern side in Nepal or the northern face in China’s Tibet. On 22 May 2019, Nepal’s side had 223 and the Chinese side had 113 climbers on the summit. Chinese authorities, however, have closed the route this year.