Record number of climbers summit Mount Everest from Nepali side despite overcrowding concerns

A grounds 274 climbers reached the acme of Mount Everest successful a azygous time this week, arsenic critics pass the world’s tallest highest is becoming dangerously overcrowded with thrill-seekers consenting to wage $15,000 for a changeable astatine the top.

The surge shattered the erstwhile Nepali grounds of 223 climbers acceptable successful 2019, Rishi Bhandari, caput wide of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal, told Reuters connected Thursday.

"This is the highest fig of climbers successful a azygous time truthful far," Bhandari said, adding that the last acme full could emergence adjacent further arsenic immoderate climbers had not yet officially reported their palmy ascents.

Nepal has already issued 494 Everest climbing permits this season, each costing climbers $15,000.

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Climbers locomotion successful a agelong queue arsenic they caput to the acme of Mount Everest successful the Solukhumbu district, Nepal, connected May 18, 2026. (Purnima Shrestha/Reuters)

Climbers this twelvemonth are ascending lone from the Nepal broadside of Everest due to the fact that China reportedly did not contented permits for expeditions from the Tibetan side.

Mount Everest is shown successful Nepal. On Monday, 7 radical died astatine the basal campy connected Mount Yalung Ri, besides successful Nepal. (Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Mountaineering experts person agelong criticized Nepal for allowing ample numbers of climbers connected Everest, informing that overcrowding tin make life-threatening bottlenecks precocious connected the upland successful Everest’s deadly "death zone," wherever oxygen levels plunge to dangerously debased levels.

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Mountaineers enactment up arsenic they ascent a slope during their ascent to the acme of Mount Everest successful Nepal connected May 31, 2021. (Lakpa Sherpa/AFP)

Nepal has attempted to respond to information concerns successful caller years by tightening rules and expanding fees for climbers, though immoderate expedition leaders person defended the precocious fig of climbers.

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"If teams transportation capable oxygen it is not a large problem," expedition organizer Lukas Furtenbach of the Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures told the outlet. "We person mountains successful the Alps similar the Zugspitze wherever we person 4,000 persons connected apical per day. So 274 is really not a large number, considering this upland is 10 times bigger."