Two veteran Nepali climbers, a man and a woman, have each set new records for ascents of the world's highest mountain. The 492 Everest climbing permits issued by Nepal for the 2026 spring season represent another high.
Everest remains one of the world's top mountaineering challengesImage: Pasang Rinzee Sherpa/AP Photo/picture alliance
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Two Nepali climbers on Sunday broke their own records for the numbers of Everest ascents they have made in the male and female categories respectively.
One climber, Kami Rita Sherpa, 56, who is nicknamed the "Everest Man," scaled the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak for a record 32nd time, while Lhakpa Sherpa, 52, known as the "Mountain Queen," made her 11th summit.
What do we know about the ascents?
Kami Rita reached the summit of Everest at around 10:12 a.m. (0427 GMT) at the head of an international expedition team, according to Mingma Sherpa, chairman of expedition operator Seven Summit Treks.
Llakpa Sherpa, who in 2000 became the first Nepali woman to successfully summit and descend the mountain, stood at the top at 9:30 a.m.
She formed part of an expedition run by the Seven summit club agency, according to Khimlal Gautam, coordinator at the Department of Tourism's Everest base camp.
A film has been made about the feats of Llakpa Sherpa [FILE: July 2024]Image: Charley Gallay/Getty Images/AFP
Both climbers, who belong to the Sherpas, an ethnic group native to Nepal's Himalayan region, began their careers as porters before becoming professional guides.
Kami Rita made his first ascent in 1994 while working for a commercial expedition.
Kami Rita is seen here in late AprilImage: Purnima Shrestha/REUTERS
Renewed fears of Everest overcrowding
Nepal has issued a record 492 permits for people wanting to climb Everest this season.
As most mountaineers make their attempt accompanied by at least one Nepali guide, some thousand climbers are expected to ascend the mountain in the next few days.
The high numbers have fueled renewed concerns about overcrowding on the mountain, especially if poor weather shortens the period suitable for climbing.
Expedition operators say restrictions on the Tibet side of the mountain imposed by Chinese authorities have been one factor behind the increase in the number of climbers.
Delays in the opening of routes and unstable ice condictions have also shortened the window for climbing.
Everest can be climbed from both Nepal and Chinese-administered Tibet, but ascents from the southern, Nepali side are more frequent.
The base camp at Everest is crowded with the tents of mountaineers and guidesImage: Pasang Rinzee Sherpa/AP Photo/picture alliance
Everest ascent remains dangerous
Although ascents of Everest have become relatively frequent since Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary made the first confirmed climb to the summit in 1953, the feat remains perilous, with more than 320 people dying in the attempt since then.
Officials say between five and 10 climbers die on Mount Everest in an average climbing year.
Mount Everest climbers line up despite new dangers
Nearly 500 climbers and just as many Nepalese guides are preparing to climb the world's highest peak — despite record costs and dangerous conditions.
The first expeditions arrived at base camp back in April. At 5,300 meters (about 17,400 feet), climbers and Nepalese guides are battling the cold, wind and thin air. This year, there is an additional threat: a towering block of ice — known as a serac — blocked the path through the Khumbu Icefall. Although the route is now open, the situation remains extremely precarious.
For more than two weeks, the route to the summit was blocked by the towering block of ice in the Khumbu Icefall that threatened to collapse. The Khumbu Icefall is already considered one of the most dangerous sections of the Everest route. Huge crevasses, shifting glaciers and ice walls as tall as houses make every step a risk.
As the weather improves in the spring, the climbing season on Everest begins. The world's highest mountain attracts people from all over the world. Nepal has issued nearly 500 permits for this season — more than ever before. For Nepal, climbers are a major source of revenue.
For many climbers, however, the dream of reaching the highest point on Earth outweighs the increased travel costs resulting from the Iran war and the high permit fees, which now stand at $15,000 (some €13,000). The number of climbers aiming to scale the 8,849-meter-high Mount Everest is matched almost exactly by the number of Nepalese guides who accompany them.
Mountain guides are often members of the Sherpa ethnic group, who are native to Nepal. They prepare the route, carry equipment through the ice fields and secure ladders over deep crevasses. Without them, an ascent would be virtually impossible.
Mount Everest lies between Nepal and China. However, China has closed its northern route this year. As a result, all expeditions are crowding onto the Nepalese southern route. There, hundreds of tents, fluttering prayer flags and long lines of climbers await the decisive ascent.
