Mt Everest sees highest number of climbers in seven decades

KATHMANDU: A record number of climbers are attempting to scale the highest mountain in the world- Mt Everest- this spring.

According to the Department of Tourism, a total of 466 climbers from 43 groups have obtained permits. Among them, 98 are female and the remaining 368 are male, said the Department.

Climbers eyeing to scale Everest or Sagarmatha this season are from 65 different countries including Nepal as per the statistics of the Department. From Nepal, 15 climbers have received the permit. Similarly, 96 climbers from China have got the permit followed by 89 from the USA and 40 from India.

Likewise, 33 from Hungary, 21 from Canada, 18 from Russia and 15 from the UK, among others, have acquired the permit.

Former President of Nepal Mountaineering Association, Ang Tshering Sherpa, said that the number of climbers obtaining permits from Nepal might have increased considerably as climbing from Tibet side (northeast ridge route) is not permitted since COVID-19 pandemic.

It has been 70 years since humans first set their feet at the top of Mt Everest. Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary had successfully reached atop the Everest on May 29, 1953.

Since then, around 7,000 national and international climbers have successfully climbed the 8,848.86 meters high mountain while over 300 have lost their lives attempting it to scale till date, according to the Department.

In 2022, 323 climbers from 44 groups had obtained permission for Everest expedition, informed Bigyan Koirala, Officer at the Mountaineering Section of the Department.

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