Mt Everest sees highest number of climbers in 7 decades

KATHMANDU: A record number of climbers are attempting to scale Mt Everest (8,848.86 metres), the highest peak in the world, this spring. According to the Department of Tourism, a total of 466 climbers from 43 groups have obtained climbing permits. Among them, 98 are female while the remaining are 368 male, said the department. Climbers eyeing to scale Mt Everest this season are from 65 different countries including Nepal as per the statistics of the Department. From Nepal, 15 climbers have received the permits. Similarly, 96 climbers from China have obtained the permit followed by 89 from the USA and 40 from India. Likewise, 33 from Hungary have acquired the permit, 21 from Canada, 18 from Russia and 15 from the UK among others. Former President of Nepal Mountaineering Association, Ang Tshering Sherpa, opined that the number of climbers obtaining permits from Nepal might have increased considerably as climbing from the Tibet side (northeast ridge route) is not permitted since Covid 19 pandemic. It has been 70 years since humans first stood atop Mt Everest. Tenzing Norgay Sherpa and Edmund Hillary successfully reached the summit of Mt Everest on May 29, 1953. Since then, around 7,000 national and international climbers have successfully climbed the highest mountain while over 300 have lost their lives attempting it till date, according to the department. In 2022, 323 climbers from 44 groups had obtained permission for the Everest expedition, informed Bigyan Koirala, Officer at the Mountaineering Section of the Department. By RSS READ ALSO:

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