(Reuters)
KATHMANDU, May 21 – A record number of 274 climbers scaled Mount Everest on Wednesday, a hiking official said, the highest number ever to reach the world’s tallest peak on the same day from the Nepali side.
The 8,849-metre (29,032 feet) Everest straddles the border between Nepal and the Tibet region of China and can be climbed from both sides.
Expedition operators say there were no climbers on the Tibetan side this year as Chinese authorities had not issued any permits.
Rishi Bhandari, secretary general of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal, said on Thursday that the previous highest number of ascents from the Nepali side was 223, on May 22, 2019.
The record for the most people to reach the Everest peak from both sides was set on the next day – May 23, 2019 – when 354 climbers made it, according to Guinness World Records.
“This is the highest number of climbers in a single day so far,” Bhandari told Reuters, referring to the Nepali record, adding the number could rise as some climbers who had reached the summit might not have informed the base camp about their feat yet.
There are no figures available from China on how many climbers reach the peak when the Tibetan side is open, but Bhandari said in the normal climbing season of April and May, about 100 people head to Everest from that side.
