More than 1,000 climbers reached the summit of Mount Everest during this year's spring climbing season, setting a new record for the world's highest mountain, Nepalese authorities said on Wednesday.
"More than 1,000 climbers reached the summit this season, although the exact figure still needs to be confirmed," Himal Gautam, an official at Nepal's Department of Tourism, told AFP.
The previous record was set during the 2019 spring season, when 877 people successfully reached the summit of the 8,849-metre peak, according to a database maintained by German mountaineer Billi Bierling.
Several other records were broken this year. A total of 275 climbers reached the summit on a single day, 21 May, while Nepal issued a record 494 climbing permits to foreign mountaineers.
Veteran Nepalese climber Kami Rita Sherpa, known as "Everest Man", also extended his own record by reaching the summit for the 32nd time on 24 May.
Meanwhile, Australian climber Oliver Foran set a new speed record by travelling from sea level in the Bay of Bengal to the summit in just 50 days, beating the previous record of 67 days.
Five climbers died on Everest during this year's season, significantly fewer than the 18 deaths recorded in 2023, the mountain's deadliest year on record.
The surge in climber numbers has renewed concerns about overcrowding on Everest, particularly on the narrow final stretch leading to the summit, where long queues have become a recurring feature of climbing seasons.
