Kathmandu, May 23, 2026 (Agencies) — A record 274 people scaled Mount Everest via Nepal on Wednesday, surpassing the previous single-day high as climbers seized a window of favourable weather following a delayed season caused by a large chunk of ice blocking the main climbing route.
The climbs began at 03:00 local time and continued for 11 hours, tourism department official Khimlal Gautam told Everest Chronicle. Wednesday’s milestone surpassed the previous record set on May 22, 2019, when 223 climbers scaled the mountain from its southern side in Nepal. An additional 113 climbers had also summited via the northern route in Tibet on that date, but China has closed this route to foreign climbers this season.
Almost 500 foreign climbers have been issued permits to scale the 8,849-metre peak this year — itself a record high — as experts continue to warn of overcrowding and safety risks in the mountain’s upper reaches. Most climbers attempt the ascent with at least one Nepali guide, who do not require permits.
Photographs circulating on social media this week show a long queue of mountaineers winding across the snowy slopes in what is known as the “death zone” — the section of the mountain that sits at least 8,000 metres above sea level. Most climbers rely on supplemental oxygen at this altitude, and mountaineering experts advise against staying in the zone for more than 20 hours.
Expedition organisers have acknowledged the risks of congestion but say they can be managed. “If teams carry enough oxygen it is not a big problem,” said Lukas Furtenbach of Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures. He added that some mountains in the Alps see thousands of climbers on their summits each day. “So 274 is actually not a big number, considering this mountain is 10 times bigger.”
Tourism to the world’s tallest mountain has continued to surge despite a recent increase in permit fees. Since September last year, climbers have been required to pay $15,000 for a permit, up from the longstanding fee of $11,000 — the first fee increase in nearly a decade.
The season has also produced several remarkable individual achievements. On Sunday, renowned Nepali mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa, 56, smashed his own world record by scaling Everest for a 32nd time. That same day, 52-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa — known as the “Mountain Queen” — broke her personal record for the most ascents by a female climber with her 11th
Everest summit. Russian double-leg amputee Rustam Nabiev, 34, also reached the top on Thursday without the use of prosthetics.
However, the season has not been without tragedy. Among the casualties is Bijay Ghimere, 35, the first mountaineer from Nepal’s underprivileged Hindu Dalit community to scale Everest, who died after suffering altitude sickness. Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 21, died after slipping on snow and falling into a crevasse near Camp 3 on Monday, while guide Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, 51, died on his way to Base Camp on May 3.