A hundred mountaineers made it to the top of Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest), the highest peak in the world, on Sunday.
According to Rakesh Gurung, Director at the Department of Tourism (DoT) and Chief of the Mountaineering Section under the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, they ascended the 8848.86-metre peak taking advantage of good weather.
He said the weather in Mt Everest region remained favourable for mountaineers on Sunday.
Among the 100 climbers, one was Udaya Kerung, a 33-year-old from Panchthar district, who made it to the highest peak at 6 am on Sunday.
Kerung, who became only the second person from Panchthar district to reach atop Mount Everest, started his ascent from the Everest Base Camp with a team of 22 members, according to our Phidim correspondent.
Pemba Sherpa, a director of Eight K Expeditions, informed that all 22 climbers, including Kerung, reached the top before 7 am.
Meanwhile, Gurung said that 200 climbers conquered the highest peak this season as of Sunday after the first ascent on May 11, when the rope fixing work on the way to the peak had finished
“This expedition season, around 200 climbers reached the top of Mount Everest as of Sunday. Our field office at the EBC informed me today that 100 climbers ascended the peak on Sunday alone,” said Gurung.
According to the officials, 414 climbers have been permitted to climb Mount Everest this season. “Around half of the permitted climbers have ascended the highest peak. The expedition to the highest peak will continue for a week from now,” Gurung added.
It was on May 12, Kami Rita Sherpa set a record by summiting Mount Everest for a record 29 times.Likewise, this season remained safer for climbers compared to previous years.
Gurung, who leads the Adventure Tourism and Mountaineering Section at the Department, informed that the expedition this year was one of the safest so far.
“We have been reported of two deaths until now. Both the deceased hailed from Mongolia. They died while descending from the peak,” said Gurung.
In 2019, a photo captured by mountaineer Nirmal ‘Nims’ Purja went viral as it showed a long queue of climbers waiting to set foot on the highest peak. It showed how dangerous the climb to the highest spot is.
