JOIN USA record 75 climbers summited Mount Everest today as a wave of 150 mountaineers, including the son of Maoist chief Prachanda, headed for the world's highest peak defying warnings against overcrowding.
Expeditions from across the globe are making a bid to reach top of the world to take advantage of a weather break and Nepalese officials said that 150 climbers were headed for the 8,848-metre-high peak.
"The Everest base camp was jam packed and 75 climbers succeeded to conquer Everest today as the weather was favourable," said Tilak Pandey, an official at the Mountain Division of Tourism Ministry.
"Encouraged by the favourable weather, 74 more climbers including five Indian nationals, are attempting to the top of the world tonight," said Ang Tshering Sherpa, Managing Director of Asian Trekking, the leading company of Nepal to organise mountaineering expeditions.
So far, 341 climbers have scaled the Everest from both Nepal and Tibet sides, till now since the spring season started in mid-May, Sherpa said.
Twelve Indian nationals, all from Maharashtra, climbed the the peak from the Tibetan side this month and on Indian reached atop from the Nepalese side.
This is the second week in a row that Everest is witnessing an unprecedented rush as last week too more than 150 climbers attempted the peak, triggering a traffic jam on the top of the world, leading to the death of four climbers.
Among the summiteers was a British climber Kenton Cool who completed his eight decade old promise to carry an Olympics gold medal to the top of the world.
Cool, 38, reached the summit early in the morning, carrying 1 of the 21 gold medals awarded to the members of the 1922 British Everest expedition at the 1924 winter Olympics.
Legendary British climber George Mallory was part of the expedition which came within 500 metres of the summit. Mallory disappeared on the peak during the subsequent 1924 British expedition, triggering an unending debate whether he died before or after climbing the peak.