Following a delayed start to this year's spring season due to a large chunk of ice obstructing the climbing path, a record 274 climbers ascended Mount Everest via Nepal on Wednesday.
Khimlal Gautam, a tourist department official, told Everest Chronicle that climbers took advantage of the favourable weather to attempt the summit. He claimed that the climbs started at 3:00 local time and lasted for 11 hours.
The previous record, which was reached on May 22, 2019, when 223 climbers ascended the mountain from its southern flank in Nepal, was eclipsed on Wednesday.
On May 22, 2019, 113 more climbers reached the summit via Tibet's northern route; however, China has banned foreign climbers from using this route this season.The majority of climbers, who don't need permits, try the climb with at least one Nepali guide.
In what is referred to as the "death zone"—the portion of the mountain that is at least 8,000 meters above sea level—photos of a long queue of mountaineers looping across the icy slopes have been making the rounds on social media this week.
At this height, the majority of climbers depend on additional oxygen, and even in those cases, climbing specialists advise against remaining in the area for longer than 20 hours.

Tourism to the world's tallest mountain has continued to surge this year despite a mark-up in permit fees.

Since September last year, climbers have had to pay $15,000 (£12,180) for a permit, up from the longstanding fee of $11,000, in the first fee increase in nearly a decade.

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," Lukas Furtenbach of the ⁠Austria-based Furtenbach Adventures told Reuters news agency.

Some mountains in the Alps see thousands of climbers on their summits each day, he added. "So 274 is actually not ​a big number, considering this mountain is 10 times bigger."Those who reached the summit in the past week included both seasoned climbers and newcomers to Everest, several of whom also established new records with their ascents.
Renowned Nepali mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa, 56, broke his own record for the most Everest summits on Sunday after reaching the summit for the 32nd time.
On the same day, 52-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa—also referred to as the "Mountain Queen"—broke her own record for the most ascents made by a female climber following her eleventh Everest summit.

Rustam Nabiev, a 34-year-old Russian double-leg amputee, also made it to the summit on Thursday without the assistance of prostheses.
But there have also been a number of fatalities this climbing season.Another guide, Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, 51, passed while on his way to Base Camp on May 3. Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, 21, died on Monday after slipping on snow and plunging into a fissure close to Camp 3.