Nepali Army’s five member successfully climbed Mount Everest on Monday. They reached the summit of the world’s tallest mountain as part of a 10-member team under the army’s mountain clean-up campaign.
The team comprised Captain Bishnu Bal Rai, Captain Dipendra Singh Khatri, Corporal Shankar Kunwar and Lance Corporal Kishor Jabegu and was led by Lieutenant Colonel Kishor Adhikari. The five personnel, accompanied by five Sherpas, reached Everest’s summit at 10.05 am on Monday, according to a press statement issued by the army.
According to Nepal Army’s Public Relations and Information Directorate, permit-holding climbers from over five dozen countries began scaling the 8,848.86-metre peak from Sunday, a day after a nine-member group from the company Imagine Nepal Trek and Expeditions finished fixing the ropes from Camp II to the mountain’s top.
On the first day, 11 climbers reached the top, as per the data provided by the Department of Tourism (DoT). Naila Kaini of Pakistan became the first foreigner to reach the peak, dubbed the top of the world, this year. She is also the second Pakistani ever to achieve the feat.
Similarly, 46-year-old Pasang Dawa Sherpa matched Kami Rita Sherpa’s record of the highest number of successful ascents of Mount Everest by reaching its summit for the 26th time. He reached the summit at 9.06 am on Sunday. Kami Rita has announced his intention to reach Everest’s peak a 27th time this month, though.
Yubraj Khatiwada, director of the Mountaineering Section of the DoT, told The Rising Nepal that many people summitted Everest on Monday. However, the Department had not received the exact number from its monitoring office at the base camp as of 6.30 pm Monday.
A record 478 individuals have received permission to climb Everest this Spring. Stable weather and slower wind speeds encourage many thrill seekers to make an attempt on the mountain this season. But, as per DoT officials, this year’s number is the highest in history.
The largest number of climbers are from China and the United States of America respectively. A total of 97 Chinese and 89 American nationals have obtained permits this mountaineering season. From Nepal, DoT has issued permits to 16 people to try and climb the peak known in their country as Sagarmatha.
In addition to Everest, the DoT has also issued 698 permits for 27 other peaks including Kanchenjunga (8,586 metres), Lhotse (8,516 metres), Makalu I (8,463 metres), Dhaulagiri I (8,167 metres), Manaslu (8,163 metres) and Annapurna I (8,091 metres). From these permits, it has generated over Rs. 765.75 million in royalties. Of this amount, Rs. 666.42 million has been generated from Everest alone.