A record 274 climbers scale Mount Everest in a single day

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KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Hundreds of climbers scaled Mount Everest in a single day, setting a new record with 274 successful ascents, officials said Thursday.

The climbers took advantage of the clear weather on Wednesday, said Rishi Ram Bhandari of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal. It was the highest number of climbers to reach the summit on a single day from the popular route on the southern face of the peak, which is located in Nepal.

The peak can be scaled from either the southern side in Nepal or northern face in China's Tibet. On May 22, 2019, Nepal's side had 223 and the Chinese side had 113 climbers on the summit. Chinese authorities, however, have closed the route this year.

Earlier this week, veteran mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa scaled the peak for the 32nd time, breaking his own record. His closest competitor, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, scaled the peak for the 30th time this week. Also, Lakpa Sherpa scaled Everest for the 11th time, topping her own record for the highest number of climbs by a female climber.

This year’s Everest climbing season began late because of risk from a huge serac hanging over the key route to the summit. There are around 494 climbers and equal number of their Sherpa guides who are expected to attempt scale the 8,850-meter (29,032-foot) peak by the end of this month when the climbing season on the peak ends.

Thousands of people have climbed the peak since it was first scaled on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay.