KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Hundreds of climbers and their Sherpa guides scaled Mount Everest this month in Nepal, struggling against harsh weather to make it to the summit of the world’s highest mountain before the climbing season finishes at the end of May.
Though several climbers did manage to reach the summit in mid-May, weather conditions deteriorated for days, forcing a retreat to base camp for many, including Kami Rita Sherpa, who was attempting to break his own record by scaling the peak for a 31st time.
He did manage to scale the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak on May 27, but several climbers were not so lucky.
Kami Rita Sherpa, third left, who holds the record for most ascents to Mount Everest, prays with other mountaineers at Everest Base Camp before beginning his ascent to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
The route to the summit is equipped with ladders and ropes but these are removed at the end of May, marking an end to the climbing season before the monsoon brings heavy rainfall and bad weather.
According to Nepal’s Department of Mountaineering, 468 foreign climbers from 57 countries were given permits to climb Everest by the end of May, along with a roughly equal number of Nepalese mountain guides.
Mount Everest, right, is seen from the Khumbu region which lies on the way to the summit, in Nepal, May 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
An aerial view shows Camp 1 on the way to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
A climber rests early morning inside a tent at the Everest Base Camp in Nepal, Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
A member of the kitchen crew of an expedition to the summit of Mount Everest collects ice for drinking water at Camp 1, Nepal, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
A sherpa hands vodka, that was earlier offered to the Gods, to a climber after a ritual for a safe climb at Everest Base Camp before beginning his ascent to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
Because of the limited windows of good weather near the summit, large numbers of climbers lined up, attached to the single safety rope, which is known as the “Everest traffic jam.”
“Overall on Everest, weather is the key and it was not same as the forecast. And secondly, it was crowded because both professionals and beginners were there at the same time,” said Pasang Rinji Sherpa, a guide, adding that because of some of the novice climbers, movement was slow.
Mountaineers ascend to Camp 2 on their way to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
Pasang Rinji has already climbed the peak twice but was forced to retreat this time because he got sick on the mountain.
He said there were many cases of flu and the “Khumbu cough,” named after a region on Everest, that affects climbers at high altitudes. Some climbers and guides abandoned or postponed their ascent, he said.
A mountaineer is silhouetted against Mount Ama Dablam on his way to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
A mountain guide uses a radio at Camp 2 on the way to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
He said that only selected or qualified climbers should be allowed to climb the peak to make the experience safer and easier.
“Right now there are beginners with no experience or knowledge and professional at the same time and this is causing the problem,” he said. “There should be basic knowledge for the climbers to use gear properly and be safe while climbing Everest.”
Indian Army personnel take part in a training session at Everest Base Camp before beginning their ascent to Mount Everest in Nepal, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
A mountaineer takes part in a training session at Khumbu Icefall before beginning his ascent to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
Indian Army personnel take part in a training session at Everest Base Camp before beginning their ascent to Mount Everest in Nepal, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
Mount Pumori, second right, is seen in the background as mountaineers negotiate a slope in the Khumbu region on their way to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, April 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
Six-time Everest summiteer Jenjen Lama also said the weather was the biggest hurdle this year.
“The weather was very difficult to predict and the forecast would be great for the following day, but on the day the weather would deteriorate every hour or so,” he said. “Weather was very challenging as it would frequently change without any warning.”
Friday marks the 72nd anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay.
Mountaineers take a group selfie after summiting Mount Everest in Nepal, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Kunga Sherpa)
Members of an expedition to the summit of Mount Everest stand by their tents at the Everest Base Camp in Nepal, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
An aerial view shows Everest Base Camp on the way to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, April 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
Garbage is piled up at a waste collection center at Everest Base Camp in Nepal, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
Mountaineers negotiate Khumbu Icefall as they ascend toward the summit of Mount Everest, Nepal, May 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
Mountaineers queue up below Camp 4 on the way to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, May 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jenjen Lama)
Oxygen cylinders are kept on a slope on the way to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Kunga Sherpa)
Mount Thamserku rises above the town of Namche Bazaar in Nepal, April 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Pasang Rinzee Sherpa)
