Eight Nepali climbers kick off Everest climbing season

The 2025 Mount Everest climbing season officially began on Friday after eight Nepali climbers successfully reached the summit, paving the way for hundreds of others to follow in the coming weeks, reports AFP.

The first summit push of the year is traditionally led by a local expedition team tasked with fixing ropes and opening the route for commercial climbers.

"The route has opened. The team reached the summit this evening," confirmed Pemba Sherpa of 8K Expeditions, the company managing the operation.

Nepal has issued around 456 permits for this year's spring season, which spans from April to early June. With each foreign climber typically accompanied by at least one Nepali guide, more than 900 people are expected to make the ascent.

"The route has opened a bit earlier so we hope it will help manage the climbers and decrease traffic," said Mountaineer Purnima Shrestha from Everest base camp.

Overcrowding remains a major concern on the world's highest peak.

In 2019, severe traffic jams near the summit led to hours-long delays in freezing temperatures, resulting in depleted oxygen supplies and contributing to at least four of the 11 deaths that season.

Among this year's climbers is Everest veteran Kami Rita Sherpa, who is attempting to extend his record with a 31st summit.

Nepal, home to eight of the world's ten highest mountains, continues to see a boom in mountaineering since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa made the first historic ascent of Everest in 1953.

Last year, over 800 climbers reached the top, including 74 from the northern Tibet route.