Everest season ends with 240 ascents, 6 deaths

One of the most crowded and risky climbing seasons on Mount Everest in recent years ended Saturday with six deaths and 240 successful ascents in just five days. Utpal Parashar reports.

Updated on: May 26, 2012, 22:51:48 IST

Hindustan Times | By Utpal Parashar, Kathmandu

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One of the most crowded and risky climbing seasons on Mount Everest in recent years ended Saturday with six deaths and 240 successful ascents in just five days.

The last day of the season fraught with danger due to the little window of opportunity provided by weather and rush of climbers witnessed 87 people reaching the world’s highest peak at 8,848 metres.

“A total of 57 Nepali and 30 foreigners reached the summit on Saturday. In all, 240 people (195 Nepali) scaled the peak this season,” said Tilak Ram Pandey, liaison officer, department of mountaineering, at the ministry of tourism and civil aviation.

Several Indian climbers also managed to reach the peak on the last day. But their details were not immediately available.

Six deaths this season, four of them last weekend of climbers from Canada, China, South Korea and Germany due to exhaustion and altitude sickness, have again raised questions of safety on Everest.

Due to very few favourable days each climbing season, there’s a rush among climbers who sometimes take unnecessary risks. And because of the large number of climbers, there’s overcrowding at some points on the way to the peak and down.

The highlights of this season include a world record by Japan’s Tamae Watanabe, 73, who broke her own 10-year-old record as the oldest woman to scale Everest.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Utpal Parashar
A seasoned senior journalist, I have nearly three decades of experience across print, digital, and online platforms, covering political transitions, insurgencies, environmental issues, and development stories in India and Nepal. I am skilled in breaking news, leading editorial teams and launch of newspaper editions. I am adept at leveraging digital trends and social media to expand global reach, with a strong ethical foundation and a reputation for impactful journalism. An alumnus of Asian College of Journalism, I joined Hindustan Times in New Delhi as a trainee reporter in May 1997. Over the years, I have been posted in Dehradun, Kathmandu (Nepal) and Guwahati. Currently, as Senior Assistant Editor at Hindustan Times, I lead a team reporting on India’s northeastern states. My work involves in-depth analysis, and engaging multimedia storytelling across formats, including text, photo, video, and interactive content. I am skilled in producing timely, shareable content, leveraging digital platforms and social media to engage global audiences. Throughout my career with the Hindustan Times, I have led diverse editorial teams, designed capacity-building activities, and supported reporters in developing strong story ideas, ethical reporting practices, digital skills, and fact-checking techniques. As Senior Assistant Editor for Northeast India, I have been responsible for guiding correspondents through complex political, humanitarian, and community-level stories using multimedia formats. Earlier, as Foreign Correspondent in Nepal, I produced extensive reporting during Nepal’s democratic transition and the 2015 earthquake and its aftermath.Read More

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