It’s a Wrap – Everest 2024 Season is over
The 2024 spring climbing season on Mount Everest has ended, with all expedition agencies concluding their ascents of the world’s highest peak. The Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee has begun the process of closing the Khumbu Icefall route, the sole access point for Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse.
According to the Department of Tourism, the last expedition teams from Elite Exped, 8K Expeditions, and Pioneer Adventure have returned to base camp after completing their climbs. The icefall doctors have started removing ladders from the icefall today.
This season, approximately 600 climbers, including guides, reached the summit, though the exact number will be confirmed after verification. The department issued 421 climbing permits to paying clients for Everest this season. In 2023, 656 ascents were recorded when Nepal issued a record 478 climbing permits.
Several new records were established this season. Veteran guide Kami Rita Sherpa achieved a milestone by completing a double summit of Everest, bringing his total summits to 30, extending his lead over Pasang Dawa Sherpa, who has 27 summits.
British climber Kenton Cool reached the summit of Everest for the 18th time, the highest number of ascents by any non-Sherpa climber.
Nepali climber Phunjo Jhangmu Lama reclaimed the record for the fastest ascent of Everest, reaching the summit in 14 hours and 31 minutes, surpassing the previous record held by Ada Tsang Yin-hung of Hong Kong.
Purnima Shrestha made history by becoming the first woman to climb Mount Everest three times in a single climbing season. Shrestha, a photojournalist, has now climbed eight of the 14 eight-thousanders.
Polish climber Piotr Jerzy Krzyzowski set a record by becoming the first and fastest person to summit both Lhotse and Everest without supplemental oxygen, completing the feat in 1 day, 23 hours, and 22 minutes.
Dawa Finjok Sherpa, a guide with Seven Summit Treks, summited Everest for the third time this season in just 8 days, 13 hours, and 35 minutes and is reportedly making a fourth attempt.
Despite these achievements, the season also saw its share of tragedies. The Department of Tourism confirmed the deaths of at least six climbers on the Everest route, with three others still missing.
The deceased include Nepali climber Binod Babu Bastakoti, 37; Mongolian climbers Usukhjargal Tsedendamba, 53, and Purevsuren Lkhagvajav, 31; Kenyan climber Joshua Cheruiyot Kirui, 40; Indian climber Banshi Lal, 46; and Romanian climber Gabriel Viorel Tabara, 48, who was attempting to climb Lhotse.
The missing climbers include British climber Daniel Paul Paterson, 40; his Sherpa guide Pas Tenji Sherpa, 23; and Nawang Sherpa, a 44-year-old guide. The search for Paterson and his guide has been halted, and they are now presumed dead, joining the dozens of others whose bodies have never been recovered on Everest.
