Around 80 climb Everest in a day

KATHMANDU: Some 80 climbers, including the Bahrain’s prince, reached the top of Mount Everest (Sagarmatha) Tuesday morning.

According to Nepal Tourism Board (NTB)’s director Meera Acharya, an expedition team led by Bahrain’s prince Sheikh Mohammed Al Khalifa, including others, made the successful ascent of the world’s highest peak at 6:30 am Tuesday.

The Bahrain’s royal was leading a 16-member team to the summit, and around 80 climbers, including 12 from his team, reached atop Sagarmatha, Acharya said from Everest base camp, adding that this was the tentative figure as they were trying to have clear communications with the teams.

The NTB director said from the base camp on telephone that climbers had started setting foot on the summit since 5:00 am. “Weather till May 13 seems favorable for climbing,” she said.

The expedition for this season had formally kicked off on May 7 with professional climber Kami Rita’s 12-member team successfully reaching atop as rope fixers. Tuesday’s ascent is the second summit to the peak of this season.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, 408 people (315 male, 92 female, and one other) of 43 expedition teams have acquired permission to climb the peak this season and most of aspiring climbers have already reached the base camp and majority of them are in the Camp 3, waiting the favorable time to scale the peak, said NTB’s liaison officer Gyanendra Shrestha from the base camp. RSS