Everest News

Everest summits smash records amid deadly bottlenecks

By AFP

Kathmandu - A record 885 people climbed Everest in May this year, figures showed Tuesday, capping a deadly traffic-clogged season that also saw 11 climbers die on the world's highest mountain.

Nepal faces mountainous challenge identifying Everest bodies

By AFP

Kathmandu - The bodies of four climbers who failed their Everest challenge and left little clue as to their identity have thrown up a new challenge for Nepalese authorities who control the world's tallest peak.

Nepal looks to limit Everest access after deaths, but doubts linger

By AFP

Kathmandu - Under pressure after a deadly season on traffic-clogged Mount Everest, Nepal is considering tightening access to the world's highest peak, but mountaineering experts fear the proposed changes could amount to little more than lip service.

Why a deadly shadow hangs over Everest summit

By AFP

Kathmandu - As the return of cloud and frozen hurricane-force winds seal off Mount Everest for another year, questions are being asked about how to police the world's highest peak after the deadliest climbing season in years.

US climber becomes 11th Everest fatality

By AFP

New Delhi - A US climber has died after descending from Everest, officials said Tuesday, taking this season's toll to 11 including several deaths blamed on overcrowding on the world's highest mountain.

Everest 'traffic jam' survivor calls for tougher rules

By AFP

Kathmandu - Ameesha Chauhan, a survivor of the Everest "traffic jam" who is in hospital recovering from frostbite, said climbers without basic skills should be barred to prevent a recurrence of this year's deadly season on the world's highest peak.

British, Irish climbers become Everest victims

By AFP

Kathmandu - The deaths of an Irish and a British climber on Mount Everest took the toll from a deadly season on the world's highest peak to 10, expedition organisers said Saturday.

Sherpa climbs Everest twice in a week for record 24th

By AFP

Kathmandu - Only last week Nepali mountain guide Kami Rita Sherpa set a new record by climbing Everest a 23rd time. On Tuesday for good measure he did it again, expedition organisers said."This is historic.

First Everest death of 2019, Irishman missing

By AFP

Kathmandu - Mount Everest claimed Friday its first fatality of the main spring climbing season, an Indian man, while an Irish mountaineer was also missing, expedition organisers in Nepal said.

Another day at the office: Sherpa completes record 23rd Everest climb

By AFP

Kathmandu - For the hardy few, climbing Everest is a bucket-list feat of endurance, danger and wonder. But Kami Rita Sherpa's 23rd record summit of the world's highest peak on Wednesday was just another day at work.

Everest sees first summits of 2019

By AFP

Kathmandu - Eight Nepali climbers reached the top of Mount Everest on Tuesday, opening the route for a potentially record number of climbers to summit the world's highest mountain in the coming weeks.

Everest braces for record year amid overcrowding fears

By AFP

Kathmandu - The tented city at the foot of Mount Everest is bustling as mountaineers brace for potentially the busiest year yet on the world's highest peak, prompting concerns about overcrowding and safety.

Nepal expedition to remeasure height of Everest: officials

By AFP

Kathmandu - Nepal is sending a team of government-appointed climbers up Mount Everest to remeasure its height, officials said Monday, hoping to quash persistent speculation that the world's tallest mountain has shrunk.

Sherpa widows breaking down taboos as they eye Everest

By AFP

Kathmandu - For generations climbing has been firmly the realm of men among the legendary Sherpas of Nepal, tradition dictating women care for the home while their husbands conquer the Himalayan peaks.

Sydney Opera House horse race 'advertising' sparks uproar

By AFP

Sydney - A government push to use the Sydney Opera House's sails to advertise a horse racing event over the wishes of the building's management has sparked uproar among many Australians over the commercialisation of an iconic landmark.

Insurers give Nepal ultimatum to end tourist rescue fraud

By AFP

International insurance companies have set a September 1 deadline for Nepal to clamp down on fraudulent helicopter rescues of tourists or they will stop giving cover, industry sources say.

'Unnecessary rescues' soar in Nepal on profits from insurance payouts

By AFP

Those - Tourists hiking in Nepal's Himalayan mountains are being pressured into costly helicopter evacuations at the first sight of trouble by guides linked to powerful brokers who are making a fortune on "unnecessary rescues", industry insiders say.

Mount Everest, the high-altitude rubbish dump

By AFP

Kathmandu - Decades of commercial mountaineering have turned Mount Everest into the world's highest rubbish dump as an increasing number of big-spending climbers pay little attention to the ugly footprint they leave behind.

Everest's Hillary Step now a 'slope': climbers

By AFP

Kathmandu - Mount Everest's Hillary Step -- a rocky outcrop just below the summit -- is now a slope, say climbers who recently returned from the mountain.

Busy Everest season gets underway with 30 summits

By AFP

Kathmandu - Everest's summit season got off to a frantic start Monday with at least 30 climbers reaching the peak, including a Chinese double amputee and an Australian who set a new world record.

As price comes down, risk goes up for Everest 'trophy hunters'

By AFP

- Everest is the ultimate mountaineering "trophy", but the rising number of inexperienced climbers attempting to tackle the summit are running huge risks to reach the top of the world.

Nepali Sherpa aims for record 22nd Everest summit

By AFP

Kathmandu - A Nepali Sherpa is hoping to summit Mount Everest for a record-breaking 22nd time next month, during the busy climbing season that each year sees hundreds of climbers reach the top of the world.

Australian paraplegic 'humbled' by Everest base camp trek

By AFP

Kathmandu - A wheelchair-bound Australian who reached Everest base camp under his own power said Tuesday he was "humbled" to be the first paraplegic to make the gruelling journey mostly unaided.

Nepal losing out to China as Everest operators cross mountain

By AFP

Kathmandu - Poor regulation and overcrowding are pushing Everest climbers away from Nepal to China, which is investing millions to boost a rival path to the top of the world.

World's richest turf contest hikes prize money

By AFP

Sydney - The world's richest turf race will boost its prize money to Aus$13 million (US$10 million), organisers said in a cheeky full-page newspaper ad placed on the day of its rival Melbourne Cup.

Indian police fire couple for faking Everest climb

By AFP

New Delhi - Two Indian police officers who falsely claimed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest last year have been sacked, authorities said Tuesday.

Fraud at 8,848 metres: Are Everest ascents too easy to fake?

By AFP

Kathmandu - Satyarup Siddhanta only discovered he was at the centre of an Everest fraud when he spotted news of a couple whose false claim to have scaled the world's highest peak has set off a debate about how mountaineering feats are authenticated.