Everest 2012 Climbing Season Ends, 150 Summit Friday And Saturday

Mt. Everest climbing season has officially ended, with 240 successful summits, and six deaths in five days. About 150 people reached the summit on Friday Saturday alone, despite warnings of a possible bottleneck in the death zone (above 8,000 meters).

Daily Times reports that tourism ministry official Tilak Ram Pandey stated:

“A handful of climbers returned from camp four after being unable to move up. But the weather was good over the past two days and many took advantage. About 150 made it to the top today.”

He went on to say that:

“There are still a few Sherpas and other climbers who will try to reach the top for a couple of days. But the official season has ended and the climbers are now returning to the base camp.”

This year’s season saw a near record number of climbers reach the summit of the 8,848 meter (29,029-foot) tall mountain, despite the deaths of six people, four of whom were lost last week during a bottleneck of people trying to summit the mountain during good weather.

Hilaree O’Neill, a hiker who summited with a group from National Geographic on Friday stated of the experience that:

“It was awesome. There is a 360-degree view of the Himalaya, and you could see over into Tibet, all of Nepal and the mountains. It was amazing just being able to stand up there, and experiencing that made the whole thing worth it.”

Daily Times reports that Wasfia Nazreen, 29, was one climber who also summited. She is reportedly climbing the highest peak on each continent to celebrate 40 years of Bangladeshi independence. She said that:

“We got our independence but we women are still fighting for freedom. This is to the women of Bangladesh, who (risk) their lives every day for freedom, peace and equality.”

The Hindustan Times reports that Tilak Ram Pandey stated that:

“A total of 57 Nepali and 30 foreigners reached the summit on Saturday. In all, 240 people (195 Nepali) scaled the peak this season.”

In all, the world’s tallest peak has seen about 1,000 climbers attempt the summit, 11 of whom have perished.

[iframe src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/l1ZMm4XYHHc” width=”560″ height=”315″]