Kathmandu-A new single-day record has been set on Mount Everest, with 274 climbers successfully reaching the summit in a 24-hour window, according to an Associated Press (AP) report quoting expedition officials.

Perfect Weather Drives the Surge
Rishi Ram Bhandari of the Expedition Operators Association Nepal told the AP that a window of perfectly clear weather on Wednesday prompted the massive push. This influx resulted in the highest number of climbers ever to stand on the peak in a single day via the popular southern route in Nepal.

While Everest can be climbed from both its southern face in Nepal and its northern face in Tibet, Chinese authorities closed the northern route for the current season. For context, the previous massive traffic spike occurred on May 22, 2019, when 223 climbers summited from the Nepal side and 113 from the Chinese side.

A Delayed Season Nears Its End
The climbing season got off to a late start this year due to safety concerns regarding a massive, unstable serac (a large block of glacial ice) hanging over a critical section of the summit route.

Despite the delays, around 494 registered climbers—accompanied by an equal number of local Sherpa guides—are aiming to complete their ascents before the climbing window closes at the end of the month.

Since New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay first made history by conquering Mount Everest on May 29, 1953, thousands of climbers have followed in their footsteps, though few days in history have ever been as crowded as this one.