A record number of mountaineers successfully summited Mount Everest yesterday (Wednesday, May 20, 2026) from the Nepali side of the mountain. The previous record for the number of summits from the Nepali side in a single day was 223, and this occurred on May 22, 2019. The new record is at least 274.
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“This is the highest number of climbers in a single day so far,” Rishi Bhandari, secretary general of the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal, told Reuters. Bhandari is referring to the number of climbers accessing the summit from the Nepali side. The Tibetan side is currently closed to foreign climbers.
Reuters says the record for the most people to reach the Everest peak from both sides was set on May 23, 2019, when 354 mountaineers summited.
See an aerial view from the Lhotse Face on May 19, 2026, to get a sense of what it was like below (or watch here).
Learn more about the record-breaking day on Mount Everest below:
Header stock image by Suraj Pokhrel/Getty Images
