Everest, pre-monsoon statistics. The largest number of people in any single season reached the summit of Everest during the spring. An astonishing total of 183 went to the top, 101 from the south and 82 from the north. The total far surpassed the previous record of 117 climbers in the spring of 1999. On just one day, May 23, 2001, 47 successfully reached the top via the normal Nepalese route via the South Col, seven more than the previous record set in 1993 of 40 on May 10. It is thought that 50 of the climbers reaching the top during the spring had already summited in previous years, raising the grand total of individual summiteers to 1,114. Counting Sherpas and base camp staff it is estimated that the total number of people operating on the mountain throughout the season was in excess of 1,000, and whereas in 2000 only two ascents were made without oxygen, in spring 2001 the number was nine. To get a more complete picture of the population of the tent villages that sprang up, one must add uncounted dozens of trekkers, who went to base camps and even advanced base camps.

Elizabeth Hawley