This astonishing image of hundreds of climbers queuing to reach the top of Everest has highlighted fears that a record number of attempts is putting lives at risk.
Mountaineers complained of “traffic jams” on the approach to the summit of the world’s highest mountain, with two recent climber deaths being linked to the long waits.
Donald Lynn Cash, 55, collapsed at the summit on Wednesday as he was taking photographs, while Anjali Kulkarni, also 55, died as she descended after reaching the top.
Their deaths came on what was believed to be one of the busiest ever days on the mountain.
Arun Treks, which organised Ms Kulkarni’s expedition, told The Kathmandu Post that heavy traffic at the summit had delayed her descent and caused her death.
Mr Cash reportedly died of altitude sickness after losing energy during hours of waiting on the ridges, according to chairman of the expedition agency Pioneer Adventure, Pasang Tenje Sherpa.
He told The Kathmandu Post it was “obviously” the jam that led to the death.
Climber Nirmal Purja posted the picture of the route to the 8,848m (29,029ft) summit on social media and warned that the mountain could be lethal.
He estimated that about 320 climbers were in the queue.
The number of climbers has skyrocketed in recent years due to the competition between expedition organisers which caused costs to plummet, NDTV reported.
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