Nearly 800 summits mark busy, stormy Everest season
Bad weather and brief clear windows defined Everest's 2025 spring season, as nearly 800 climbers reached the top from both Nepal and China.
The 2025 spring climbing season on Mount Everest has officially drawn to a close, with nearly 800 climbers reaching the summit of the world’s tallest peak from both Nepal and China, according to officials and expedition operators.
The season wrapped up this week as the Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee (SPCC) — responsible for safety and waste management on the Nepali side — announced the official closure from Everest base camp. “Huge thanks to our incredible Icefall Doctors and the entire team,” the SPCC said in a social media post. “Your hard work, courage, and commitment made this season possible.”
Despite a promising start, the weather this spring proved volatile. After the rope-fixing team established the season’s summit route, conditions rapidly deteriorated, with high-altitude jet streams and snowstorms sweeping across the upper mountain. Intermittent windows of clear skies and low winds allowed climbers to make brief but successful summit pushes in from early May to up to the end of season.
According to Himal Gautam, director at Nepal’s Department of Tourism (DoT), 694 individuals reached Everest’s summit from the Nepali side as of May 27. This included 257 foreign climbers, nine Nepali nationals with climbing permits, 421 Sherpas and high-altitude guides, and seven members of the rope-fixing team. Nepal had issued 468 Everest permits this season.
While Nepal’s southern route remained the busiest, an estimated 100 climbers also summited from the northern Tibetan side. That brings the estimated total number of successful ascents this season close to 800 — making 2025 one of the most active years in Everest’s climbing history.
There were two confirmed deaths on Mount Everest and two more on Lhotse, Everest’s neighboring peak which shares the same route up to Camp IV. The relatively low toll suggests that recent improvements in forecasting, logistics, and fixed-rope coordination may be improving overall safety.
The SPCC credited the season’s success in part to greater coordination among agencies and operators. Its Icefall Doctors — elite Sherpas tasked with managing the Khumbu Icefall — kept the notoriously dangerous section of the route stable throughout the season.
Of the 468 permits issued by Nepal, 86 went to women climbers. India had the largest contingent this year with 87 permit holders, followed by the United States (83) and China (68). Altogether, climbers from 57 countries attempted Everest during the 2025 spring window.
