Nepali climbers kick off Everest summits

Nine Nepalis reach the summit of Mount Everest, opening the route for hundreds of climbers expected to scale the world's highest mountain in the coming weeks.

Every year, the first summit of Everest is by a team from one of Nepal's expedition organizing companies, who prepare the way for hundreds of paying customers to follow. The team was led by mountain guide Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, who already had 12 Everest summits to his name.

Nepal has issued at least 466 permits to foreign climbers this year, the $11,000 fee part of total costs for a summit ranging from $45,000 to $200,000. Since most will need a guide, more than 900 people will try to summit this season, which runs until early June. This could result in heavy traffic and bottlenecks en route to the summit, especially if there is a shorter climbing window because of unfavourable weather.