KATHMANDU: At least 18 Nepali women climbers among 563 persons from 39 different countries successfully reached the summit of the world’s highest peak from Nepal side in the last spring season, according to the Department of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture Tourism and Civil Aviation. With the closure of the main climbing season, the world’s highest mountain also recorded five deaths, officials said. Releasing the official data on Mt Everest summit today, the DoT stated that at least 511 male climbers from different 37 countries and 52 female mountaineers from 15 countries made it to the top of Mt Everest after a team of rope-fixing climbers opened a climbing route to the Mt Everest summit on May 13. With 563 standing atop the roof of the world this year, the world’s highest peak recorded at least 5,891 summits till date after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay become the first to reach the summit of Mt Everest on 29 May, 1953. Rameshwor Niraula, an official at DoT, said that at least 292 climbers including 212 Nepali high altitude workers who obtained climbing permits for Mt Everest, however, failed to make it to the summit. The climbers found a fair window on Mt Everest from May 13 to May 24, he added. “Among 514 Nepali climbers who obtained permits to work as high altitude worker/guide/sirdar, only 302 successfully reached the summit point,” Niraula said, adding that at least 51 Indian climbers, 49 Americans and 47 Chinese climbers made it to the roof of the world. “There were 23 Nepali women climbers including eight high altitude workers who had obtained climbing permits for Mt Everest while 18 of them successfully scaled the mountain,” he informed. According to him, the department had issued 347 climbing permits representing 38 expedition teams for Mt Everest in the spring season. “There were 18 Nepali expedition members including 15 women climbers,” he added. The government also collected Rs 361 million in royalty from Mt Everest. Last year, at least 449 climbers including 190 foreigners had successfully scaled Mt Everest while the DoT had issued 375 climbing permits representing 42 teams, the DoT record shows.