KATHMANDU, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian climber Valentyn Sypavin on Saturday morning became the first foreign national to scale Mount Qomolangma from the Nepali side this spring climbing season.
Guided by a Nepali Sherpa, the Ukrainian mountaineer summitted the 8,848.86-meter-high peak at 4:00 local time.
"Both of them are descending after the successful ascension," Lakpa Sherpa, managing director of 8K Expeditions which was managing the expedition, told Xinhua from the base camp.
A 10-member team of Sherpa climbers ascended Mount Qomolangma situated on the border of Nepal and China on Friday evening to fix the rope for climbers.
By Friday, a total of 414 climbers had been permitted to scale the peak during the spring season from the Nepali side, according to Nepal's Department of Tourism.
"A maximum number of climbers will make the attempt to summit the peak on Sunday because of good weather forecast for the next couple of days," said Khim Lal Gautam, chief of the department's field office at the base camp. ■
