Videos showing 'traffic jam' on Mount Everest go viral, 2 climbers feared dead: 'It was a nightmare'

The video is just one of many clips circulating online that depict the constant rush hour on Everest. (Image: Instagram)

An Indian man recently shared a gripping video on Instagram, depicting the "traffic" on Mount Everest and emphasising the seriousness of the climb. Rajan Dwivedi, who fulfilled his ten-year-old dream of reaching the world's highest peak, posted the video on May 21, illustrating the perilous conditions climbers face.

The clip was recorded in the aftermath of a harrowing incident on Tuesday, when British climber Daniel Paterson and his Nepali Sherpa, Pastenji, were struck by falling ice while descending from the summit. "Mt. Everest is not a joke and in fact, quite a serious climb," Dwivedi wrote in his Instagram post. His video vividly captured the congestion on a single rope line, with climbers navigating both upward and downward traffic.

In his Instagram post, Dwivedi explained, "This video captured shows what we face on one rope line and negotiating interchanges during the traffic for upstream and downstream! The main reason is the weather window to avoid the fierce cruising jet streams that could be 100-240mph! For me, coming down was a nightmare and exhausting while a huge line of climbers was coming up to maximize the weather window!”

He also detailed the three hardest segments of the climb: “1) Khumbu Icefalls 2) C3 to C4 and 3) C4 to Summit during the entire night in the death zone in the frigid air!” Dwivedi noted that approximately 500 climbers, including amateurs and those inexperienced, attempt to reach Everest's summit each year, but only a few succeed. Many climbers, he added, suffer from frostbite, snow blindness, and other severe injuries. Despite these challenges, Dwivedi successfully reached the summit at 6 am on May 19.

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A post shared by Rajan Dwivedi (@everester.raj)

The video is just one of many clips circulating online that depict the constant rush hour on Everest, which has been dubbed a "traffic jam" by social media users.

Earlier, mountain guide Vinayak Malla also shared a harrowing experience on Mount Everest. Malla posted three videos, one showing a long queue of climbers before a cornice collapse, another depicting the aftermath of the collapse, and the third showing the repaired route with climbers passing by. He and his teammates narrowly escaped the life-threatening situation by taking a different route to reach the base camp.

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A post shared by Vinayak jaya malla (@malla.mountaineer)

Meanwhile, the latest climbers feared dead are Daniel Paterson, 39, and his guide Pastenji Sherpa, 23. According to a BBC report, the duo reached the summit on Tuesday as part of a group but have not been heard from since. The expedition company reported that the incident occurred at Hilary Step, a treacherous vertical rock face near the summit. The men reportedly fell down the steep, vertical slope towards Tibet.