Climbers poised to reach Everest peak for the first time in 3 years
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Teams of climbers are prepared to summit Mount Everest for the first time in three years, after fatal avalanches ended attempts in 2014 and 2015. As the tallest mountain on Earth at 29,035 feet, Everest is subject to notoriously unpredictable weather and the teams are currently waiting at camps for a "window" of favorable conditions during which they can make their way up the final ridge.
"Climbers will then start making summit attempts from Thursday," the chief of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, Ang Tshering Sherpa, told Reuters.
The mountain has been plagued in recent years by tragedy; in 2014, 16 sherpa guides were killed by an avalanche and last year, the earthquake in Nepal killed at least 18 climbers and guides. Nearly 700 people summitted Everest in 2013.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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