"Mount Everest's Enduring Allure: 70 Years of Climbing and Commemoration"

Mount Everest continues to attract climbers 70 years after the first summit by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa. The climb has transformed small farming villages into tourist hubs, boosting the livelihoods of local communities. Sherpas have become synonymous with high-altitude guiding and are the backbone of the multimillion-dollar industry. Local expeditions now bring the bulk of paying clients into Nepal, and a younger generation of Nepali climbers is slowly being recognised in their own right. More than 10 percent of Nepalis are employed in tourism, and the government this year collected more than $5m in Everest permit fees as a record number of summit hopefuls arrived.