Hundreds of Everest climbers begin to return from summit

By BINAJ GURUBACHARYA
Associated Press

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Hundreds of climbers who scaled Mount Everest over the last few days taking advantage of favorable weather conditions have begun to return safely down the mountain. Among them are some who set records on the world’s highest peak, including the first Ukrainian woman to scale Mount Everest. Lakpa Sherpa, a 48-year-old Nepali Sherpa, broke her own record reaching the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit for the 10th time — the most times any woman has climbed Mount Everest. British climber Kenton Cool scaled it for the 16th time, setting the record for the most Everest summits by a non-Nepalese climber. And Ukrainian climber Antonina Samoilova said she hoped her achievement would call more attention to the war in her country.