Mountaineers lined up as they climb Mount Everest (Photo by LAKPA SHERPA/AFP via Getty Images)

Mt. Everest’s route to the summit is an increasingly well-trodden path

... especially for Kami Rita

5/17/24 11:41AM

One of the best climbing guides on Mount Everest, Kami Rita, broke his own record on Sunday after scaling the world’s highest mountain peak, at 8,849 meters above sea level, for the 29th time. As part of his ongoing competition against fellow guide Pasang Dawa (who’s conquered the peak 27 times), Kami Rita has climbed Everest almost every year since his first ascent in 1994, including twice in 2023.

The news of Rita’s record comes at a pivotal moment for the mountain. The soaring number of would-be-Everest-summiters has prompted Nepal’s Supreme Court last month to place limits on the number of mountaineering permits being issued, after a record 478 permits in 2023 heightened concerns about overcrowding worsening the already perilous trek and affecting the mountain’s environment.

Last year, more than 1,200 people attempted the climb, though only 656 successful ascents were tracked, down from the all-time high of 877 five years before — a reported client success rate of ~52%. As conversations around the danger of overcrowding on the mountain intensified, 2023 also saw the deadliest season on record and, sadly, the first fatality of the year was reported on Friday as the search for a second missing climber continues.

Jake Lahut

PAIN AT THE PUMP

17h

Analyst: US could see $5 gas by Memorial Day, $6 per gallon on the table

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Gas station in front of the Gordie Howe International Bridge under construction.

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The UAE’s OPEC exit will hit the group in the barrels

After just shy of 60 years in OPEC, its membership even predating its status as a nation-state, the United Arab Emirates yesterday announced its shocking departure from the oil production group, effective May 1, as the knock-on effects of the Iran war continue to play out across the Middle East and the energy landscape.

For context, the UAE produces the third-highest amount of oil in the group, per April data and OPEC’s latest set of annual statistics.

According to the cartel’s 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin, the OPEC group was collectively exporting some 19 million barrels of crude oil a day last year, with the United Arab Emirates accounting for some 14% of that daily output.

UAExit means UAExit

The nation, whose energy minister told Reuters yesterday that the decision was taken “after a careful look at current and future policies related to level of production” and wasn’t made following discussions with any other country, made up a healthy share of the group’s total confirmed crude oil reserves, as well.

Of the 12 nations in the core group, which was founded by just five oil superpowers back in September 1960, only two (Iraq and Saudi Arabia) exported more barrels of crude oil daily, pumping out 3.36 million and 6.05 million barrels, respectively, each day to nations around the world.

For its part, the UAE said it will “continue its responsible role by gradually and thoughtfully increasing production, in line with demand and market conditions,” per the official state news agency. Clearly, the nation now wants a little more control of just how much oil it can pump around the world, with the UAE having to eat a large proportion of lost revenues due to its healthy abundance and OPEC restrictions.