A video has surfaced showing a Chinese drone's overflight of Mount Everest from base camp to the 29,032-foot summit.
The four-minute clip, from footage recorded by a Mavic 3 Pro drone, was shared by its Shenzhen-based manufacturer DJI on Chinese social media platform Monday.
It starts with the unmanned aerial vehicle flying near Base Camp on the south side of the mountain in Nepal, at an altitude of around 17,600 feet.
Following the curves of the landscape, the civilian drone gives a bird's-eye view of Camp I above the treacherous Khumbu Icefall. And over a dozen snow-dusted tents can be seen at Camp II in Western Cwm, a wide glacial valley about 20,000 feet up.
The video, recorded in high definition 4K resolution, shows mountaineers climbing in single file and past the third and final camps before reaching the summit, the highest point on earth.
DJI did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
Everest was first summitted in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa of Nepal.
Around 800 people try to make it to the top each year, including foreign climbers and Sherpas they employ as guides and porters.
Mountaineers typically take the southern route or climb up the northern face from Tibet. Most make the trek in spring or autumn, with brief windows of generally more favorable conditions for the trek.
Around 50 to 60 percent of climbers succeed, with many others turning back due to challenges like poor weather, exhaustion, and health issues.
The proportion of climbers who lose their lives has remained at approximately 1 percent since 1990.
The New York Times cited Nepalese officials as saying in late May that at least five had died and three gone missing so far this year. Last year 18 people lost their lives, making 2023 one of the deadliest years yet.
It was also one of the busiest, with Nepal issuing a record 478 permits.
UAVs are becoming a more common sight on the mountain.
In April, DJI successfully sent one of its drones on a supply run to the mountain in the first test of an aerial delivery system. The vehicle delivered critical supplies like oxygen canisters to Camp 1 and carried a bit of trash back to base camp.
The demonstration highlighted the potential of drones to ease the burden on Sherpas transporting gear as well as to tackle the environmental byproduct of Mount Everest's popularity. Mountaineers are estimated to leave behind 18 pounds of garbage per climb.
