Eighth Icelander Reaches Everest Peak Amidst Seasonal “Traffic Jam”

Bjarni Ármannsson, the former director of Glitnir and current director of Iceland Seafood, became this week the eighth Icelander to reach the park of Mt Everest, Vísir reports.

The last Icelander to reach Everest’s peak was Vilborg Arna Gissurardóttir, who was also the first Icelandic woman to scale the world’s tallest mountain. Other historic landmarks include those of Ingólfur Geir Gissurarson, then the oldest Icelander to reach the top, and Leifur Örn Svavarsson, the first Icelander to attain Everest’s summit via the north ridge.

Bjarni’s accomplishment comes amidst an unusually busy season for Mount Everest. As has been reported by the New York Times, the Guardian, and Outside Online, the climbing season for the Himalayan peaks is very brief, often comprising just a few days. This leads to occasional bottlenecks, which can sometimes prove deadly, as oxygen debt, freezing temperatures and exhaustion take their toll during waits to return from the peak that can sometimes last hours.

As a stark visual representation of what these traffic jams can look like, this photo, posted by Project Possible, was taken only yesterday.