Record numbers

That is what happened last year.

After an Qomolangma avalanche killed 16 people in 2014, ending the season, Nepal eventually extended climbers' permits, and a record number of people flocked to Qomolangma base camp in 2015.

But worryingly for Nepal, after two successive setbacks on Qomolangma and criticism of what some climbers said was a chaotic response to the April 25 disaster, more are now eyeing the colder, windier but better organised Chinese route.

Following last year's avalanche, expedition leader Adrian Ballinger decided enough was enough.

Already concerned about the instability of the Khumbu icefall, a particularly dangerous section of the Nepalese ascent, he moved operations of his Alpenglow Expeditions agency to Tibet.

Ballinger estimated there were more than 200 climbers and a similar number of sherpa mountain guides on the north face when the quake hit, and he praised China's swift decision to call off attempts to scale the summit.

The China Tibet Mountain Association, which issues climbing permits, then moved quickly to assist expeditions to descend after the quake, climbers and companies said.

Nepal has yet to formally close Qomolangma, and several mountain outfits said that Nepal's response had been disorganized in comparison.

Ballinger now calls the north the only ethical choice for climbing Qomolangma, saying the risks in Nepal put sherpas and clients' lives in danger.

Jiban Ghimire, managing director of Shangri-La Nepal Trek in Kathmandu, added: "If the government doesn't decide soon (on the permits), everyone is going to go from the north side because the Chinese are treating everyone so well."