KATHMANDU, April 27 (Xinhua) -- A total of 60 women received permit from the Nepali government to climb the Mt. Qomolangma this spring as of Thursday and the number surpassed that in 2017, Nepal's Department of Tourism (DoT) said.

As many as 59 women received such permits last year. Of them, 33 women had succeeded conquering the famous Himalayan peak.

"As we have not stopped providing permits for this season, the number of women seeking permits may rise further," Ram Prasad Sapkota, under secretary at DoT told Xinhua on Thursday.

A total of 346 climbers have received permits from the Nepali government to climb the Mt. Qomolangma as of Thursday, according to DoT.

With 15 climbers, Nepal tops the list of women taking permit to climb the Mt. Qomolangma followed by the United States (9), India (8), China (7) and Britain(4).

According to Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), a body representing mountaineering communities of Nepal, the number of women willing to summit the peak has been rising in the recent years.

Santa Bir Lama, president of NMA said that women willing to make the climbing as their profession is also growing gradually.

Since Japanese climber Junko Tabei became first women to climb the Mt. Qomolangma in May 1975, a total of 356 women have already reached the top of the world's tallest mountain, according to DoT.