A renowned mountain guide in Nepal has recently successfully summited the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, for the 29th time, setting a new record for the most Everest summits by a human.
Reports from various media outlets indicate that 54-year-old climber and senior guide Kami Rita Sherpa reached the summit of Mount Everest from the Nepali side on the morning of May 12th, marking his 29th successful ascent of the mountain and surpassing his own previous record.
Both Sherpa’s mountaineering company, Seven Summits Treks, and Nepalese officials have publicly confirmed the news of his successful summit.
Mingma Sherpa, a climber from Seven Summits Treks, stated on the 12th that Kami Rita, along with several other climbers, reached the 8,848.86-meter-high summit of Mount Everest at 7:25 am local time. He is reported to be in good health and has descended to lower camps.
Rakesh Gurung, an official from the Nepal Tourism Board, confirmed that Kami Rita successfully summited Everest on the morning of the 12th, once again breaking his own world record.
Kami Rita has been working as a mountain guide for over 20 years, with his first ascent of Mount Everest in 1994. Since then, he has almost annually reached the summit of Everest and has led advance teams to pave the way to the world’s highest peak.
After his 22nd Everest summit in 2018, Kami Rita became the record holder for the most Everest ascents, a title he has held onto since. While his record was tied by another guide, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, he reclaimed the title with two successful ascents last year.
Kami Rita has admitted that breaking records was never his climbing goal. He stated, “The record was not intentional; I have always just been doing my job as a guide without ever thinking about setting records.”
Born in the village of Thame in the Himalayan region in 1970, Kami Rita hails from a family renowned for their mountaineering prowess. His father was one of the first professional Sherpa guides after Everest was opened to foreign climbers in the 1950s, and his brother, also a guide, has summited Everest 17 times.
Most Nepalese guides, like Kami Rita, come from the Sherpa community living near Everest and are considered crucial to Nepal’s mountaineering industry.
Among the world’s ten tallest peaks, eight are located in Nepal, including Mount Everest. In the warm climate and gentle winds of May, many climbers visit the country each year to attempt Everest summits. Nepal, heavily reliant on mountaineering, trekking, and tourism, has issued climbing permits to 414 foreign climbers this year, each costing $11,000.