A Sherpa from Nepal has broken the record for the most ascents of Everest with 27. On Wednesday, a Nepalese Sherpa guide reached a new high for the most times a single climber reached the summit of Mount Everest.
Three days after a fellow Sherpa tied his record of 26, officials said Kami Rita, 53, climbed the summit of the 29,032-foot mountain for the 27th time.
American climber Garrett Madison, who accompanied Rita on five of his ascents, said it was “very inspirational to see a local climber continue pushing the limits on Mount Everest.” Reuters.
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Thaneswar Guragai, general manager of Seven Summit Treks (where Rita works), informed the news agency that he and an international climber reached the peak of Mount Everest at 8:30 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
“Yes, Kami Rita climbed Sagarmatha for the 27th time,” Bigyan Koirala, an official with the Nepal Department of Tourism, told Reuters. “Sagarmatha” is the Nepalese name for Everest.
Seven Summit Treks says Rita “has become synonymous with the world’s highest peak” and has “dedicated his life to mountaineering.”
Since her first Everest climb in 1994, Kami Rita has made the journey virtually every year. He is only one of the numerous Sherpa guides whose knowledge and experience are crucial to the well-being of the international mountaineers who risk their lives each year to reach the summit.
Rita has climbed not just Everest but also K-2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu, and Lhotse, among the highest mountains in the world. His father was among the original Sherpa guides.
According to The Associated Press, Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa climbed Everest for the 26th time on Sunday, tying Rita’s record.
Those climbers were among the first of the season to summit Everest before the onset of increasingly dangerous weather in June.
The Associated Press reported that Nepali officials had awarded nearly 470 permits to climb Mount Everest this spring.
According to Reuters, Kenton Cool, a 49-year-old British climber, summited Everest on Wednesday, making him the 17th foreign climber. “Cool is now descending after guiding his private client,” Paudel explained.
More than 11,000 people have climbed Everest since the first ascent in 1953, but up to 320 people have perished trying to make the trek, according to officials, as reported by Reuters.