An experienced Nepalese Sherpa guide scaled Mount Everest for the 26th time breaking his own record for the most climbs of the world’s highest peak, expedition organisers said on Sunday.
Kami Rita reached the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) summit on Saturday evening leading a group of Sherpa climbers who fixed ropes along the route so that hundreds of other climbers and guides can make their way to the top of the mountain later this month.
Rita and 10 other Sherpa guides reached the summit without any problems and safely returned to lower camps, said Mingma Sherpa of the Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks.
“Kami Rita has broken his own record and established a new world record in climbing,” said Taranath Adhikari, director general of the Department of Tourism in capital Kathmandu.
Kami Rita’s wife, who gave her name as Jangmu said she was happy over the achievement of her husband.
The climbing route used by Kami Rita was pioneered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepal’s sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953 and remains the most popular.
The group reached the summit around 7pm on Saturday, which by Everest climbing standards is late. At night, there is risk of weather deteriorating and climbers losing their way on the way down.
Sherpa said the guides were all highly experienced climbers.
Rita, 52, first scaled Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since then. He is one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of the foreign climbers who head to Nepal each year seeking to stand on top of the mountain.
His father was among the first Sherpa guides, and Rita followed in his footsteps and then some. In addition to his 26 times to the top of Everest, Rita has scaled several other peaks that are among the world’s highest, including K-2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.
This year Nepal has issued 316 permits to climb Everest in the peak season, which runs through May, compared with 408 last year, the highest ever.
May is the best month to climb Everest since it has the best weather. There are generally only a couple of windows for good weather on the highest section of the mountain in May that enable climbers to reach the summit.
The Himalayan nation, which is heavily reliant on climbers for foreign exchange, faced criticism for allowing overcrowding and several climber deaths on the mountains in 2019.
Everest has been climbed 10,657 times since it was first scaled in 1953 from Nepali and Tibetan sides – many have climbed multiple times, and 311 people have died so far, according to the Himalayan database.
Additional reporting by Reuters