A top climbing guide of Mount Everest has set a new record for the most ascents of the world's highest peak. Kami Rita, a Sherpa guide from Nepal, successfully reached the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit on Sunday morning at 7:25 am local time, marking his remarkable 29th ascent.
The 53-year-old mountaineering specialist was a member of a team that successfully reached the summit in favorable weather conditions, as stated by Mingma Sherpa from the expedition company Seven Summits Treks. Kami Rita was confirmed to be in good health and was already descending to the base camps after accomplishing this remarkable feat.
Kami Rita set a new record for himself by reaching the summit of Everest twice in 2022, marking his 28th ascent. This achievement marked the second consecutive year of breaking his own record. He has been engaged in a friendly competition with Pasang Dawa, another Sherpa guide, who has 27 successful ascents to his name.
Kami Rita reached the summit of Mount Everest for the first time in 1994 at the age of 24. Since then, he has undertaken the challenging journey almost every year, utilizing his exceptional high-altitude expertise to safeguard the foreign climbers who invest substantial amounts of money for the opportunity to reach the pinnacle of the world's tallest peak.
In addition to his unmatched Everest resume, Kami Rita has scaled other treacherous peaks including K2, Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse. His father was among the first Sherpa mountain guides when commercial Everest expeditions began in the 1960s.
This season has seen the first summits of 2023 just days ago, with hundreds more climbers set to attempt to reach the top through late May when weather conditions become too risky. Nepalese authorities have issued climbing permits to hundreds of foreign mountaineers, each utilizing the services of experienced Sherpa guides like Kami Rita.
