Photo: Collected-
Metropolis Desk-
Nepalese climber Kami Rita Sherpa has reached the top of Mount Everest for the 27th time, reclaiming the record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain, a government official and his hiking company said.
Kami Rita, 53, scaled the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) mountain early in the morning on Wednesday, along the traditional southeast ridge route, guiding a Vietnamese climber, reports Al Jazeera.
“Yes, Kami Rita climbed Sagarmatha for the 27th time,” said Department of Tourism official Bigyan Koirala, referring to the mountain by its Nepali name.
Thaneswar Guragai, manager of the Seven Summit Treks, for which Kami Rita works, said he arrived at the summit at 8:30am (02:45 GMT) along with the foreign climber.
“We are trying to get details. For now it is 100 percent confirmed that Kami Rita scaled for the 27th time,” Guragai said.
Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, including Everest, and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
Earlier on Wednesday, British mountain guide Kenton Cool reached the world’s highest point for the 17th time, extending his own record for the most summits by a non-Nepalese.
Authorities have issued 478 permits to foreign climbers this year, the $11,000 fee part of total costs for a summit ranging from $45,000 to $200,000.
Since most will need a guide, more than 900 people – a record – will try to reach the summit this season, which runs until early June.
Kami Rita had held the overall title since 2018, when he ascended Everest for the 22nd time, passing the previous mark he shared with two other Sherpa climbers, both of whom have since retired.
He scaled Everest for the first time in 1994 and has climbed it almost every year since then, except in 2014, 2015 and 2020, when climbing was halted for various reasons.
But on Sunday, another climber, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, 46, tied the record by reaching the top for the 26th time.
