World Record Holder Sherpa Kami Rita Breaks His Own Record

Kami Rita, 54 year old, renowned Sherpa mountain guide, reached the summit of Mount Everest for a record-breaking thirty times on May 19, 2024, capping his second ascent to the summit this month.

Khim Lal Gautam, a government official at the base camp, stated that Rita reached the 29,032-foot summit at 7:49 a.m. This is his second climb to Mt. Everest this month. His first climb to the world’s tallest summit was on May 12 while guiding foreign tourists.

Rita broke his own record

Famous Sherpa mountain guide Kami Rita made history on May 20, by successfully climbing Mount Everest for the thirty time and coming back. He further took a vow to return to the mountain again next year. 

Apart from his ascent of Everest, Kami Rita has accomplished the ascent of multiple world-class peaks, such as K2, Cho Oyu, Manaslu, and Lhotse. His father is one of the earliest Sherpa Guides. 

With 27 successful ascents of Mount Everest, fellow Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa is his closest rival for the record number of climbs.

What did Rita say on achieving this record?

“I will continue climbing and will be back again next year and for at least one or two more years,” Kami Rita declared to media upon reaching the airport in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

Talking about his plans for the future, Rita said that he would stay on the mountain as a manager or team leader at the base camp once he retired from guiding.

Will Rita be Climbing Again?

Mingma Sherpa of the expedition Seven Summits Treks, organizer of the Mt. Everest Expedition confirmed that Rita would not be climbing again this season. He would probably be heading home in the coming days. But he has vowed to come back again next year and climb the mountain again. 

Rita has been climbing Everest almost yearly since her first ascent in 1994. He is one of several Sherpa guides whose knowledge and abilities are essential to the security and accomplishment of foreign climbers' annual attempts to reach the summit of the peak.

Chinese Side of Mt. Everest

It is also possible to ascend the peak from China. Wang Jian, 70 years, became the oldest Chinese person to reach the summit on May 21, 2024, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

The climbing season, which ends in a few days, has seen more than 450 climbers ascend Mount Everest from the Nepali side of the summit in the south, according to officials. The best months to climb Everest and other neighboring Himalayan peaks are April and May, when the weather is at its best.

This season, hundreds of foreign climbers were granted climbing permits by Nepalese officials, and at least an equal number of native Sherpa guides accompanied them.