‘Very strong’ Nepalese Sherpa summits Everest for 27th time | World News

A Nepalese Sherpa climbed Mount Everest for the 27th time on Wednesday, breaking his own record, a government official and his climbing company said.

Kami Rita Sherpa, 53, had climbed the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak early in the morning along the traditional southeastern ridge route and was guiding a foreign climber.

“Yes, Kami Rita climbed Sagarmatha for the 27th time,” said Tourism Ministry official Bigyan Koirala, referring to the mountain’s Nepali name.

Thaneswar Guragai, general manager of Seven Summit Treks, where Kami Rita works, said he reached the summit with foreign climbers at 8:30 a.m. (0245 GMT).

“We are working on getting details. Currently 100% confirmed Kami Rita zoom 27,” Guragai said.

Kami Rita, who makes a name for himself, first climbed Mount Everest in 1994 and has climbed almost every year since then, except in 2014, 2015 and 2020 when he stopped for various reasons.

Garrett Madison of the American Madison Mountaineering Company, who has climbed Mount Everest 12 times, five of them with Kami Rita, described him as a “very strong climber “.

“It’s very inspiring to see local climbers continue to push the limits of Everest,” Madison told Reuters by phone from Everest Base Camp, where he is preparing for his 13th ascent.

Kami Rita, from Thame village in Solukhumbu district, home to Everest and other peaks, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday as he was descending to a lower camp.

He “dedicated his life to mountaineering and has become synonymous with the world’s highest mountain,” his company said in a statement.

Sherpas are known for their climbing skills, and many make a living instructing foreign clients on Everest and other peaks.

May is the ideal time to summit Everest, with clear weather before the monsoon arrives from the south, bringing clouds and snow to the peaks and rain to the lowlands.

Nepal has issued a record 478 permits to climb Mount Everest this year, up from the previous record of 408 in 2021.

The Himalayan nation, which relies heavily on mountaineering, trekking and tourism for foreign exchange, has been criticized for allowing too many climbers, many of them inexperienced, to attempt to summit Everest.

Dangerous overcrowding can occur, especially at the bottleneck below the summit known as the Hillary Ladder. In 2019, nine exhausted climbers died on Everest after lines of climbers lined up and down.

Since the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953, both Nepal and Tibet have climbed more than 11,000 times, many with multiple summits.

Mountaineering officials say more than 320 people have died on the mountain.