Nepalese mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa, nicknamed “the man of Everest”, reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain for the 28th time on Tuesday, breaking his own record a day after his compatriot Pasang Dawa Sherpa equaled its previous record.
“Kami Rita Sherpa summited Everest for the second time (in a week) this morning. It’s his 28th time” in total, Thaneshwor Guragain, of Seven Summit Treks, the organization of his expedition, told AFP.
The day before, Nepalese Pasang Dawa Sherpa, 46, had equaled Kami Rita Sherpa’s previous record, set last week, by reaching the summit of Everest (8,849 m) for the 27th time. The two climbers have each climbed the “Roof of the World” twice this season, captivating the mountaineering community.
A mountain guide for more than 20 years, Kami Rita Sherpa first climbed Everest in 1994, working for a commercial expedition. Since then, this seasoned climber has climbed Everest almost every year, including leading the first roped party to open the access route to the summit.
Nepal is home to eight of the ten highest peaks in the world, including Everest, and welcomes hundreds of climbers each season, when the temperatures are milder and the winds generally weaker. For the 2023 mountaineering season which ends in early June, Nepal has issued 478 permits to foreign mountaineers for the ascent of Everest.
And already more than 500 mountaineers, Nepalese guides included, have undertaken its ascent, according to the Ministry of Tourism on Tuesday. With most foreign climbers usually accompanied by a guide, more than 900 people are expected to climb Everest during the season, a record.
But ten climbers, including four Nepalese, died on the highest mountain in the world during the season. The mountaineering industry in the Himalayas relies on the experience of Sherpas, usually from the valleys of Everest.
They pay a heavy price to accompany hundreds of mountaineers each year. A third of the dead on Everest are Nepali climbers.
