Nepali Sherpa climber Kami Rita, nicknamed the “Man of Everest,” reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain for the 28th time on Tuesday, breaking his own record.
“Kami Rita summited Everest for the second time (in a week) this morning. This is the 28th time” she has done so, said Thaneshwor Guragain of Seven Summit Treks, the expedition organization.
A day earlier, 46-year-old Pasang Dawa of Nepal equaled Kami Rita’s previous record, set last week, when he climbed to the top of Mount Everest (8,849 meters) for the 27th time.
The two climbers have each scaled the “Roof of the World” twice this season, wowing the climbing community.
Kami Rita has been a mountain guide for more than 20 years and first climbed Everest in 1994 while working for a commercial expedition.
Since then, the veteran climber has scaled Everest almost every year.
Home to eight of the ten highest peaks in the world, including Everest, Nepal welcomes hundreds of climbers each season, when temperatures are warmest and winds are generally weakest.
For the 2023 mountaineering season, which ends in early June, Nepal has issued 478 permits to foreign climbers to scale Everest.
So far, more than 500 climbers, including Nepali guides, have undertaken the ascent, according to the Nepal Ministry of Tourism.
Most foreign climbers are usually accompanied by an ethnic Sherpa guide, so a record number of more than 900 people are expected to ascend Everest this season.
But ten climbers, including four Nepalis, have died on the world’s highest mountain this season.
The Himalayan mountaineering industry is based on the expertise of Sherpas, who often come from the Everest valleys.
They pay a high price for accompanying hundreds of climbers each year. A third of the deaths on Everest are from Nepali climbers.
Source: TSF
