Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa gestures to the crowd upon his arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu on May 24, 2024. — AFP
A 55-year-old Nepali climber dubbed the “Everest Man” reached the peak of the world’s highest mountain for a record 31st time on Tuesday, more than three decades after his first summit.
“Massive congratulations to the legendary Kami Rita Sherpa on his 31st successful ascent of Everest — the highest number of ascents by anyone in history,” said a statement from expedition organisers, Seven Summit Treks.
“Kami Rita Sherpa needs no introduction. He is not just a national climbing hero, but a global symbol of Everest itself,” it added.
Sherpa first stood on the top of Mount Everest in 1994 when working on a commercial expedition. He has climbed Everest almost every year since, guiding clients.
Sherpa, speaking a year ago after he had climbed the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak for the 29th and 30th times, said that he was “just working” and did not plan on setting records.
“I am glad for the record, but records are eventually broken,” he told AFP in May 2024.
“I am more happy that my climbs help Nepal be recognised in the world.”
Seven Summit Treks said he completed the climb on Tuesday as the leader of the Indian army team, adding that he “not only reached the summit himself, but also led and guided the last remaining members of the team to the top”.
‘To the next height’
The achievement comes as the spring climbing season nears its end.
More than 500 climbers and their guides have already reached the summit of Everest since the route opened, taking advantage of brief spells of good weather, according to Nepal’s tourism department.
The season has so far recorded the fewest number of deaths on Everest in recent years. Two climbers, a Filipino and an Indian, have died on its high camps.
Nepal has issued more than 1,100 permits for mountaineers this season, including 458 for Everest, earning more than $5 million in royalties.
The country is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring when temperatures are warmer and winds typically calmer.
Earlier this month British climber Kenton Cool, 51, successfully climbed Everest for the 19th time, extending his own record for the most summits by a non-Nepali.
Tourist ministry official Himal Gautam, director of its mountaineering and adventure section, said Sherpa’s achievement reflected the country’s wider efforts.
“Kami Rita Sherpa’s record ascent has helped to take Nepal’s mountaineering sector to the next height,” Gautam said.
A climbing boom has made mountaineering a lucrative business since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa made the first ascent in 1953.
Last year more than 800 climbers made it to the peak of Everest, including 74 from the northern Tibet side.
