Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa summited Mount Everest for the 27th time, recovering the global record for the most summits of the world's highest mountain. The 53-year-old had held the title since 2018, when he ascended Everest for the 22nd time, passing the previous mark he shared with two other Sherpa climbers, both of whom have since retired.
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About the Kami Rita Sherpa:
• Kami Rita Sherpa, a guide for more than two decades, first summited the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) peak in 1994 while working for a commercial expedition. Since then, he has climbed Everest nearly every year, leading the first rope-fixing crew to open the path to the world's highest point multiple times.
• Dubbed “the Everest man”, Sherpa was born in 1970 in Thame, a village in the Himalayas renowned as a breeding ground for successful mountaineers.
• As a child, Sherpa saw his father and then his brother don climbing gear and join expeditions as mountain guides, and he soon followed in their footsteps.
• In 2019, he reached the summit twice in the span of six days.
• Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks and welcomes hundreds of adventurers each spring, when temperatures are warm and winds are typically calm.
• This year, authorities awarded 478 permits to international climbers, with the $11,000 charge being part of the total fees for a summit ranging from $45,000 to $200,000.
• Since most will need a guide, more than 900 people, a record, will try to summit this season, which runs until early June.
• Nepali guides, usually ethnic Sherpas from the valleys around Everest, are considered the backbone of the climbing industry and bear huge risks to carry equipment and food, fix ropes and repair ladders.
