Kami Rita Sherpa scales Mt Everest for 26th time

Kami Rita Sherpa, a Nepali Sherpa mountain climber has scaled Mount Everest for a record 26th time, breaking his own previous record, a government official informed.

The climber at the age of 52, scaled the 8,848-metre mountain on Saturday along the traditional south-east ridge route, leading 10 other Sherpa climbers.

Kami Rita and the other Sherpa guides reached the summit without any problems and safely returned to lower camps, said Mingma of the Kathmandu-based Seven Summit Treks.

The group reached the summit around 7pm local time on Saturday, which is late by Everest climbing standards.

At night, there is risk of weather conditions deteriorating and climbers may get loss their way during the descent.

Kami Rita, who first scaled Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since that year.

He is one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of the foreign climbers who head to Nepal each year seeking to stand on top of the mountain.

In addition to his 26thascent to the top of Everest, he has scaled several other peaks that are among the world’s highest, including K2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.

Kami Rita was born on 17 January 1970 and grew up in a small village, Thame in the Solukhumbu district, living with his large family in a one-room house. The village was also the home of other Sherpas, including Tenzing Norgey who guided Sir Edmund Hillary to the summit in 1953. In his youth, he had considered becoming a monk and spent some time at the Thame Dechen Chokhorling monastery but decided not to proceed with this vocation. According to Kami Rita’s brother Lakpa Rita, Kami’s first work on a mountain was in 1992, assisting a Base Camp cook. Another report, however, states that he was already working as a porter, transporting gear to the Everest base camp, at age 12. By age 24, he had scaled Everest.

This year Nepal has issued 316 permits to climb Everest in the peak season, which runs through May, compared with 408 last year, the highest ever. Thus, there are hundreds of foreign climbers and Sherpa guides readying to attempt to climb Everest this month as May is the best month to climb Everest, as it has the best weather conditions.

Mt Everest has been climbed 10,657 times since it was first scaled in 1953 from Nepali and Tibetan sides. Many have climbed multiple times, and 311 people have died so far, according to a Himalayan database.

This year Nepal has issued 316 permits to climb Everest in the peak season, which runs through May, compared with 408 last year, the highest ever. Thus, there are hundreds of foreign climbers and Sherpa guides readying to attempt to climb Everest this month as May is the best month to climb Everest, as it has the best weather conditions. – Ram Dangol