NEPALI CLIMBER KAMI RITA SHERPA BREAKS WORLD RECORD WITH 31ST EVEREST SUMMIT

Tue 27 May 2025:

Kami Rita Sherpa, a veteran Nepali mountaineer, reached the summit of Mount Everest for the 31st time early Tuesday, breaking his own world record for the most ascents of the world’s highest peak.

The 55-year-old climber led the Indian Army Adventure Wing Everest Expedition and reached the 8,848-meter (29,029-foot) summit at around 4 a.m. local time (2215 GMT Monday), according to the Kathmandu Post.

Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, the expedition’s organizer, confirmed the achievement, calling Kami Rita the unrivaled record-holder.

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“This new feat cements his status as the record holder for the highest number of ascents to the top of the world — a record that no one else has come close to,” he said. “Kami Rita is safe and stable after his summit. He has started his descent and is on his way back to base camp.”

Known as the “Everest Man,” Kami Rita first climbed the mountain in 1994 and summited it twice in 2023. His nearest competitor, fellow Nepali climber Pasang Dawa Sherpa, has reached the peak 29 times.

Nepal, home to eight of the world’s ten tallest mountains, relies heavily on mountaineering as a key driver of tourism, employment, and national revenue.

VIDEO: Mount Everest: two world records for Nepali climbers

Kami Rita Sherpa reached Everest’s summit for a record 31st time on Tuesday, while Tashi Gyalzen Sherpa climbed the famed mountain four times in just 15 days. Gyalzen Sherpa received a hero’s welcome#AFPVertical pic.twitter.com/Dt7PfGmyCp

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 27, 2025

Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak at 8,848 meters (29,029 feet), was first successfully summited on May 29, 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa from Nepal. Their historic climb opened the door to global interest in Everest expeditions.

In the following decades, climbers from around the world attempted the peak, facing extreme weather, altitude sickness, and avalanches. In 1975, Junko Tabei from Japan became the first woman to reach the summit.

By the 1990s, improved gear and commercial guiding companies made Everest more accessible. However, the mountain’s dangers remained. The 1996 disaster, where eight climbers died in a storm, highlighted Everest’s risks and was later chronicled in the book Into Thin Air.

In recent years, Nepali Sherpas—local mountain guides—have become the backbone of expeditions. Kami Rita Sherpa, for example, holds the record with 31 successful summits as of 2025.

Today, Everest attracts hundreds annually, leading to concerns over overcrowding, environmental impact, and safety. Yet it remains a symbol of ultimate human endurance and ambition.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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