Kathmandu: It’s the dream of any mountaineer to reach the peak of Mount Everest at least once in his/her lifetime.
However, Kami Rita’s dreams are much bigger.
The Nepali sherpa recently conquered Everest for a staggering 29th time, surpassing his own record.
As per the Guinness Book of World Records, Kami Rita has scaled Everest nearly every year since his first climb, way back in 1994.
The 54-year-old Kami Rita, known as ‘Everest man’, embarked on the Spring Season Everest expedition from Kathmandu, along with a team of 28 climbers.
Born into a Sherpa family at the foothills of Everest, Kami Rita started as a porter before graduating to a climbing guide and then a full-fledged mountaineer.
It was in 2023 that Rita completed his 27th ascent of Everest, equalling his fellow-guide Pasang Dawa Sherpa’s record.
Within months, in May 2023, Rita became the sole owner of the record vis-à-vis the 71-year history of Everest climbing. And now, he has gone one better.
The first to reach the summit of Everest were New Zealand’s Edmund Hillary and Nepali sherpa Tenzing Norgay, originally from Tibet, on May 29, 1953.