Sherpa climber set to break his own record for ascents of Mount Everest
Veteran Sherpa climber Kami Rita is preparing for a record-breaking ascent of Mount Everest.
The 55-year-old, considered one of the world's greatest mountain guides, aims to summit the world's highest peak for an unprecedented 31st time – and potentially a 32nd – this spring climbing season.
Rita departed Kathmandu on Sunday to lead a climbing expedition to the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) summit.
'I am mentally, emotionally and physically prepared to climb the mountain,' Kami Rita told The Associated Press at Kathmandu 's airport. 'I am in my top physical condition right now.'
He holds the record for the most successful ascents of Mount Everest at 30 times. In May last year he climbed the peak twice.
'My first priority is to get my client to the summit of the peak. Then I will decide on whether I will climb the peak more than one time during the season. It depends on the weather and conditions on the mountain,' he said.
His closest competitor for the most climbs of Mount Everest is fellow Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa, who has made 27 successful ascents of the mountain.
Kami Rita first climbed Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since. He is one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success each year of foreign climbers aspiring to stand on top of the mountain.
His father was among the first Sherpa mountain guides. In addition to his Everest climbs, Kami Rita has scaled several other peaks that are among the world's highest, including K2, Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.
According to Nepal 's Department of Tourism, 214 climbers have been issued permits to attempt Mount Everest from the Nepali side of the peak in the south this climbing season, which ends in May. Most climbing of Everest and nearby Himalayan peaks is done in April and May, when weather conditions are most favorable.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
Himalaya base jump record attempt cut short by severe storm
A man planning to use a wingsuit to break the world record for the world's highest-ever base jump has been thwarted by a severe Howell, from Martock in Somerset, planned to jump and fly down from 8,300 metres (27,230ft) on Lhotse, a neighbouring peak to Mount Everest in the Himalayas. However, after reaching the peak, a storm set in and Mr Howell and his support team were forced to walk back down the said: "The end result was disappointing, we didn't get the jump. We were waiting on this tiny little ledge for about three hours in pretty stormy conditions until it wasn't feasible to wait any longer." Mr Howell had attempted the challenge in 2024, but it was cut short due to bad said the weather for the most recent attempt on Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain in the world, "wasn't like anything I've experienced before".Visibility was so bad, he said, that the team had to resort to basic methods to judge the conditions and distance."We throw a rock off and count how many seconds it takes to impact [at the bottom of the slope] and from there we have a general idea how big [the drop] it is. Base jumping is an extreme sport that involves jumping from fixed objects, using a parachute or is an acronym that stands for Buildings, Antennas, Spans (such as bridges) and Earth (such as cliffs) - the four recognised categories of objects people can jump from. Mr Howell said the year had been a "pretty bad season" for forecasting weather accurately, with lots of storms."We were unfortunate but we did our best to pull it off," Mr Howell added."You have to look at the forecast four or five days in advance because that's how long it takes you to get from the base camp to the exit point and things change, so it's a lot harder to organise the logistics."Third time is the charm."The current record for the highest base jump was set by the late Valery Rozov, who jumped 7,700m (25,300ft) from Cho Oyu, also in the Himalayas, in later died in a base jumping accident in 2017.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
The queue at the top of the world: Dozens of climbers wait for their turn to reach the top of Mount Everest in human traffic jam
Hundreds of climbers have been captured in striking images queuing to reach the summit of the highest mountain in the world. Photographs taken from the snowy mountain showed adventurers in their orange protective gear forming a snaking queue to the peak on May 18. The long line of climbers wound from Camp 4 to the summit, with the brave climbers huddling in the high winds. 'According to the Department of Tourism, over 500 climbers, including Sherpa guides, have successfully summited Everest so far this spring season,' the Everest Chronicle reported. Many more climbers continued on throughout the rest of last week. Stunning photographs of the queues of climbers saw the white snow-capped mountains dotted with bodies as a white mist hovered overhead. One image even captured a group of five taking a selfie in their thick winter coats, ski masks and goggles. 'It started out a little blustery, but the winds abated by midday when we reached Camp 3,' American mountaineer, guide and expedition leader Garrett Madison reported. 'Forecasts are challenging, [but] our summit itinerary stays,' a Brazilian team wrote from Camp 2. It estimated summiting on May 22. In May last year, experts feared overcrowding on the world's highest mountain may have played a role in causing the collapse of a cornice - an overhanging mass of hardened snow on the edge of a precipice - which led to the disappearance of Daniel Paul Paterson, 40, and Pastenji Sherpa, 23. The pair had not been heard from since they reached the summit and were feared dead. It comes as Nepal's mountaineering community celebrated the conquest of Mount Everest with a rally of climbers, guides and others who gathered for International Everest Day. The event Thursday marked the 72nd anniversary of the first summit climb of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953, by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay. Nepal's minister for culture and tourism led the celebration in the capital, Kathmandu, that included a walk around the city and a gathering at the old palace. 'We are celebrating May 29 as the international Sagarmatha (Everest) day because the world needs to continue to recognise the achievement and contribution of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay,' said Ang Tshering, who runs Kathmandu-based Asian Trekking. The event was not just a celebration for the mountaineering community but also a festival for Nepal and the world, said Tshering, who has helped hundreds of clients scale the Himalayan peaks. Oxygen cylinders are kept on a slope on the way to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, May 18, 2025 Nepal contains eight of the highest peaks in the world and every year hundreds of foreign climbers fly to the country in South Asia to tackle the mountains. The climbers hire thousands of people in Nepal to assist their climbs by carrying gear, cooking food and generally taking care of them as they spend weeks in the mountains. Nepal's government collects money from the climbers through permit fees. The end of May also marks the end of the popular spring mountaineering season, when climbers finish their adventures and retreat from the peaks before the monsoon season brings foul weather. 'This day is celebrated also to mark the end of the climbing season where we gather climbers and the community,' Jiban Ghimire of Shangri-La Nepal Trek said. According to Nepal's Department of Mountaineering, 468 foreign climbers from 57 countries received permits to climb Everest by the end of May, along with a roughly equal number of Nepalese mountain guides. Many were able to scale the peak, but officials were still working to verify how many reached the 29,032ft summit. Climbers must report to the department with proof they reached the summit and cleared their garbage before they are issued the official certificate. Famed Sherpa guide Kami Rita reached the Everest summit for the 31st time Tuesday, breaking his own record for the most climbs to the top of the famed mountain.
The Independent
4 days ago
- The Independent
AP PHOTOS: Hundreds scale Mount Everest in a weather-hit climbing season
Hundreds of climbers and their Sherpa guides scaled Mount Everest this month in Nepal, struggling against harsh weather to make it to the summit of the world's highest mountain before the climbing season finishes at the end of May. Though several climbers did manage to reach the summit in mid-May, weather conditions deteriorated for days, forcing a retreat to base camp for many, including Kami Rita Sherpa, who was attempting to break his own record by scaling the peak for a 31st time. He did manage to scale the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak on May 27, but several climbers were not so lucky. The route to the summit is equipped with ladders and ropes but these are removed at the end of May, marking an end to the climbing season before the monsoon brings heavy rainfall and bad weather. According to Nepal's Department of Mountaineering, 468 foreign climbers from 57 countries were given permits to climb Everest by the end of May, along with a roughly equal number of Nepalese mountain guides. Because of the limited windows of good weather near the summit, large numbers of climbers lined up, attached to the single safety rope, which is known as the 'Everest traffic jam.' 'Overall on Everest, weather is the key and it was not same as the forecast. And secondly, it was crowded because both professionals and beginners were there at the same time," said Pasang Rinji Sherpa, a guide, adding that because of some of the novice climbers, movement was slow. Pasang Rinji has already climbed the peak twice but was forced to retreat this time because he got sick on the mountain. He said there were many cases of flu and the 'Khumbu cough,' named after a region on Everest, that affects climbers at high altitudes. Some climbers and guides abandoned or postponed their ascent, he said. He said that only selected or qualified climbers should be allowed to climb the peak to make the experience safer and easier. 'Right now there are beginners with no experience or knowledge and professional at the same time and this is causing the problem,' he said. 'There should be basic knowledge for the climbers to use gear properly and be safe while climbing Everest.' Six-time Everest summiteer Jenjen Lama also said the weather was the biggest hurdle this year. 'The weather was very difficult to predict and the forecast would be great for the following day, but on the day the weather would deteriorate every hour or so,' he said. ' Weather was very challenging as it would frequently change without any warning.' Friday marks the 72nd anniversary of the conquest of Mount Everest by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay.
