Who is Kami Rita? Nepal's Sherpa who broke his own record with 31st Everest summit

Time of India

27-05-2025

Kami Rita (PTI)
Dubbed as the 'Everest man', Nepal's Kami Rita, 55, has successfully scaled the world's highest mountain for the 31st time. Rita broke his own record on Tuesday, more than thirty years after he ascended his first summit.
According to Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks based in Kathmandu, Rita was in good health and reached the summit at around 4 am under stable weather conditions.
"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," said Mingma as reported by Kathmandu Post.
Kami Rita was the guide for the Indian Army Adventure Wing Everest Expedition, which was led by Lieutenant Colonel Manoj Joshi.
Who is Kami Rita, Nepal's own Everest Man?
Rita's mountaineering journey dates back to 1992 when he joined an expedition to Everest as a support staff member.
His father was also among the first Sherpa guides.
In a successful mountaineering career spanning from 1994 to 2025, Rita has ascended the Everest, K2, Cho Oyu, Lhotse, and Manaslu.
He scaled Everest for the first time in 1994, and ever since then, he has stood on top of the 8,849-meter summit almost every year.
Over the past two years, Rita has summited Mt. Everest 30 times, achieving this by climbing it twice each season.
According to AP, Rita had vowed to climb the summit for the 31st and even a possible 32nd time before this expedition.
Every year, hundreds of climbers attempt to scale Mt. everest from Nepal's side. This season itself, Nepal has issued more than 1,100 permits for mountaineers, including 458 for just Everest.
Everest's summit was first reached by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepal's Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953.