Nepali mountaineer breaks own record scaling Mount Everest for 26th time

Kami Rita Sherpa, 52, scaled the world's tallest mountain on Saturday along the traditional southeast ridge route leading 10 other Sherpa climbers.

Nepal Everast Record

Nepalese veteran Sherpa guide, Kami Rita, waves as he arrives in Kathmandu, Nepal, in this 20 May, 2018, file photo. Source: AAP / AP

A Nepali sherpa scaled Mount Everest for a record 26th time, beating his own previous record set last year, a government official said on Sunday.

Kami Rita Sherpa, 52, scaled the 8,848.86-metre (29,031.69-foot) mountain on Saturday along the traditional southeast ridge route leading 10 other Sherpa climbers.

"Kami Rita has broken his own record and established a new world record in climbing," said Taranath Adhikari, director general of the Department of Tourism in capital Kathmandu.

Mr Kami Rita's wife, who gave her name as Jangmu said she was happy over the achievement of her husband.
The climbing route used by Mr Kami Rita was pioneered by New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepal's sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953 and remains the most popular.

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.

The Himalayan nation, which is heavily reliant on climbers for foreign exchange, faced criticism for allowing overcrowding and several climber deaths on the mountains in 2019.

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 the Himalayan database.

Share
2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters, SBS

Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world