Renowned Nepalese Sherpa guide Kami Rita broke his own record for the most successful ascents of the Mount Everest, by reaching the summit of the world’s highest peak for the 31st time on Tuesday, May 27.
Popularly known as the “Everest Man”, the 55-year-old mountaineer scaled the 8,849-meter peak at 4 am in clear weather, according to Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Seven Summit Treks, the organisation that conducted the expedition. According to The Kathmandu Post, the climber was guiding a group from the Indian Army Adventure Wing Everest Expedition, which is led by Lieutenant Colonel Manoj Joshi.
Rita guided the 22-member Indian Army team to the summit by the traditional southeast ridge route. There were also 27 sherpas climbing with them. His experience with the most treacherous sections of the Everest, especially the Khumbu Icefall and the Hillary Step, has garnered him a lot of praise globally.
Rita has routinely been the first climber on the Everest to fix the ropes that hundreds of climbers rely upon to follow on the Everest Climbing Season. Through year-round trekking and intense training in the Himalayas, Rita maintains peak endurance despite the physical toll of many high-altitude ascents.
Rita is from the Solukhumbu region, which is the centre of the Sherpa community. He started his climbing career in 1992 while he was support staff for an expedition group. He climbed the Everest for the first time in 1994 and has scaled the peak nearly every year since.
Over the years, he has become one of the most well-known Sherpa guides. His knowledge and experience have been vital to the success and safety of climbers from around the world who aim to reach the summit each year.
In addition to his Everest climbs, Rita has also scaled K2 and Mount Lhotse once, Manaslu three times, and Cho Oyu eight times between 1994 and 2025. Mingma Sherpa was quoted as saying, “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.”
The only climber close to Kami Rita in the record books is Nepali Pasang Dawa Sherpa, who summited the Everest 29 times as of 2023. In May 2023, they were tied at 28 summits each before Rita reclaimed the lead with his 29th, 30th, and now 31st summit.
