Nepal’s veteran climber Kami Rita Sherpa scaled Mount Everest for a record 28th time on Wednesday, just a week after the death of an experienced Sherpa guide heightened safety concerns on the world’s highest peak.
Rita, 49, reached the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) summit in early morning with a group of other climbers, his employer Seven Summit Treks said.
Rita could break his own record of most Everest climbs if he succeeds in another ascents planned for this season. The death toll on Everest this season has now risen to 11.
Rita, a father of two from Thame village in Solukhumbu district, achieved a string of other firsts on Everest before embarking on this season’s expedition, including being the first to have successfully climbed the world’s 14 highest peaks since May.
The veteran guide has played a major role in boosting the mountain’s fortunes as a lucrative destination for foreign climbers, who pay up to $25,000 for a peak permit.
The record 28th time ascent of the mountain by Rita will not only cement his place in mountaineering history, but also confirm Nepal’s position as the world’s prime destination for climbing the roof of the world.