Nepali mountain guide Kami Rita has broken his own world record by reaching the top of Mount Everest for the 31st time. He led a group of Indian army officials to the summit at 4:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, May 27.
Kami Rita is a sherpa, which means he belongs to an ethnic group from the Himalayas and also works as a professional mountain guide. He first climbed Everest in 1994 and has spent over 20 years helping others reach the peak of the world’s tallest mountain, which stands at 8,849 meters.
This latest climb strengthens his title as the person with the most ascents of Mount Everest. His closest competitor is another Nepali sherpa, Pasang Dawa, who has made it to the summit 29 times.
The climb happened just one week after British climber Kenton Cool set a new record for non-sherpa climbers by reaching the top for the 19th time. Interestingly, Kenton’s 18th trip up the mountain was guided by none other than Kami Rita himself.
Climbing Everest is extremely difficult and dangerous, but for Kami Rita, it has become a regular part of life—earning him the nickname “Everest Man.”
