Nepali sherpa Kami Rita Sherpa who has climbed the Mount Everest for a 29th time, breaking his own previous record of scaling the peak 28 times, said the Nepali government officials, as per an ANI report. He is the sole person to ascend Mount Everest for a record 29 times, they added.
"This year, I have set out to climb Sagarmatha for the 29th time. I have no plan of climbing Sagarmatha for any specified number of times. Let me ascend the summit," he said ahead of his summit on May 1, reported ANI.
He set out for the expedition in the last week of April from capital Kathmandu as part of the Spring Season Everest expedition, accompanying a mountaineering expedition team comprising 28 climbers.
Kami Rita, 54, had climbed the 8,849-metre world's highest mountain peak for the 28th time in May last year beating his own record less than a week after setting it.
He said his goal was not to compete for any records rather help his foreign clients climb the mountain, as per an AP report. “I will continue to climb as long as my body allows,” he said after he had achieved his 28th summit.
Kami Rita first ascended Mount Everest in 1994 and has subsequently done so every year since then. In addition to Everest, he has scaled several other world's highest peaks including K2, Cho Oyu, Manaslu, and Lhotse.
On Friday, a team of 10 Nepalese Sherpas, entrusted with the critical task of rope-fixing, summited the Mount Everest. The team from Seven Summit Treks , led by Dendi Sherpa reached the summit at 8:15 pm, according to an ANI report.
Mountaineering tourism contributes significantly to the landlocked Himalayan nation's economy as the country earned a royalty of Nepali Rs 674.7 million, of which Nepali Rs 592.3 million was in lieu of permits to summit Mount Everest.