"Get Paid to Climb Everest"… Nepal Sherpa Who Has Climbed 29 Times in 30 Years

Kami Rita Sherpa, 29 Ascents in 30 Years
British Guide Also Sets Foreign Record with 18 Ascents on Same Day

A Sherpa (mountain guide) from Nepal in his 50s set a new record by summiting the world's highest peak, Everest, 29 times. On the same day, a British mountain guide also succeeded in reaching the summit of Everest 18 times, setting the record for the most ascents by a foreigner.

On the 12th, AFP and other foreign media reported that Nepalese Kami Rita Sherpa (54) and Briton Kenton Cool (50) each reached the summit of Everest, the highest mountain in the world (8,848.86 meters above sea level). Kami Rita Sherpa succeeded in his 29th ascent that day, becoming the mountaineer with the most Everest summits in history. The term Sherpa refers to an ethnic group and surname in Nepal, as well as mountain guides.

Kami Rita Sherpa posing after successfully summiting Everest for the 28th time on May 23 last year.
[Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

Kami Rita Sherpa followed in the footsteps of his father, who worked as a mountain guide, and first reached the summit of Everest in May 1994 at the age of 24. Since then, he has climbed Everest almost every year and has also summited other high peaks such as K2 multiple times. Kami Rita Sherpa began to gain fame in May 2019 when he reached the summit twice within a week, on the 15th and 21st, astonishing the world. At that time, those were his 23rd and 24th ascents of Everest.

He then set a new record of 28 Everest ascents last May after climbing twice within six days, on the 17th and 23rd. In a past interview, he said, "I do not plan to set records; I just work."

Kenton Cool, who set the record for the most ascents by a foreigner, is receiving even more attention as he continues to climb despite overcoming a serious injury. In 1996, he suffered an accident while rock climbing that broke both his heel bones. At the time, he was told that without help, he might never walk again, but Cool succeeded in rehabilitation through strong will and effort. In an interview after his 16th ascent in 2022, Cool calmly remarked, "Considering many Sherpas have achieved more ascents, this record is not that surprising."

Panoramic view of Everest Base Camp, the world's highest peak.
[Photo by EPA Yonhap News]

On the day they set their records, Sherpa and Cool each guided different climbing teams. Rakesh Gurung of the Nepal Tourism Board told AFP, "Both reached the summit today and set records," confirming their achievements.

Recently in Nepal, Sherpas are increasingly not just supporting climbers but challenging summit records under their own names.

In May 2022, Lakpa Sherpa, a mother of three siblings, reached the summit of Everest for the 10th time, breaking her own record for the most Everest ascents by a woman. In July of the same year, Sanu Sherpa summited Pakistan’s high peak Gasherbrum II (8,035 meters above sea level), becoming the first in the world to climb all 14 Himalayan peaks over 8,000 meters at least twice. In May last year, Nepalese Sherpa Pasang Dawa Sherpa (47) reached the Everest summit consecutively on the 14th and 22nd, tying the record of 27 ascents held by Kami Rita Sherpa, who later broke the tie by climbing twice within a week.

Everest was first successfully summited in 1953 by New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa. Last year, more than 600 climbers reached the summit of Everest, during which 18 people lost their lives.