Kami Rita

rdf:langString Kami Rita

rdf:langString Kami Rita (born 17 January 1970, Solukhumbu, Nepal) is a Nepali Sherpa guide who, since May 2018, has held the record for most ascents to the summit of Mount Everest. Most recently, he scaled the mountain for a 26th time on 7 May 2022, breaking his own record set on 7 May 2021. His father was among the first professional Sherpa guides after Everest was opened to foreign mountaineers in 1950. His brother Lakpa Rita, also a guide, scaled Everest 17 times. In 2017, Kami Rita was the third person to ascend to the summit of Everest 21 times, sharing this record with Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa. The latter two subsequently retired. On 16 May 2018, at age 48, Kami Rita became the first person in the world to climb Everest 22 times, achieving the record of the most summits on the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak. In April of the year, he told the news media that he planned to scale Everest 25 times before retirement, "not just for myself but for my family, the Sherpa people and for my country, Nepal"; He completed his 26th summit of Everest on 7 May 2022. Kami Rita currently holds the record for most 8,000 meter summits, with 38 total. In addition to his Everest completions, his totals include Cho-Oyu eight times, three times on Manaslu, and both Lhotse and K2 once each.