KATHMANDU: Hiking officials announced that a British climber and a Nepali guide had surpassed their own records for the most ascents of Mount Everest on Sunday, the highest peak on Earth.
According to Rakesh Gurung, director of Nepal’s Department of Tourism, Kenton Cool from Britain, aged 50, and Nepali guide Kami Rita Sherpa, aged 54, reached the summit of the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) mountain for the 18th and 29th time, respectively.
These remarkable achievements were accomplished during separate expeditions while guiding their clients.
Garrett Madison, representing the US-based expedition organizing company Madison Mountaineering, praised Kami Rita, describing him as an “amazing guy” who just keeps pushing the limits. Madison had previously collaborated with Kami Rita in 2014 for successful climbs of Everest, Lhotse, and K2.
K2, situated in Pakistan, ranks as the world’s second-highest mountain, while Lhotse in Nepal holds the title of the fourth-tallest.
Lukas Furtenbach, leading an expedition from the Chinese side of Everest for the Austrian operator Furtenbach Adventures, hailed Cool’s accomplishments as remarkable, emphasizing his pivotal role in the Everest guiding industry, labeling him as an institution.
Both climbers opted for the Southeast Ridge route to the summit, a path pioneered by the first summiteers, Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953, which continues to be the most favored route for ascending Everest.
Kami Rita embarked on his first Everest ascent in 1994 and has since scaled the peak almost annually, except for three years when the mountain was closed for various reasons. Remarkably, he ascended Everest twice in the preceding year.
Mountain climbing serves as a significant tourism activity and a vital source of income and employment for Nepal, renowned for being home to eight of the world’s 14 tallest peaks, including Everest.
For the current climbing season ending this month, Nepal has issued 414 permits to climbers, each costing $11,000.
