Kathmandu: Nepal’s legendary climber, Kami Rita Sherpa, has summited Mt. Everest for a record 27th time. The 53-year-old broke his own record of climbing the world’s highest peak for the 26th time.

Kami Rita scaled the 8,848.86-metre mountain on Wednesday morning, his expedition organiser Seven Summit Treks said. “This morning at 8.30 a.m., Kami Rita successfully summited Mt. Everest for an incredible 27th time,” said Mingma Sherpa, chairman of Seven Summit Treks.

On May 14, Pasang Dawa Sherpa reached the summit of the world’s highest peak for the 26th time, equalising with Kami Rita.

Kami Rita, who is working as a Senior Climbing Guide at Seven Summit Treks Pvt Ltd, had scaled Mt Everest for the first time on May 13, 1994. Between 1994 to 2023 he has now scaled the peak 27 times. Besides Everest, he has also climbed the K2 and Lhotse (one time each); Manaslu (thrice); and Cho Oyu (eight). He holds the record for ‘Most climbs over 8,000 m’. His mountaineering journey began in 1992 when he joined an expedition to Everest as a support staff member.

Similarly, British mountain guide Kenton Cool has broken his own record as he stood on top of Everest for a record 17 times. He has the most summits of Everest by any foreign climber. This year, Nepal’s Department of Tourism has issued permits to 478 fee-paying individuals, the highest permit issuance on record, to climb Everest.