Nepalese Sherpa Climbs Everest for Record 30th Time; two climbers disappear

KATHMANDU — A Nepalese Sherpa guide scaled the summit of Mount Everest for a record 30th time on Wednesday, an official said, while two climbers went missing while descending from the world's highest peak.

It is known that ordinary mountaineers take several days to climb the peak of Everest, and it is very rare for mountaineers to make several ascents in a short time.

Kami Rita Sherpa, 54, reached the 29,032-foot summit via the traditional southeast ridge route, Nepal tourism official Khim Lal Gautam said.

Kami Rita had climbed the summit for the 29th time on May 12.

He “broke his own record…this marks his 30th ascent to the top of the world,” Gautam, head of the expedition monitoring office at base camp, said in an article on X.

Nepalese tourism officials said a British climber and a Nepali guide had been missing since Tuesday, after slipping and falling near the south summit, in the mountain's “death zone”, where oxygen is at a premium. very rare.

They were on their way back down after reaching the summit.

Kami Rita first climbed Everest in 1994, and has done so almost every year since, except for three years when authorities closed the mountain for various reasons.

On Wednesday morning, officials said they were awaiting more details on Kami Rita's ascent.

Another Sherpa mountaineer has climbed Everest 27 times, the most of any peak after Kami Rita.

Climbing is a key tourism activity, source of income and employment in Nepal, home to eight of the world's 14 highest peaks.

Two Mongolian climbers died on Everest last week.

Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Clarence Fernandez