Kami Rita: Nepali Sherpa scales Mount Everest 30 times

SCALING the world's highest mountain peak, Mount Everest is a dream of many climbers, and while some prepare their whole life to dominate nature, the likes of Nepal sherpa guide Kami Rita Sherpa make it sound like a walk in a park.

The 54-year-old created a new record on Wednesday after he scaled the giant Mount Everest for the 30th time. 

He "broke his record ... this marks his 30th ascent to the top of the world," Gautam, chief of the expedition monitoring field office at the base camp, said in a post on X.

Typically, ordinary climbers require several days to reach the summit of Everest, and it is exceedingly rare for mountaineers to achieve multiple ascents within a brief period. However, Kami Rita Sherpa ascended the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) peak via the traditional southeast ridge route, according to Nepali tourism official Khim Lal Gautam. Impressively, Kami Rita had already completed his 29th ascent on May 12.

"This year, I set out to climb Sagarmatha for the 29th time. I have no plan to climb Sagarmatha any specified number of times. Let me ascend the summit," the record-holding climber told state news agency Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) after making his 29th Everest climb on May 12. 

"I am going to climb Sagarmatha, I have no other purpose," Kami Rita said, "I have only continued the profession of mountain climbing, I have not climbed for a record."

A British climber and his sherpa went missing on Tuesday while they were descending from Mt. Everest. The victims have been identified as Daniel Paul Peterson from the UK and Pas Tenji Sherpa from Makalu, Sangkhuwasabha, according to the local media in a report. 

The report mentioned that the duo fell when a section of the route in the Hillary step below the summit collapsed on Tuesday morning.

"A few climbers were immediately rescued, but Peterson and Pas Tenji fell," eyewitnesses told the base camp officials.