A Nepali sherpa conquered Mount Everest for the 26th time, breaking his own prior record established last year.
On Saturday, Kami Rita Sherpa, 52, led a group of 10 Sherpa climbers up the 8,848.86-meter (29,031.69-foot) summit using the usual southeast ridge route.
“Kami Rita has smashed his own record and set a new world record in climbing,” Taranath Adhikari, director general of Kathmandu’s Department of Tourism, stated.
Kami Rita’s wife, Jangmu, expressed her delight at her husband’s success.
In 1953, New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepalese sherpa Tenzing Norgay pioneered the climbing route utilized by Kami Rita, and it is still the most popular.
In the peak season, which spans from April to May, Nepal has given 316 permits, down from 408 last year, the largest number ever.
In 2019, the Himalayan nation, which relies heavily on climbers for foreign cash, was chastised for allowing overpopulation and many climber fatalities on the peaks.
According to the Himalayan database, Everest has been climbed 10,657 times from Nepali and Tibetan sides since 1953, with many individuals climbing several times and 311 people dying.