Sherpa guide who climbed Mount Everest for a record 28th time says he’s not ready to retire

KATHMANDU, Nepal — One of the biggest mountain guides said Thursday that he is not ready to retire after climbing Mount Everest for a record 28th time.

Nepalese Sherpa Kami Rita reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain at 8,849 meters (29,032 feet) on Tuesday, beating her own record by less than a week.

“I will keep climbing as long as my body allows,” the 53-year-old guide told reporters after arriving from the mountain at Kathmandu airport, where he was given a hero’s welcome by supporters and family members.

He said that his goal is not to compete for records, but to help his foreign clients escape the mountain.

This year’s climbing season is almost over, the next climb will have to wait until next spring.

Kami Rita reached the summit a day after Sherpa guide Pasang Dawa achieved his previous record of 27 climbs.

In the race for the title, Pasang Dawa climbed the summit for the 26th time on May 14, equaling Kami Rita’s previous record. Rita Kami reached the summit for the 27th time three days later.

Rita Kami first climbed Everest in 1994 and has done it almost every year since then. He is one of the many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of foreign climbers who want to reach the summit. His father was among the first Sherpa guides.

In addition to Everest, Kami Rita has scaled several of the highest peaks in the world, including K2, Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.

Thousands of people have climbed Mount Everest since it was first conquered in 1953 by New Zealand Sherpa guides Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the first ascent.