Kami Rita Sherpa: The Everest Man's Record Climbs

If you ask who has climbed Mount Everest more than any other human being, the answer is Kami Rita Sherpa. Born in a small village in Nepal's high Khumbu region, this Nepali guide has stood on the world's highest summit more than thirty times and holds the global record for the most Everest ascents. For travellers planning a trek in the Everest region, his story is a window into the skill, endurance and quiet professionalism of the Sherpa guides who make Himalayan climbing possible.

Key takeaways

• Kami Rita Sherpa holds the world record for the most ascents of Mount Everest, reaching the summit for the 32nd time on 17 May 2026.
• He was born on 17 January 1970 in Thame, a village in the Solukhumbu district of the Khumbu region.
• His first Everest summit was on 13 May 1994, and he has returned almost every climbing season since.
• Beyond Everest, he has summited other 8,000-metre giants including Cho Oyu, Lhotse, Manaslu and K2.
• He is nicknamed the "Everest Man" and is one of the most recognised faces of Nepali mountaineering.
• His career highlights the central, often under-credited role that Sherpa guides play on every major Himalayan expedition.

Who is Kami Rita Sherpa?

Kami Rita Sherpa is a professional high-altitude mountain guide from Nepal. He belongs to the Sherpa people, the ethnic community of the high Himalaya famous worldwide for their mountaineering ability. Among climbers and the international press he is simply called the "Everest Man," a nickname earned by returning to the top of Mount Everest year after year.

His record is not a one-off achievement but the result of decades of work as a guide, leading paying clients and expedition teams up the mountain. Each summit on his tally represents a full, gruelling expedition rather than a single dramatic push, which makes the cumulative number all the more striking.

A family rooted in the mountains

Kami Rita grew up in Thame, a village in the Solukhumbu district that sits high in the Khumbu valley, on the trekking routes that feed toward Everest. According to widely reported accounts, his father was among the early generation of professional Sherpa guides who began working after Nepal opened its peaks to foreign mountaineers in the mid-20th century. Growing up in a large family in a modest home, Kami Rita was surrounded by the mountains and the climbing trade from childhood.

Thame has produced a remarkable number of celebrated climbers, and Kami Rita is part of that lineage. He is married to Lakpa Jangmu Sherpa, and the couple have two children.

The record: most Everest summits in history

Kami Rita's defining achievement is the record for the most successful ascents of Mount Everest. He first reached the summit on 13 May 1994 at the age of 24. From there he climbed the mountain again and again across the following decades, often once a season and in some years twice.

A major milestone came on 16 May 2018, when he became the first person ever to summit Everest 22 times, taking sole possession of the record. He has continued to extend it almost every year since.

His summit milestones

The table below highlights several landmark moments in his Everest record, based on reporting from Guinness World Records and Nepali and international media.

| Milestone | Date | Significance | | --- | --- | --- | | First summit | 13 May 1994 | First Everest ascent, age 24 | | 22nd summit | 16 May 2018 | First person to reach 22 ascents | | 29th and 30th | May 2024 | Two summits within roughly two weeks | | 31st summit | 27 May 2025 | Extended his own world record | | 32nd summit | 17 May 2026 | Current record, reportedly reached at 10:12am |

By the time of his 32nd ascent in May 2026, Kami Rita was 56 years old and still leading clients on the mountain. His record is formally recognised by Guinness World Records as the most ascents of Mount Everest by any individual.

Beyond Everest: a wider 8,000-metre career

While Everest is the headline, Kami Rita's mountaineering goes well beyond a single peak. Over his career he has stood on the summits of several of the world's fourteen 8,000-metre mountains. His climbs reportedly include:

• Cho Oyu (8,188 m) — summited multiple times across the 2000s and 2010s
• Lhotse (8,516 m) — Everest's near neighbour and the fourth-highest mountain on Earth
• Manaslu (8,163 m) — one of Nepal's great 8,000-metre peaks
• K2 (8,611 m) — the second-highest mountain in the world, in the Karakoram

Taken together, his verified tally of 8,000-metre summits numbers more than forty, a figure cited by Nepali media and Guinness World Records as a record in its own right. For context on these giants, see our overviews of Lhotse expeditions, Cho Oyu expeditions and Manaslu expeditions.

Why these numbers are hard to grasp

A single ascent of Everest demands weeks of acclimatisation, repeated trips through the dangerous Khumbu Icefall, and a summit push through the thin air of the death zone above 8,000 metres. To do that more than thirty times, plus additional 8,000-metre peaks, represents an extraordinary accumulation of risk managed over a working lifetime. It is one reason Kami Rita is so admired: the record is built on consistency and survival, not luck.

The role of Sherpa guides on Everest

Kami Rita's fame also throws a spotlight on the wider community of Sherpa climbers and guides. On a commercial Everest expedition, it is typically Sherpa staff who fix the ropes, carry loads, establish the high camps and guide clients to the summit and safely back down. Many foreign climbers who "summit Everest" do so with the close support of experienced guides like Kami Rita.

If you want to understand this better before a trip, our guide to who the Sherpas are explains the community's history, language and home region. Kami Rita has reportedly spoken about Everest, which Sherpas call Chomolungma, as a sacred place rather than simply a sporting challenge — a perspective worth keeping in mind on any Himalayan journey.

A note on safety and respect

Stories like Kami Rita's can make Everest sound almost routine, but it remains a serious and sometimes deadly mountain. For a grounded look at the risks, read how many people die on Everest. The professionalism of guides is exactly what keeps the danger manageable, and it is a strong argument for hiring experienced, well-paid local staff.

Can travellers connect with his story?

Most visitors to Nepal will never climb Everest, but you can still walk through the landscape that shaped Kami Rita's life. The classic Everest Base Camp trek passes through the Khumbu region near villages like Thame, and during the spring climbing season the area buzzes with expedition teams preparing for the mountain.

Ways to engage respectfully

• Trek the Khumbu with a licensed local guide and learn about Sherpa culture first-hand.
• Visit monasteries and villages in the Everest region rather than treating the area only as a backdrop.
• Support locally owned teahouses and guiding companies that employ Sherpa staff fairly.
• Read up on altitude sickness in Nepal before trekking, since the same thin air Kami Rita works in affects every visitor.

There is no guaranteed way to meet Kami Rita himself, but you do not need to in order to appreciate his legacy. Every prayer flag, fixed rope and well-run expedition in the Khumbu is part of the same tradition he represents.

Frequently misunderstood facts

A few points are worth clarifying for travellers and readers:

| Common assumption | The reality | | --- | --- | | Anyone with money can match his record | The record reflects decades of professional guiding, not paid tourism | | He climbs alone for sport | He largely climbs as a working guide, leading clients and teams | | Everest is his only mountain | He has summited several other 8,000-metre peaks as well | | The record is final | He has repeatedly broken his own record over many seasons |

Kami Rita Sherpa's achievements are best understood as the peak of a long, disciplined career — and as a tribute to the entire Sherpa guiding community that makes Himalayan climbing possible.

Sources

• Kami Rita — Wikipedia
• Nepali sherpa Kami Rita makes history with 31st summit of Mt Everest — Guinness World Records
• Kami Rita Sherpa sets new world record with 32nd Everest summit — The Kathmandu Post
• Kami Rita Sherpa's 32nd Everest summit: A timeline of the world record holder — Nepal News
• 55-year-old Kami Rita Sherpa breaks his own record — NPR
• Renowned Sherpa guide Kami Rita breaks his own Mount Everest summiting record — CBS News
• Everest Man Kami Rita holds world record with 42 summits of 8000m peaks — The Himalayan Times