KATHMANDU, MAY 19 Nepal's spring climbing season witnessed another historic day on Monday as veteran climber Pasang Dawa Sherpa, popularly known as Pa Dawa, summited Mt Everest for the 30th time, becoming only the second climber in history to achieve the feat after Kami Rita Sherpa. The day also saw Sanu Sherpa summit Mt Lhotse while continuing his pursuit of climbing all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres for the third time, and Phunjo Jangmu Lama return to the summit of Everest as part of a landmark expedition. Dozens of climbers from various international expeditions also reached the summit on the same day. Pa Dawa, 49, from Pangboche, reached the summit at 8:25 am as part of an expedition organised by Climbing The Seven Summits, according to Govinda Gurung, co-owner of TAG Nepal Treks and Expeditions. Pa Dawa first climbed Everest in 1998 while assisting British adventurer Bear Grylls and has since made nearly annual ascents. Besides Everest, he has climbed Cho Oyu five times and also summited Lhotse and Manaslu. He is also known for climbing Ama Dablam more than 70 times. Meanwhile, Phunjo Jangmu Lama successfully scaled Everest again during the first Everest expedition organised by Altipro Adventures. The Gorkha-born climber had set the record for the fastest female ascent of Everest in 2024 by climbing from base camp to summit in 14 hours and 31 minutes. The eight-member Altipro team summited in two groups. The company described the ascent as a milestone in its high-altitude expedition operations. Likewise, Sanu Sherpa reached the summit of Mt Lhotse (8,516 metres) at 6:40 am along with three Chinese climbers and three Nepali guides under an expedition organised by 8K Expeditions. Although the ascent does not complete his mission to climb all 14 eight-thousanders for the third time, Sanu remains the only climber in history to have summited all 14 peaks twice. He still needs to climb Cho Oyu and Shishapangma to complete the third cycle. 'His endurance and dedication continue to inspire the mountaineering community,' said Lakpa Sherpa, Managing Director of 8K Expeditions. Monday also witnessed heavy summit traffic on Everest. Seven Summit Treks guided 22 climbers, including mountaineers from the United States, Poland, South Africa, Russia, Brazil and Kosovo, to the summit with support from Nepali guides. Similarly, 14 Peaks Expedition reported successful summits by two separate teams, including an eight-member Chinese group and climbers from the United States and Peru. Climbing the Seven Summits reported 24 summits including international and Nepali climbers. Earlier on Sunday, Kami Rita Sherpa climbed Everest for a record 32nd time, while Lhakpa Sherpa became the first woman to summit Everest 11 times. With favourable weather conditions and more than 60 climbers summiting on Monday alone, expedition operators expect summit numbers to rise further in the coming days.