KATHMANDU, APRIL 16
Kami Rita Sherpa, the climber who has stood atop Mount Everest more times than anyone in history, left for the Everest region this week to attempt his 32nd ascent - a climb he says will likely be his last.
The 55-year-old veteran, who has spent three decades turning the world's highest peak into something close to a second home, departed with an international team he is guiding for 14 Peaks Expedition this spring season. Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, the company's owner, confirmed his departure.
"This will probably be my last attempt on the world's highest peak," Kami Rita said in an interview with local media ahead of his departure. "I am already 55. After retiring from Everest climbing in 2026, I plan to continue trekking and other adventure activities."
He touched down in Lukla on Thursday - the rugged mountain airstrip that serves as the gateway to the Khumbu - and posted on social media that his team was continuing toward Phakding. "This marks the beginning of my 32nd summit attempt on Mount Everest," he wrote, "a journey built on experience, passion, and the spirit of the mountains."
It is a journey he first made in 1994 as a young climber from Solukhumbu. What followed was one of the most remarkable careers in the history of mountaineering - 31 successful Everest summits across three decades, a record he has extended almost every year since claiming it outright in 2018. His most recent ascent came on May 27 last year, his 31st.
Friends and family had long urged him to step away. He resisted. Now, he says, the time has come.
If he reaches the summit this spring - likely sometime in mid-May - it will be his 32nd, a number that seems almost implausible against the scale of the mountain itself. Beyond Everest, he also holds the record for the most ascents of peaks above 8,000 metres, with 44 summits in total across some of the world's most demanding terrain, including eight ascents of Cho Oyu, five of Manaslu, and single summits of K2 and Lhotse.
For 14 Peaks Expedition, the occasion was one worth marking. "For most, Everest is a dream," the company wrote on social media. "For Kami Rita Sherpa, it's a legacy."
Whether or not this is truly his last climb, the mountains have already written his name into their history. He is heading up once more - this time, perhaps, to say goodbye.