KATHMANDU, MAY 17
Two Nepali mountaineers etched their names deeper into Everest history on Sunday morning, with Kami Rita Sherpa completing his record 32nd ascent of the world's highest peak and Lhakpa Sherpa reaching the summit for an unprecedented 11th time, both on the same day.
Kami Rita, 55, launched his summit push from South Col late Saturday night and stood atop Mount Everest (8,848.86m) at 10:12 am local time, according to the Department of Tourism, which confirmed the ascent from its field office at Everest Base Camp.
He was climbing as part of a 14 Peaks Expedition team this season, without a foreign client to guide.
"This marks the beginning of my 32nd summit attempt on Mount Everest, a journey built on experience, passion, and the spirit of the mountains," Kami Rita had written on social media when he set off for the Khumbu earlier this season. He had also indicated this could be his last Everest climb.
"I am already 55. After retiring from Everest climbing in 2026, I plan to continue trekking and other adventure activities," he had said ahead of his departure.
Born on January 17, 1970, in Thame village of Solukhumbu, Kami Rita first summited Everest in 1994 and has held the record for the most Everest ascents since 2018. Across his career spanning over three decades, he has also summited Cho Oyu eight times, Manaslu five times, and K2 and Lhotse once each, a body of work recognised by Guinness World Records in 2025 for the most true-summit ascents of 8,000-metre peaks, with 42 climbs confirmed after his 31st Everest summit last May.
Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, Managing Director of 14 Peaks Expedition, said Kami Rita and other summiteers were descending to lower camps. He added that after returning to base camp, Kami Rita would decide whether to go for a 33rd summit this season.
Hours earlier, Lhakpa Sherpa, widely known as the Mountain Queen, had already made history of her own. The 53-year-old mountaineer from Sankhuwasabha reached the Everest summit at 9:30 am, becoming the first woman in history to climb the peak eleven times.
Mingma Gelu Sherpa, Managing Director of Seven Summit Adventure, confirmed she was descending safely after completing the climb as part of his company's expedition, accompanying one of her own clients.
Lhakpa first climbed Everest in 2000 without any formal mountaineering training. Of her eleven summits, three have been from the Nepal side and eight from the Tibetan side. She has also summited K2, the world's second-highest peak, in 2023 and holds a Guinness World Records certificate for the most Everest ascents by a woman.
What sets Lhakpa's story apart is the life she leads off the mountain. Based in suburban Connecticut in the United States, she works as a dishwasher at a Whole Foods Market in Hartford. She climbed Everest just eight months after the birth of her first daughter and while two months pregnant with her second child. She has said she climbs to empower women and inspire young people. "They can do anything they want," she has said of Nepali women.
Sunday's twin summits mark a historic moment for Nepal's mountaineering legacy, with both record-holders reaffirming the country's place at the pinnacle of high-altitude climbing.