KATHMANDU: Ang Rita Sherpa, popularly known as the ‘snow leopard’ in the mountaineering community, has passed away this morning, according to family sources.

He was 72. “The legendary climber breathed his last at around 10:40am at his residence in Jorpati,” his neighbor Mingma Sherpa, who is also chairman at Yambu Thamichho Kydug, confirmed.

Ang Rita is survived by two sons and a daughter. The reason behind his death is not known yet.

Sherpa was awarded with a Guinness World Record certificate for making the most number of successful ascents on Mt Everest without using the supplemental oxygen.

Sherpa made it to the top of world for 10th time in 1996 without using the bottled oxygen.

Ang Rita reached the summit of Mt Everest eight times via the Southeast ridge route, according to a record maintained by the Department of Tourism.

Ang Rita has received two Guinness World Records for the most climbs of Mt Everest without supplementary oxygen i.e 10 times and the ”His first winter climb of Mt Everest without supplementary oxygen was in 1987.”