Sherpa climber scales Mount Everest for record 23rd time

Sherpa climber Kami Rita has scaled Mount Everest for the 23rd time, breaking his own record for the most successful ascents of the world’s highest peak.

Mr Rita reached the summit with other climbers on Wednesday morning and all were reported to be safe, according to Nepalese government officials.

The Sherpa’s two closest peers have climbed the 8,850-metre (29,035ft) peak 21 times each, but both of them have now retired from mountain climbing.

Yhe guide said last month before his trip to the mountain: “It is my profession, but at the same time I am setting new world record for Nepal, too.”

The 49-year-old first scaled Everest in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since - one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of the hundreds of climbers who head to Nepal each year seeking to stand on top of the world.

He follows in the footsteps of his father, who was among the first Sherpa guides employed to help climbers reach the summit. In addition to his nearly two dozen summits of Everest, Mr Rita has scaled several other peaks that are among the world’s highest, including K-2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.

Mr Rita was at Everest’s base camp in 2015 when an avalanche swept through, killing 19 people.

After that tragedy, he came under intense family pressure to quit mountaineering altogether, but in the end decided against it.

“I know Mount Everest very well, having climbed it 22 times, but at the same time I know I may or may not come back,” he said last month.

“I am like a soldier who leaves behind their wives, children and family to battle for the pride of the country.”