Sherpa guides set new Everest records amid busy season
17.05.2026, DPA
Photo: Narendra Shahi Thakuri/dpa
Veteran Nepali climbers Kami Rita Sherpa and Lhakpa Sherpa have each set new Everest records in their respective male and female categories, officials said on Sunday.
Kami Rita, 56, reached the 8,848-metre summit at around 10:12 am, completing a record 32nd ascent while leading an international expedition team, according to Mingma Sherpa, chairman of expedition operator Seven Summit Treks.
Lhakpa Sherpa, widely known as the “Mountain Queen,” reached the summit at 9:30 am, after having ascended the world's highest peak for the 11th time as part of an expedition organized by the Seven summit club agency, according to Khimlal Gautam, coordinator at the Department of Tourism’s Everest base camp.
"Both climbers were descending with their team after successful ascents," Gautam told dpa.
Born in 1973, Lhakpa Sherpa first summited Everest in 2000 via the southern route and has since become one of the most experienced female climbers on the peak. By May 2022, she had completed 10 ascents, including nine via the northern route, according to Guinness World Records.
Kami Rita first summited Everest in 1994 and has climbed almost every year since, according to Guinness World Records.
Both climbers began their careers as porters before becoming professional guides.
Nepal has issued a record 494 Everest climbing permits for the 2026 spring season, with hundreds of guides and support staff deployed on the mountain.
"Aound 70 climbers reached the summit on Sunday, with total Everest ascents this season already exceeding 100," Gautam said.
Expedition operators say the high number of climbers has been driven partly by restrictions on the Tibet side imposed by Chinese authorities, while delayed route openings and unstable ice conditions have narrowed the ascent window.
Sherpas, an ethnic group native to Nepal’s Himalayan region, are widely employed as high-altitude guides and support staff in commercial expeditions.
Everest can be climbed from both Nepal and Chinese-administered Tibet, though the southern route remains the most commonly used. Nepal recently raised the climbing permit fee to $15,000 from $11,000 for foreign climbers.
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