Kami Rita

Kami Rita (born 1970) is a Nepali Sherpa guide who, since May 2018, has held the record for most ascents to the summit of Mount Everest. Most recently, he scaled the mountain for a 24th time on 21 May 2019, eclipsing his record set 15 May 2019.[1][2][3][4] His father was among the first professional Sherpa guides after Everest was opened to foreign mountaineers in 1950. His brother, also a guide, scaled Everest 17 times.[5]

In 2017, Kami Rita was the third person to ascend to the summit of Everest 21 times, sharing this record with Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa.[6][7][8] The latter two subsequently retired.[9]

On 20 May 2018, at age 48, Kami Rita became the first person in the world to climb Everest 22 times,[5] achieving the record of the most summits on the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak.[10][11] In April of the year, he told the news media that he planned to scale Everest 25 times before retirement, "not just for myself but for my family, the Sherpa people and for my country, Nepal."[12][5]

Kami Rita has also scaled other peaks that are higher than 8,000 meters, including K-2, Cho-Oyu, Manaslu, Annapurna and Lhotse.[9]

Career

Kami Rita was born on 17 January, 1970 and grew up in a small village, Thame in the Solukhumbu district, living with his large family in a one-room house. The village was also the home of other Sherpas, including Tenzing Norgay who guided Sir Edmund Hillary to the summit in 1953.[13] In his youth, he had considered becoming a monk and spent some time at the Thame Dechen Chokhorling monastery but decided not to proceed with this vocation. According to Kami Rita's brother Lakpa Rita,[14] Kami's first work on a mountain was in 1992, assisting a Base Camp cook. Another report, however, states that he was already working as a porter, transporting gear to the Everest base camp, at age 12. By age 24, he had scaled Everest.[15]

In 2018, Kami Rita told a journalist that the government does not support the Sherpas. "We are famous around the world. Many foreigners know us, but our government doesn’t care about us". He said that when Ang Rita Sherpa was hospitalised in Kathmandu in 2017 after a brain haemorrhage the government provided no support.[16] Although climbing is safer than in the past because of superior equipment and weather forecasts, the occupation is still dangerous, he told a reporter in 2018. (the 2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche killed 16 Sherpas;[17] in 2015, 10 Sherpas died at the Everest Base Camp after the avalanches in the wake of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. In total, 118 Sherpas have died on Everest between 1921 and 2018.[18][19]) "The crevasses are deep and the slopes are unpredictable," Kami Rita said.[14] An April 2018 report by NPR stated that Sherpas account for one-third of Everest deaths.[20][21]

In 2018, Kami Rita was earning about $10,000 for each Everest climb because of his extensive previous experience. The highest peaks in Nepal are safe only around May of each year; in the autumn, he guides clients up the country's smaller peaks.[14]

As of May 2019, he was employed by Seven Summits Treks,[22] a company that arranges climbing expeditions.[23][24] Prior to 2018, he had been employed by an American firm, Alpine Ascents International.[25][16]

In August 2019, he is serving as a Brand Ambassador and the Chief Adventure Consultant of Himalayan Glacier Adventure and Travel Company. He had no plans to retire as long as his body is physically able to handle the climbing.[21]

Kami Rita Sherpa is also a brand ambassador for a cement product, Brij Super Premium OPC, manufactured in Nepal.[16][26]

There is also another Kami Rita Sherpa who works on Everest, and had completed his 16th summit in 2017 with Adventure Consultants.[27]

Personal life

A 2018 report stated that Kami Rita lives with his wife, Lakpa Jangmu, and two children in Kathmandu. He has ensured that his children are getting an education to enable them to choose occupations that are less dangerous than guiding mountaineers.[28] "We were illiterate and poor and there were no other means of survival [back then]. As a result, we were compelled to climb dangerous mountains to eke out a living," he told a journalist.[15]

In another 2018 report, Lakpa Jangmu is quoted as saying that she wished that her husband would retire from mountaineering. "I keep telling him we could look for other jobs, start a small business. "But he does not listen to me at all." She also confirmed that their children will not become mountain guides.[14]

Kami's brother Pasang Sherpa, and Pasang's wife Lok Sherpa live on Vashon Island, WA with their two sons Tshering and Norbu. They are members of the Northwest Sherpa association. [29]

Everest expeditions

Expedition timeline:[30][31][32]

  • 1994 : Summited on 13th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 1995 : Reached up to 8500m as High Altitude Worker
  • 1997 : Summited on 25th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as Climber
  • 1998 : Summited on 25th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 1999 : Summited on 13th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2000 : Summited on 23rd May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2002 : Summited on 25th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2003 : Summited on 30th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2004 : Summited on 24th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2005 : Summited on 30th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2006 : Summited on 20th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2007 : Summited on 22nd May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2008 : Summited on 24th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2009 : Summited on 5th May (Rope fixing team) and 23rd May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2010 : Summited on 5th May (Rope fixing team) and 24th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2012 : Summited on 18th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2013 : Summited on 10th May (Rope fixing team) and 22nd May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2015 : No summit bid due to the Earthquake
  • 2016 : Summited on 20th May, via N Col - NE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2017 : Summited on 27th May, via S Col - SE Ridge as High Altitude Worker
  • 2018 : Summited on 16th May, via S Col - SE Ridge
  • 2019 : Summited on 15th May, via S Col- SE Ridge
  • 2019 : Summited on 21st May, via S Col- SE Ridge

See also

References
  1. "With two ascents in a week, Kami Rita Sherpa scales Mt Everest for record 24 times".
  2. "Nepal Mountaineer, 49, Conquers Mount Everest For Record 23rd Time". NDTV.com. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  3. "Kami Rita Sherpa". thehimalayantimes.com. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  4. PTI. "Nepalese Sherpa scales Everest for record 21 times". The Hindu. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  5. Press, Associated (16 May 2018). "Sherpa guide Kami Rita climbs Everest for record 22nd time" – via www.theguardian.com.
  6. "Nepalese Kami Rita Sherpa scales Mount Everest for record 21 times". The Financial Express. 27 May 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  8. "Nepalese Sherpa scales Everest for record 21 times".
  9. Gurubacharya, Binaj. "Sherpa climber scales Mount Everest for a record 23rd time". chicagotribune.com.
  10. "Kami Rita Sherpa scales Mt Everest for record 22 times". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  11. "Sherpa eyes record-breaking 22nd Everest climb". Gulf Times. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  12. "This veteran Sherpa is trying to reach the top of Everest for a record-breaking 22nd time". The Independent. 11 April 2018.
  13. "Leadership". Thames Sherpa Fund. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  14. "This veteran Sherpa is trying to reach the top of Everest for a record-breaking 22nd time". The Independent. 11 April 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  15. "Everest climber Kami Rita returns to break his own world record". www.efe.com. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  16. "Sherpa eyes record-breaking 22nd Everest climb". Gulf-Times. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  17. "Apa Sherpa: After deadly avalanche, 'leave Everest alone'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  18. "Everest 2018: Summit Wave 9 Recap – More Sherpa Deaths with Summits". The Blog on alanarnette.com. 22 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  19. "Will Everest's Climbing Circus Slow Down After Disasters?". National Geographic News. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  20. "One-Third Of Everest Deaths Are Sherpa Climbers". NPR. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  21. "Why is Mount Everest running out of Sherpa guides?". SBS Your Language. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  22. Arnette, Alan (15 May 2019). "Kami Rita Sherpa Just Broke His Own Everest Record". Outside Online. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  23. "Sherpa to make record 22nd Everest bid". 31 March 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  24. "Kami Rita Sherpa scales Mt Everest for record 22 times". The Himalayan Times. 16 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  25. Callaghan, Anna (16 May 2018). "Kami Rita Summits Everest for 22nd Time". Outside Online. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  26. "Felicitations to Kami Rita Sherpa and Collaboration on his Everest Story Trek 2019". www.brijcement.com. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  27. "Everest Expedition". Adventure Consultants. Retrieved 13 May 2019.
  28. Callaghan, Anna (16 May 2018). "Kami Rita Summits Everest for 22nd Time". Outside Online. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
  29. "General Members". Northwest Sherpa Association. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  30. "Everest bears witness to several new records today". dreamwanderlust.com. 16 May 2018.
  31. "Meet Kami Rita Sherpa, who is on his way to create history by scaling Everest 22 times". dreamwanderlust.com. 14 April 2018.
  32. "Kami Rita Sherpa breaks his own world-record again, scales Everest for 24th time today". dreamwanderlust.com. 21 May 2019.
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