Everest legend Kami Rita makes his 31st ascent

Kami Rita climbs Everest for the 31st time

              Everest legend Kami Rita makes his 31st ascent

Veteran mountaineering guide Kami Rita Sherpa has reached the summit of Mount Everest for the 31st time, extending his own world record.

Mingma Sherpa, president of Seven Summit Treks, said that Kami Rita, 55, was leading a group of Indian Army personnel and reached the summit in the early hours of Tuesday. Kami Rita made his first ascent of the 8,848.68-meter (27,000-foot) Everest in 1994 and has climbed it almost every year since, according to the Guinness World Records.

Kami Rita, a former pack-packer turned mountaineering guide, has also climbed several other peaks in the Himalayas above 8,000 meters. His closest competitor, Pasang Dua Sherpa, has reached the summit twice this season, bringing his total ascents to 29, according to the tour operator Climbing the Seven Summits.

Earlier this month, British climber Kenton Cool reached the summit of Everest for the 19th time, breaking his own record as the most ascents by a non-Sherpa. Sherpas are an ethnic group from the region, and their members often work as guides and porters for climbers from abroad.

Everest can be climbed from Nepal or the Chinese-administered Tibet region, although most climbers choose the southern route from Nepal, where climbing permits cost around $11,000. According to the Nepal Tourism Board, 468 climbers obtained such permits during the spring season.