A Nepali sherpa guide climbed Mount Everest for the 26th time on May 14, becoming the world’s second person to accomplish the feat. Pasang Dawa Sherpa, 46, now shares the record with Kami Rita Sherpa, said Bigyan Koirala, a government tourism official. Dawa reached the top of the 8,849-m (29,032-ft) peak with a Hungarian.
Sherpas are known for their climbing skills and make a living primarily by guiding foreign clients in the mountains.
Many foreigners aim for the Everest summit during the climbing season, which runs from March to May. Nepal has issued a record number of 467 permits this year for foreign climbers seeking to reach the summit of Everest. Each climber is usually accompanied by at least one sherpa guide, fuelling fears that a narrow section below the summit, known as the Hillary Step, could get crowded.
In 2021, Nepal’s Department of Tourism issued 409 Everest permits. The number dropped to 325 in 2022 as the Russia-Ukraine war prevented potential climbers from Russia, Ukraine, Poland and some European countries from coming to Nepal.
Mount Everest has been climbed more than 11,000 times since it was first scaled by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay in 1953, with about 320 people dying in the effort, according to a Himalayan database and Nepali officials.
