The most famous Everest record belongs to Kami Rita Sherpa, who has stood on the summit 32 times, more than anyone else in history. An Everest record is a documented first or extreme achievement on the world's highest mountain, and the headline ones cover the most summits, the youngest and oldest climbers, the fastest ascent and the historic firsts.
32 summits by one man is only where the story starts. Everest keeps a whole logbook of records, some set in a single morning of hard climbing, others held for decades. A few of them will probably never be broken, because the rules changed after they were set. Below are the big ones, laid out with the names, dates and numbers that actually matter.
How these records connect to trekking in the Everest region
29 May 1953 is the date the first climbers reached the top, and ever since then the Everest region has drawn walkers as well as mountaineers. You do not need to break any record to see this mountain up close. The same Khumbu valley the record-setters pass through on their way to the summit is open to trekkers, who walk to Base Camp and back over about two weeks with a Sherpa guide. If the names below make you want to see the mountain for yourself, the walk is the way to do it. You can plan your own trip on the Everest Base Camp trek page, and read the full route, cost and packing detail in our Everest Base Camp trek guide.
The big Everest records at a glance
| Record | Holder | Detail | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| First ascent | Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay | British expedition led by John Hunt | 29 May 1953 |
| First woman | Junko Tabei (Japan) | First female summit | 16 May 1975 |
| First without bottled oxygen | Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler | Italy and Austria | 8 May 1978 |
| Youngest summiteer | Jordan Romero (USA) | Age 13, north (Tibet) side | 22 May 2010 |
| Fastest recognised ascent | Lakpa Gelu Sherpa | 10h 56m 46s, South Base Camp to summit, with oxygen | 2003 |
| Oldest summiteer | Yuichiro Miura (Japan) | Age 80 (80 years, 223 days) | 23 May 2013 |
| Most summits | Kami Rita Sherpa | 32 summits | 17 May 2026 |
The records, one by one
Most summits: Kami Rita Sherpa, 32
Kami Rita Sherpa holds the record for the most Everest summits, with 32 climbs to the top. Guinness World Records certified his 31st summit, reached on 27 May 2025, as the official record. Press reports say he went up again for a 32nd time on 17 May 2026, once more raising his own mark, though that latest climb had not yet been separately certified by Guinness at the time of writing. Kami Rita is a working mountain guide from the Everest region, and most of his summits came while leading clients and fixing ropes. He has spent his whole life on this mountain, and no other person has stood on its summit anywhere near as often.
Youngest summiteer: Jordan Romero, age 13
Jordan Romero of the United States is the youngest person to summit Everest, reaching the top at age 13 on 22 May 2010. He climbed from the north, or Tibet, side, because Nepal had refused him a permit on the grounds that he was too young. His record may well stand for a very long time. Both China and Nepal now bar climbers under the age of 16 from the mountain, so no one that young can legally repeat what he did. That single rule change quietly turned a record into something close to permanent.
Oldest summiteer: Yuichiro Miura, age 80
Yuichiro Miura of Japan is the oldest person to summit Everest, reaching the top at age 80, precisely 80 years and 223 days, on 23 May 2013. His record still stands today. The man who held the mark before him, Min Bahadur Sherchan of Nepal, had summited in 2008 at the age of 76. Sherchan tried to win the title back in 2017, but he died at Everest Base Camp on 6 May that year, aged 85, before he could climb. His story is a hard reminder of how much this mountain asks, even of those who know it well.
Fastest ascent: Lakpa Gelu Sherpa, 10h 56m 46s
Lakpa Gelu Sherpa holds the recognised record for the fastest ascent of Everest, climbing from South Base Camp to the summit in 10 hours, 56 minutes and 46 seconds in 2003, using bottled oxygen. Nepal's Supreme Court upheld his time as the record in 2017. A faster claim exists, but it does not count. Pemba Dorje said he had climbed in 8 hours and 10 minutes in 2004, yet the same court invalidated that claim in 2017, so the 8:10 figure is not a valid record. When people ask about the fastest climb, Lakpa Gelu's time of just under eleven hours is the honest answer.
First ascent: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, 1953
Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Sherpa, made the first ascent of Everest on 29 May 1953. They reached the top as part of the British expedition led by John Hunt. Their climb is the moment the whole modern history of the mountain begins. Before that day, no one had proven they had stood on the highest point on Earth. Tenzing's role also placed Sherpa mountaineers at the very centre of Everest's story, where they have stayed ever since.
First woman: Junko Tabei, 1975
Junko Tabei of Japan became the first woman to summit Everest on 16 May 1975. She reached the top twenty-two years after the first ascent of the mountain. Her climb showed that the highest summit on Earth was within reach of women as well as men, at a time when few people believed it. She remains one of the most respected names in the history of mountaineering. Every woman who has climbed Everest since follows a trail she was the first to open.
First without oxygen: Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler, 1978
Reinhold Messner of Italy and Peter Habeler of Austria made the first ascent of Everest without supplemental oxygen on 8 May 1978. Until that day, many doctors and climbers believed the human body simply could not survive the summit without bottled air. The two men proved them wrong. Their climb changed what people thought was possible at extreme altitude. 8 May 1978 is still the date the boldest climbers point to when they talk about doing Everest the pure way, and very few have managed it since.
Who decides what counts as a record
2 different kinds of authority decide what counts as an official Everest record. Guinness World Records certifies marks like the most summits, which is how Kami Rita Sherpa's 31st climb became official in 2025. Legal disputes can also end up in court, as the fastest-ascent claim did, where Nepal's Supreme Court settled the matter in 2017. This is why a record is only ever as solid as the body that confirmed it. When you see a headline number attached to Everest, the real question is who verified it.
3 of the records on this page are held by Sherpa climbers, and that is no accident. Kami Rita Sherpa holds the most summits, Lakpa Gelu Sherpa holds the fastest recognised ascent, and Tenzing Norgay shared the first ascent in 1953. The Sherpa people live in the valleys below Everest and have guided, carried and led on the mountain since climbing here began. When you walk the Everest Base Camp trail with one of our guides, you are walking with the same community that holds so many of these records. Their knowledge of the mountain is the reason so many other people reach their own goals on it. 29 May 1953 put Tenzing Norgay at the top on that very first climb, and Sherpa climbers have been central to every big Everest story in the seventy years since.
Who has climbed Everest the most times?
Kami Rita Sherpa has climbed Everest more than anyone else, with 32 summits. Guinness World Records certified his 31st summit on 27 May 2025, and press reports say he reached the top for a 32nd time on 17 May 2026.
Who is the youngest person to climb Everest?
Jordan Romero of the United States is the youngest, reaching the summit at age 13 on 22 May 2010 from the Tibet side. Because both China and Nepal now bar climbers under 16, this record may stand for a long time.
Who is the oldest person to climb Everest?
Yuichiro Miura of Japan is the oldest, reaching the summit at age 80 (80 years and 223 days) on 23 May 2013. His record still stands today.
What is the fastest ascent of Everest?
Lakpa Gelu Sherpa holds the recognised record at 10 hours, 56 minutes and 46 seconds from South Base Camp to the summit in 2003, with oxygen, a time upheld by Nepal's Supreme Court in 2017. A faster 2004 claim of 8 hours 10 minutes was invalidated by the same court, so it does not count.
Who was the first person to climb Everest?
Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first ascent on 29 May 1953, as part of the British expedition led by John Hunt. Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler later made the first climb without bottled oxygen on 8 May 1978.
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