Kami Rita Sherpa is a Nepali high-altitude mountaineering guide who holds the record for the most Everest summits of anyone in history. On 17 May 2026 he reached the top of Everest for the 32nd time while guiding a 14 Peaks Expedition party, extending his own record. Born on 17 January 1970 in the Sherpa village of Thame, he first climbed Everest in 1994 and has gone back almost every season since, which is why no one else is close.
What Kami Rita's record says about Sherpa guides
Kami Rita Sherpa did not set his record as a lone adventurer; he set it at work, guiding clients to the summit season after season. That is the real story behind the number 32. Nearly every large Everest expedition depends on Sherpa climbing guides who fix the ropes, carry loads, break trail, and keep clients alive in the death zone. The same profession runs the trails lower down, where our Everest Base Camp trek guide route is led by Sherpa and Gurung guides, and where the Everest Base Camp trek ends at base camp at 5,364 metres. The guide walking beside you on that trek comes from the same mountain culture that produced Kami Rita.
Who is Kami Rita Sherpa?
Kami Rita Sherpa was born on 17 January 1970 in Thame, a village in the Solukhumbu district of Nepal. Thame has produced many of the most famous Sherpa climbers, and Kami Rita grew up inside that tradition. He is widely nicknamed the "Everest Man" for the sheer number of times he has stood on the summit. For much of his career he has worked with the expedition company Seven Summit Treks, guiding paying clients up the world's highest mountain.
On 13 May 1994, at the age of 24, Kami Rita reached the summit of Everest for the first time. He has guided on the mountain almost every season since, which is the simple reason his total keeps climbing: he keeps going up. Most record-holders set a mark and stop. Kami Rita has instead added roughly one Everest summit a year for three decades.
Kami Rita's career in short
- Born 17 January 1970 in Thame, Solukhumbu, Nepal
- First Everest summit on 13 May 1994, aged 24
- Nicknamed the "Everest Man"; has worked with Seven Summit Treks
- 31st Everest summit on 27 May 2025, certified by Guinness World Records
- 32nd Everest summit on 17 May 2026, press-reported, extending his own record
- Record 42 summits of 8,000-metre peaks, Guinness certificate presented December 2025
How many times has Kami Rita climbed Everest?
Kami Rita Sherpa's 32nd Everest summit, in May 2026, is his latest and extends his own record. That climb was reached on 17 May 2026 while he was guiding a 14 Peaks Expedition group. One point of honesty here: the 32nd summit is press-reported, by outlets including Gripped Magazine and Nepal News in May 2026, and has not yet been separately certified by Guinness World Records. Guinness had certified his 31st summit, reached on 27 May 2025, as the record at that time. So the fair way to state it is that his 32nd summit, in May 2026, extends a record he already held.
42 is the other number that matters, because Kami Rita also holds the record for the most summits of 8,000-metre peaks overall. Guinness presented that certificate in December 2025. Some outlets report the figure as 43, so 42 is the safer number to quote. Everest is only one of the fourteen mountains above 8,000 metres, and Kami Rita has stood on top of the highest ones many times over.
Kami Rita Sherpa's records at a glance
| Record | Figure | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Most Everest summits | 32 | Latest on 17 May 2026; press-reported, extends his own record |
| Previous certified Everest record | 31 | Reached 27 May 2025; certified by Guinness World Records |
| Most 8,000-metre peak summits | 42 | Guinness certificate presented December 2025; some outlets say 43 |
| First Everest summit | 1994 | On 13 May 1994, aged 24 |
| Nearest rival on Everest | 29 | Pasang Dawa Sherpa |
Guinness World Records counts these climbs carefully, which is why the press-report and the official certificate are worth keeping apart. Guinness confirmed Kami Rita's 31st Everest summit, from 27 May 2025, as the official record. His 32nd, on 17 May 2026, has been reported by climbing press including Gripped Magazine and Nepal News, and stands as his latest ascent while formal certification catches up. Either way, no other living climber is within three Everest summits of him.
Why does Kami Rita's record keep rising?
Kami Rita's record rises for one plain reason: he is still working. Since his first summit on 13 May 1994, he has returned to Everest almost every spring, and each successful season adds another climb to the total. A record that grows by about one a year, for three decades, is very hard for anyone else to chase. His nearest rival, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, sits at 29, and Kami Rita keeps adding to his lead each season he climbs.
The spring 2026 season followed the same pattern: guiding, not chasing a stunt. On 17 May 2026 he led a 14 Peaks Expedition party to the top, and that climb became his 32nd Everest summit. The name of the client group changes from year to year, but the shape of the work does not. Kami Rita goes up with a team, does the job, and comes down, and the number ticks up by one.
Who is Kami Rita's nearest rival?
Pasang Dawa Sherpa is Kami Rita's closest rival, with 29 Everest summits. That leaves a gap of three climbs between the two most prolific Everest summiteers in the world. Both are Nepali high-altitude guides, and both have built their totals the same way, by leading clients up the mountain year after year. The gap tends to hold or widen, because Kami Rita keeps climbing too.
What do Sherpa climbing guides actually do?
Sherpa climbing guides are the people who make commercial Everest expeditions possible, and Kami Rita's career is the clearest example. Before clients arrive, teams of Sherpas fix the ropes and ladders through the Khumbu Icefall and up the higher slopes. During summit pushes, they carry oxygen and gear, break trail through deep snow, cook, and watch clients for signs of altitude sickness. Many were born in villages like Thame, where climbing and portering have been part of family life for generations.
The work happens in stages across a two-month season, not in one push. Climbers move up and down the mountain several times to let their bodies adjust to the thin air, and Sherpa guides walk that route many more times than any client, carrying gear and stocking the high camps. Above 8,000 metres, in the death zone, the guide manages the oxygen flow, watches the weather window, and makes the hard call about turning back. Kami Rita has done this more often than anyone, which is what a total of 32 really measures.
Sherpa and Gurung guides lead the walk to Everest Base Camp, so trekkers meet the trailhead version of this profession long before any climb. These guides read the weather, set the pace, watch for altitude sickness, and know every village on the route. They are not summiting Everest with you, but they come from the same training, and often the same villages, as the climbers who do. Walking with one is the closest most visitors come to the world Kami Rita works in.
Thame sits high in the Solukhumbu, and the village has sent a striking number of its sons and daughters onto the world's highest peaks. Kami Rita is the best known, but he is one of a line of climbers from the same small place. That is why his record is often read as a Sherpa achievement as much as a personal one. The record he holds is, in a real sense, a record for doing this hard job more times than anyone else.
How many times has Kami Rita Sherpa climbed Everest?
32 times, as of his latest summit on 17 May 2026, which extends his own world record. That 32nd summit is press-reported and not yet certified by Guinness World Records, which had certified his 31st summit, on 27 May 2025, as the record at the time.
Who holds the record for the most Everest summits?
Kami Rita Sherpa holds the record, with 32 Everest summits reached by May 2026. His nearest rival is Pasang Dawa Sherpa, with 29, so Kami Rita leads by three climbs.
When did Kami Rita first climb Everest?
On 13 May 1994, at the age of 24, Kami Rita Sherpa reached the summit of Everest for the first time. He has guided on the mountain almost every season since, which is why his total is now the highest in history.
How many 8,000-metre peaks has Kami Rita summited?
42 summits of 8,000-metre peaks, the most of anyone, with a Guinness World Records certificate presented in December 2025. Some outlets report 43, so 42 is the figure to quote with confidence.
Where was Kami Rita Sherpa born?
Kami Rita Sherpa was born on 17 January 1970 in Thame, a village in the Solukhumbu district of Nepal. Thame has produced many famous Sherpa climbers, and Kami Rita is among the best known of them.
Related reading
Pemba Sherpa
Trekking Guide, Annapurna Trekking
Pemba Sherpa guides treks across Nepal for Annapurna Trekking. More about our team →
