Nepali guide climbs Mt. Everest for record 30th time

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - Nepal’s renowned climbing guide Kami Rita Sherpa added another feather to his cap, climbing the world’s tallest mountain, Mt. Everest, for a record 30th time on Wednesday.

Rita reached atop the 8,849-metre (29,032 foot) peak at 7:49 a.m. (local time) with his group, extending his own record for the most ascents of Mt. Everest, local mountaineering website Everest Chronicle reported, citing Khimlal Gautam, the chief of Nepal’s expedition monitoring and facilitation field office.

This was his second ascent of the season, after his first on May 12.

Also known as the "Everest man," Rita first summited the mountain in 1994, and climbed it twice last year also.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 10 highest peaks, and mountain climbing is a major tourism activity and a source of income as well as employment for the tiny Himalayan nation.