Kami Rita gets hero’s welcome at Everest Base Camp after record 32nd summit

Everest Man was honoured at Everest Base Camp on Monday with khada scarves and garlands after returning from his record 32nd ascent of Mount Everest.

PC: Manish Maharjan

May 18, 2026 | Everest Chronicle

Veteran Nepali climber Kami Rita Sherpa received a hero’s welcome at Everest Base Camp on Monday morning after returning from his record 32nd ascent of Mount Everest, with fellow climbers, expedition organizers and tourism officials honouring his latest achievement.

Khimlal Gautam, coordinator of the Department of Tourism’s Everest Base Camp office, along with Chhang Dawa Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks and Tashi Lakpa Sherpa of 14 Peaks Expedition, welcomed Kami Rita by draping him in khada scarves and presenting flower garlands.

Dozens of climbers, guides and support staff gathered at the base camp to celebrate the veteran mountaineer, widely known in the climbing community as the “Everest Man.”

Kami Rita, 56, reached the 8,848.86-metre summit at 10:12 a.m. local time on Sunday during the spring climbing season while leading an expedition operated by 14 Peaks Expedition, according to Nepal’s Department of Tourism.

The latest climb extended his own world record for the highest number of Everest summits.

Born in Thame village in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district, Kami Rita first climbed Everest in 1994 and has since become one of the Himalayas’ most celebrated high-altitude guides, completing dozens of ascents over more than three decades working on commercial expeditions.

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