Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa on Sunday broke his own world record by scaling Mount Everest for the 32nd time, while fellow climber Lhakpa Sherpa extended her record for the most Everest summits by a woman with her 11th successful ascent.The twin milestones were confirmed by Nepal’s Department of Tourism, which said Kami Rita reached the 8,849-metre peak at 10:12 am local time during the Spring 2026 mountaineering season while leading an expedition operated by 14 Peaks Expedition.“This is another milestone in Nepal’s mountaineering history,” Himal Gautam, spokesperson for Nepal’s Tourism Department, told AFP.The department said in a statement that Kami Rita’s latest ascent marked his “32nd successful ascent of the mountain”, further cementing his reputation as the “Everest Man”.Born in Thame village in Solukhumbu district in January 1970, the 56-year-old climber first summited Everest in 1994 while working for a commercial expedition. Since then, he has climbed the world’s highest mountain almost every year, often guiding clients to the summit.His mountaineering journey began in 1992 as a support staff member on Everest expeditions. Over the decades, he has also climbed several other major Himalayan peaks, including K2, Cho Oyu, Lhotse and Manaslu.Speaking after a previous ascent in 2024, Kami Rita had downplayed the significance of his record-breaking climbs, saying he was “just working” and did not intend to set records.On the same day, 52-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa, popularly known as the “Mountain Queen”, completed her 11th ascent of Everest, extending her own world record for the highest number of summits by a woman.She first reached the summit in 2000, becoming the first Nepali woman to successfully climb and descend Everest.“Their record gives greater excitement to other climbers,” Gautam added.“By breaking records through healthy competition on Everest, will help make climbing safer, more dignified, and better managed.”The record-breaking ascents come during one of Everest’s busiest climbing seasons in recent years. Nepal has issued a record 492 permits for Everest expeditions this season, with nearly a thousand climbers and guides expected to attempt the summit during the short weather window.The surge in climbers has once again raised concerns over overcrowding on the mountain, especially if poor weather narrows the available climbing period.Nepal has also introduced stricter mountaineering regulations and increased climbing royalties in recent years.Under revised rules introduced through the Sixth Amendment of mountaineering regulations in 2025, solo expeditions on all 8,000-metre peaks have been banned. The royalty fee for foreign climbers attempting Everest through the standard south route during the spring season has also increased from USD 11,000 to USD 15,000 per person.Fees for autumn, winter and monsoon expeditions, as well as climbs on other 8,000-metre peaks, have similarly been revised upward.Mount Everest, first summited by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953, remains the world’s most sought-after mountaineering destination.According to official figures, close to 7,000 mountaineers have climbed Everest from the Nepal side since the historic first ascent.