Published May 20, 2026 03:49AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
On May 17, 56-year-old Kami Rita Sherpa reached the summit of Mount Everest for the 32nd time, once again breaking his own record for the most trips by anyone to the top of the world. The accomplishment generated headlines across world. Nepal\u2019s Prime Minister Balendra Shah posted a lengthy statement on social media congratulating Kami Rita and Nepal\u2019s other record-setting climber, Lakpa \u201cMountain Queen\u201d Sherpa, who now has the most women\u2019s summits at 11.<\/p>\n
Throughout the spring climbing season, Kami Rita was a fixture at the Seven Summit Treks coffee shop at Everest Base Camp as he prepared for his ascent. He guides clients for the Nepali outfitter. I caught up with him there, just days before he began his ascent.<\/p>\n
Kama Rita discussed a wide range of Everest topics, from the sacred goddess who protects the mountain to how the Nepal Government can better manage tourism, plus his vision for Everest\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
This interview was translated from Nepali and edited for clarity.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n OUTSIDE: You\u2019ve climbed Everest more times than anyone in history. Why do you keep coming back?<\/strong><\/p>\n Kami Rita Sherpa: <\/strong>Foreigners ask me to guide them, so I do it for Nepal\u2019s tourism. I\u2019d rather be retired, honestly. But so many people ask and expect something from me, and I don\u2019t want to seem too good for them.<\/p>\n That sounds more like an obligation than a passion.<\/strong><\/p>\n When people ask me to do something, it\u2019s not right to say no. I don\u2019t want to be the type of person who says I can\u2019t or won\u2019t. If you don\u2019t face challenges, you\u2019ll never achieve anything. The most important thing is to prioritize others, to focus on what other people want. That\u2019s why I keep guiding.<\/p>\n You\u2019re arguably Nepal\u2019s most famous climber. Do you see yourself as an ambassador for the country or for Everest?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m nothing like an ambassador. I don\u2019t climb Everest for myself or for my name. I continue to climb for my Sherpa community, for my Nepali community, and for my country. So many people only know Nepal because of Mount Everest, so my work can help more people recognize Nepal. I also want to highlight how our mountains generate enormous income for the country.<\/p>\n From hotels to airlines and helicopters, porters and rickshaw drivers, truck drivers and more, we all depend upon income from tourism. If you look at it this way, you can see that Everest feeds us all.<\/p>\n Did you ever imagine you would achieve this record?<\/strong><\/p>\n I grew up in Thamo, a remote village here in the Khumbu. I only studied until third grade, in a school that Edmund Hillary built. He would come to our village sometimes, and I would see him and think that I, too, would climb Mount Everest one day. I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d climb it this many times as I have, though. Hillary inspired me, and God has blessed me to reach the top as many times as I have.<\/p>\n How do you relate to Everest on a spiritual level?<\/strong><\/p>\n For us, Mount Everest is not the only sacred mountain in the world\u2014we believe that every mountain is sacred. Every mountain has a goddess, or a devi,<\/em>\u00a0that protects it. When we climb Everest, we worship the devis<\/em> Miyolangsama and Khumbila. To perform the rituals properly, we need a monk from this valley. That\u2019s why we ask the lamas to come up from the village of Pangboche.<\/p>\n When we go to Manaslu, we need lamas from the local village of Samagaun, because the goddesses there are different. The locals know how to worship each goddess. It\u2019s not something everyone knows.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think of the Himalayas as mountains. They are devi, <\/em>or goddesses. These goddesses have provided so much for us. They have empowered us to make money, to send our children to school, and to wear good clothing. It\u2019s our obligation to respect them and ask their forgiveness for our greed when we climb them.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a striking way to put it\u2014asking forgiveness for your own greed.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mount Everest is more important than our own mother and father. It gives us wealth and fame. But we have to respect and worship it. That\u2019s the deal.<\/p>\n