May 17, 2023: Nepali Sherpa Pasang Dawa climbed Mt Everest with a Hungarian client. Continue reading to know more in details!
Known for their rock-climbing skills, Sherpas mostly go by their first names and make a living guiding mostly foreign clients up the mountain.
Officials said it was the 26th summit of Mount Everest by a Nepalese Sherpa guide, matching the record set by another Nepalese guide, Kami Rita Sherpa, for the most ascents in the world.
Government tourism official Vigyan Koirala said that Pasang Dawa Sherpa, 46, became the second person in the world to reach the summit of 8,849 metres on May 13.
Kami Rita, who is currently climbing Mount Everest, has the potential to set a new record if she climbs the world's highest peak.
Pasang Dawa Sherpa reached the summit on May 13 with a Hungarian climber in the morning, according to expedition organisers Imagine Nepal Treks.
The police officer Dawa Huti Sherpa told Reuters that they are now coming down from the top and are in good condition.
Dawa Futi said Naira Kiani, a Pakistani who also reached the summit on Sunday, May 13, became the first foreign climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest during this year's climbing season, which runs from March to May.
It was not possible to independently verify this, as many foreign climbers are currently aiming for the summit the day after the rope to the summit was secured.
Kiani, a 37-year-old banker from Dubai, has climbed four of the world's 14 highest peaks before Mount Everest, The Himalayan Times reported.
Nepal has issued a record 467 permits to foreign climbers hoping to climb Mount Everest this year.
Climbers typically arrive at the mountain's base camp in April and spend several weeks adjusting to the high altitude, rugged terrain and thin air before climbing the mountainside. Usually in the first or second week of May they attempt to reach the summit.
Each climber is usually accompanied by at least one Sherpa guide, raising concerns that the Hillary Steps, a narrow section below the summit, can become crowded.
This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of Mount Everest in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay. Since then, it has been climbed over 11,000 times.