Daily Dispatches – 17th May
History was made once again on Everest today as Kami Rita Sherpa reached the summit of Mt. Everest for a record-breaking 32nd time, further extending one of the most extraordinary achievements in mountaineering history.
The legendary Sherpa climber stood on the summit at 10:12am Nepal time on 17th May, continuing a remarkable Everest journey that first began back in 1994. Now aged 56, Kami Rita remains the undisputed king of the world’s highest mountain and continues to show astonishing consistency, strength and longevity at extreme altitude.
Widely regarded as the face of Everest climbing, he has become a symbol of Himalayan mountaineering across the world. His latest ascent once again drew admiration from across the climbing community, with teams describing him as the “true symbol of Everest.”
A huge congratulations also goes to the climbers and Sherpas from Seven Summit Treks who successfully reached the summit this morning:
- Merve Tekin Yildiz 🇹🇷 with Dawa Bhote 🇳🇵
- Pavlo Bezdienezhnykh 🇺🇦 with Lakpasange Sherpa 🇳🇵
The successful summits continue what is becoming an increasingly active summit period on the mountain, with more teams now moving higher following the recent improvement in conditions.
There was also more history elsewhere in the Himalayas as Kristin Harila successfully summited Nuptse (7,855m) alongside Mingtemba Sherpa as part of her ambitious Triple Crown Expedition targeting Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse in a single push. Harila, who famously climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks in just 92 days back in 2023, continues to push the boundaries of modern mountaineering.
Another notable Everest summit came from the inspirational Lhakpa Sherpa, known globally as the “Mountain Queen”, who recorded her 11th successful ascent of Everest this morning at 9:48am.
Elsewhere on the mountain, climbers continue edging closer towards their summit bids.
Adam Sweeney has now reached Camp 3 at 23,625ft, posting: “Thank you all for the continued support! Let’s do this!!”
Poornima Shrestha confirmed that her summit push is now underway from Camp 2, while the Pioneer Adventure Everest Expedition Team have departed Base Camp for their final ascent rotations with summit attempts currently planned between 20th and 22nd May.
Meanwhile, Michael Woods battled through illness to reach Camp 2, describing the move from Base Camp as “brutal” whilst continuing to recover from stomach problems.
The summit teams are now beginning to move in larger numbers across Everest and the coming days could become some of the busiest and most important of the entire Spring 2026 season.
More updates expected throughout the day.
