Two Nepali climbers break own Everest records

Two Nepali climbers on Sunday broke their own records for the numbers of Everest ascents they have made in the male and female categories respectively.

One climber, Kami Rita Sherpa, 56, who is nicknamed the "Everest Man," scaled the 8,849-meter (29,032-foot) peak for a record 32nd time, while Lhakpa Sherpa, 52, known as the "Mountain Queen," made her 11th summit.

What do we know about the ascents?

Kami Rita reached the summit of Everest at around 10:12 a.m. (0427 GMT) at the head of an international expedition team, according to Mingma Sherpa, chairman of expedition operator Seven Summit Treks.

Llakpa Sherpa, who in 2000 became the first Nepali woman to successfully summit and descend the mountain, stood at the top at 9:30 a.m.

She formed part of an expedition run by the Seven summit club agency, according to Khimlal Gautam, coordinator at the Department of Tourism's Everest base camp.

Both climbers, who belong to the Sherpas, an ethnic group native to Nepal's Himalayan region, began their careers as porters before becoming professional guides.

Kami Rita made his first ascent in 1994 while working for a commercial expedition.

Renewed fears of Everest overcrowding

Nepal has issued a record 492 permits for people wanting to climb Everest this season.

As most mountaineers make their attempt accompanied by at least one Nepali guide, some thousand climbers are expected to ascend the mountain in the next few days.

The high numbers have fueled renewed concerns about overcrowding on the mountain, especially if poor weather shortens the period suitable for climbing.

Expedition operators say restrictions on the Tibet side of the mountain imposed by Chinese authorities have been one factor behind the increase in the number of climbers.

Delays in the opening of routes and unstable ice condictions have also shortened the window for climbing.

Everest can be climbed from both Nepal and Chinese-administered Tibet, but ascents from the southern, Nepali side are more frequent.  

Everest ascent remains dangerous

Although ascents of Everest have become relatively frequent since Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary made the first confirmed climb to the summit in 1953, the feat remains perilous, with more than 320 people dying in the attempt since then.

Officials say between five and 10 climbers die on Mount Everest in an average climbing year.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko