Only 6,388 people have ever climbed Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth. Two men have reached the top of the world more than anyone.
On Sunday, Pasang Dawa Sherpa became just the second person ever to summit Everest 26 times. His record tied Kami Rita Sherpa, who first made the climb in 1997, according to High Adventure Expeditions.
Dawa was 21 when he first made the ascent up Everest in 1998. According to Imagine Nepal, a company that organizes expeditions to Everest, Dawa has climbed the mountain nearly every year since. The only years he did not make it up to the top of Mount Everest were 2020 and 2021, as the pandemic shut down expeditions.
Some years, Dawa has made it to the summit twice.
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Pawa works as a mountain guide, helping international climbers make the trek up the mountain. His hometown of Pangboche, Nepal, sits 13,000 feet above sea level and is the home to a number of other Sherpa mountain guides.
“Pa Dawa remains humble and dedicated to his craft despite his many accomplishments,” Imagine Nepal said about the climber.
His favorite mountain is not Everest, at 29,032 feet above sea level, but instead Ama Dablam. He has climbed the mountain that reaches over 22,000 feet into the sky at least 70 times.
The climb to the top of Everest is both costly and dangerous. For instance, Imagine Nepal charges $46,000 for its guides to assist climbers.
The extreme cold and lack of oxygen can create deadly conditions. Those conditions make it challenging for a Sherpa like Dawa to make multiple trips.
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