A 54-year-old Nepalese climber known as “Everest Man” yesterday reached the peak of the world’s highest mountain for a record 30th time, three decades after his first summit.
Kami Rita Sherpa, who broke his own record after climbing the 8,849m peak for the 29th time earlier this month, has previously said that he was “just working” and did not plan on setting records.
“Kami Rita reached the summit this morning. Now he has made a new record with 30 summits of Everest,” said Mingma Sherpa of Seven Summit Treks, his expedition organizer.
Photo: AFP
Kami Rita Sherpa first stood on the top of Everest in 1994 when working for a commercial expedition.
Since then he has climbed Everest almost every year, guiding clients.
“I am glad for the record, but records are eventually broken,” he said after his 29th climb on May 12. “I am more happy that my climbs help Nepal be recognized in the world.”
Last year, Kami Rita Sherpa climbed Everest twice to reclaim his record after another guide, Pasang Dawa Sherpa, equaled his number of ascents.
He has also conquered other 8,000m peaks including the world’s second-highest mountain, K2 in Pakistan.
His summit yesterday came as the season’s death toll climbed to five.
A Romanian climber died during a bid to scale Lhotse, the fourth-highest mountain, his expedition organizer said.
“He was found dead in his tent on Camp Three on Monday morning by his guide,” said Mohan Lamsal of Makalu Adventure, naming the climber as Gabriel Viorel Tabara.
Earlier this week, two Mongolian climbers went missing and were later found dead after reaching Everest’s summit.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5