Kami Rita Sherpa, 55, a Nepali mountaineer who has climbed Mount Everest 31 times and holds the record for the most summits of the world’s highest mountain, smiles as he poses for a picture at Everest Base Camp as he prepares to climb Everest for the 32nd time to break his own record, in the Solukhumbu district, also known as the Everest region, Nepal, on April 29, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Mt. Everest is seen from the way to Kalapatthar in Nepal. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Purnima Shrestha, a Nepalese mountaineer and photojournalist, on Saturday scripted history by becoming the first person to summit Mt Everest, the highest peak in the world, three times in a single climbing season.

Purnima first summited the 8848.86-metre peak on May 12. She reached the summit again on May 19 with Pasang Sherpa and achieved her third summit on Saturday at 5:50 AM, said Pemba Sherpa, expedition director at Eight K Expeditions which organised the expedition.

This was Purnima’s fourth ascent to Everest. She climbed Everest for the first time in 2018.

“This is for the first time in the history of mountaineering that any climber has submitted Everest thrice in a single season, “said Nima Doma Sherpa, an Everest summiter.

Purnima visited the Everest Base Camp in 2017 to cover the Everest marathon. She said this event attracted her to climb the mountains.

She then climbed Mt. Manaslu (8,163 mt) in the same year and the next year she successfully climbed the highest peak in the world.

In addition to her triumphs on Everest, Purnima has also conquered other formidable peaks including Manaslu, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, and Mount K2.