Nepal’s Record-setting Everest Guide Returns A Hero

KATHMANDU, Nepal — Family, friends and supporters welcomed a veteran Sherpa guide upon his return to Nepal’s capital on Saturday, days after his 24th climb of Mount Everest extended his record. After flying back from Everest to Kathmandu, Kami Rita was greeted by the waiting crowd at the airport. His wife hugged him and the crowd covered him with a cream-colored scarf and offered him yogurt. The brief celebration at the airport parking area with traditional drums was followed by Rita riding on a truck waving to supporters as they drove out of the airport. He told reporters he was very happy but exhausted. [Mount Everest has gotten so crowded that climbers are perishing in the traffic jams] Rita reached Everest’s 29,035-foot peak on Tuesday, the second time he had climbed to the summit in a week.