Sherpa climber scales Mount Qomolangma for record 23rd time

Sherpa climber Kami Rita scaled Mount Qomolangma on Wednesday for a 23rd time, breaking his own record for the most successful ascents of the world's highest peak.

Rita reached the summit with other climbers Wednesday morning and all were reported to be safe, said Gyanendra Shrestha, a Nepalese government official at the mountain's base camp.

Rita's two closest peers have climbed the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak 21 times each, but both of them have retired from mountain climbing.

Rita, 49, first scaled Qomolangma in 1994 and has been making the trip nearly every year since, one of many Sherpa guides whose expertise and skills are vital to the safety and success of the hundreds of climbers who head to Nepal each year seeking to stand on top of the world.