Sherpa Pasang Dawa, also known as Pa Dawa, climbed to the top of Everest for the 26th time, thus equaling the previous record of his colleague, Sherpa Kami Rita, DPA reported on Sunday.

At the age of 46, Pa Dawa reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain on Sunday morning and is now making his descent, said Himlal Gautam, a government official currently at Everest Base Camp, Agerpres reported.

Pa Dawa has been summited 25 times, including twice in 2022, according to the Himalayan Database, which keeps climbing records in the Nepalese Himalayas.

He hails from the Khumbu region, home to Everest and several other peaks, and has worked as a Sherpa since the late 1990s, accompanying climbers on ascents.

Mountaineering experience and Sherpa terrain knowledge are essential to the safe ascent of the hundreds of climbers who climb Everest each year.

Pa Dawa has now equaled the record of Kami Rita, who in May 2022 at the age of 52 climbed to the top of Everest for the 26th time.

It is unclear if Pa Dawa will make another attempt this year.

Nepal is home to eight of the world’s 14 highest peaks above 8,000 meters.

According to the country’s Ministry of Tourism, a record 467 climbers, excluding local Sherpas, have received permission to climb Mount Everest in southern Nepal.