Ang Rita Sherpa (; 27 July 194821 September 2020) was a Nepalese mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest ten times without supplemental oxygen between 1983 and 1996. His sixth climb set the world record for the most successful ascents of Mount Everest, which he re-set on his tenth climb. Although others have since summited Everest more, he still holds the record for most summits without supplemental oxygen. He was also the first, and to date only, person to climb Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen in winter. He was nicknamed the "Snow Leopard" by his peers. He did not receive any formal education or mountaineering training. He is thought to have successfully summited eight-thousanders a total of 18 times, almost all of them without oxygen. He was distraught by the loss of his friends in the disaster. He fell ill that year. According to his family, King Birendra had sent Crown Prince Dipendra to relay his request that Sherpa retire from mountaineering, in view of his deteriorating health. He was recognised by the Guinness World Records in 2017 as the only person in the world to have climbed Mount Everest 10 times without bottled oxygen, a record he still holds in 2025.
Sherpa died suddenly Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli expressed his condolences on Twitter—"His accomplishments will be forever remembered."
Sherpa's body was kept in a gompa in Kathmandu before the funeral on 23 September.
Personal life
Sherpa had three sons and a daughter. His eldest son, Karsang, was also a mountaineer and had summited Everest nine times; he died during an expedition in 2012. His second son, Chhewang, also summited Everest five times. Ang Rita's wife died a year after the death of their eldest son. Ang Rita lived the last years of his life at his daughter's residence in Jorpati, Kathmandu. His grandson, Phura Gyaljen Sherpa, from his youngest son, died during the 2026 spring Everest expedition.
Awards and honours
Sherpa was a recipient of the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu and the Order of Tri Shakti Patta.
!
!Date!!Route to Summit
!Record
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! 1.
|7 May 1983
|South East Ridge
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! 2.
|15 October 1984
|South Pillar
|
|-
! 3.
|29 April 1985
|South East Ridge
|
|-
! 4.
|22 December 1987
|South East Ridge
|First person to climb Mount Everest in winter without supplementary oxygen
|-
! 5.
|14 October 1988
|South East Ridge
|
|-
! 6.
|23 April 1990
|South East Ridge
|Highest number of successful ascents of Mount Everest (6)<br />Highest number of successful ascents of Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen (6)
|-
! 7.
|15 May 1992
|South East Ridge
|Highest number of successful ascents of Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen (7)
|-
! 8.
|16 May 1993
|South East Ridge
|Highest number of successful ascents of Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen (8)
|-
! 9.
|13 May 1995
|North Col – Northeast Ridge
|Highest number of successful ascents of Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen (9)
|-
! 10.
|23 May 1996
|South East Ridge
|Highest number of successful ascents of Mount Everest (10)<br />Highest number of successful ascents of Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen (10)
|}
See also
- List of 20th-century summiters of Mount Everest
- List of Mount Everest summiters by number of times to the summit