KATHMANDU: A Sherpa couple stood atop the world’s highest mountain earlier this week becoming the first couple to make most ascents of Mt Everest in the spring climbing season.

Pemba Dorje Sherpa along with his wife Kanchhi Maya Tamang successfully scaled the world’s highest mountain together for the third time, Gyanendra Shrestha, a liaison officer at the Everest base camp, confirmed.

The couple made it to the summit point at 8:00 am on May 22 this season, Shrestha said.

According to a record at the Department of Tourism, the couple had climbed Mt Everest together for the first time in 2017. The duo had stood atop the peak at around 6:00 am in 20th May 2017. “In 2018, the couple reached the summit point at 8:00 am on May 23,” the record shows.

Hailing from Rolwaling, Pemba Dorje, who successfully climbed Mt Everest 19 times as a leader of the expedition, is also a holder of six Guinness world records. He was also the Goodwill Ambassador of Nepal Tourism Year 2011.

Tamang is the first woman of her community to successfully climb Mt Everest. She is also involved in social causes with various organizations and is also the Goodwill Ambassador of UN Women since 2017.

The Sherpa-led team also hoisted the VNY 2020 flag with the signature of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on the summit of the mountain, Tamang said. “We were part of the ‘Three-Women Nation Everest Expedition’ which was organized with an objective of empowering women in the region and spreading the message of universal peace and friendship,” She added.