A Nepali Sherpa just broke his own Everest ascent record amid busiest year for permits ever

When it comes to the world’s tallest mountain, it’s not so lonely at the top.

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Climbing any mountain is a tremendous feat; scaling Mount Everest is an astounding achievement; doing the latter on multiple occasions is remarkable; what “Everest Man” Kami Rita Sherpa did yesterday is, quite truly, unheard of, as the 56-year-old Nepali mountain guide completed his 32nd successful Everest summit, breaking his own record set last year.

Rita wasn’t the only one reaching new heights on the mountain over the weekend either, after Lhakpa Sherpa, the “Mountain Queen,” set a new record for women, completing her 11th Everest ascent yesterday as well.

Peak time

Despite hopeful climbers having to pay more than ever for an official permit to trek up the 29,032-foot mountain, after Nepal officials raised the price for a spring season pass from $11,000 to $15,000 last September — the first price hike in nearly a decade — the government has still granted a record 492 permits for the March-May period.

That might sound a safety alarm for those who have already been raising concerns around overcrowding dangers at the top of the world’s highest peak, with the number of successful ascents having hovered around all-time highs in recent years.

According to figures from The Himalayan Database and mountaineer, climbing coach, and all-round Everest enthusiast Alan Arnette, there were an estimated 846 successful Everest summits last year, including those made by support climbers, guides, and Sherpas like Kami Rita and Lhakpa. While that estimate is down slightly from the 2019 peak, there were also less than half as many deaths (four) last year, compared to the 11 that The Himalayan Database reported in the spring season seven years ago.

Jake Lahut

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The UAE’s OPEC exit will hit the group in the barrels

After just shy of 60 years in OPEC, its membership even predating its status as a nation-state, the United Arab Emirates yesterday announced its shocking departure from the oil production group, effective May 1, as the knock-on effects of the Iran war continue to play out across the Middle East and the energy landscape.

For context, the UAE produces the third-highest amount of oil in the group, per April data and OPEC’s latest set of annual statistics.

According to the cartel’s 2025 Annual Statistical Bulletin, the OPEC group was collectively exporting some 19 million barrels of crude oil a day last year, with the United Arab Emirates accounting for some 14% of that daily output.

UAExit means UAExit

The nation, whose energy minister told Reuters yesterday that the decision was taken “after a careful look at current and future policies related to level of production” and wasn’t made following discussions with any other country, made up a healthy share of the group’s total confirmed crude oil reserves, as well.

Of the 12 nations in the core group, which was founded by just five oil superpowers back in September 1960, only two (Iraq and Saudi Arabia) exported more barrels of crude oil daily, pumping out 3.36 million and 6.05 million barrels, respectively, each day to nations around the world.

For its part, the UAE said it will “continue its responsible role by gradually and thoughtfully increasing production, in line with demand and market conditions,” per the official state news agency. Clearly, the nation now wants a little more control of just how much oil it can pump around the world, with the UAE having to eat a large proportion of lost revenues due to its healthy abundance and OPEC restrictions.