KATHMANDU — Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa scaled Mount Everest for a record 32nd time this week, extending his own mark for the most ascents of the world's highest peak. On Friday, he urged authorities to limit the number of climbers permitted on the summit.

Kami Rita Sherpa, 56, first climbed Everest in 1994 and has made the trip nearly every year since. His father was among the first Sherpa guides. In addition to Everest, he has reached the summits of K2, Cho Oyu, Manaslu and Lhotse.

On Wednesday, 274 climbers reached the summit from the Nepal side, the highest number recorded on a single day. The previous single-day record from the Nepalese side was 223 climbers, set in 2019.

Nepal's mountaineering authorities have issued 494 permits this season, each costing $15,000. An equal number of Sherpa guides are accompanying those climbers. Nepal has tightened rules and raised fees for climbers in recent years in response to safety concerns.

The volume of climbers ascending from the Nepalese side is higher this season because China did not issue permits for expeditions from the Tibetan side. Mount Everest, which stands 8,849 meters (29,032 feet) tall, can be scaled from either the southern side in Nepal or the northern side in China.

Not all expedition operators view the crowding as excessive. "We have mountains in the Alps like the Zugspitze where we have 4,000 persons on top per day. So 274 is actually not a big number, considering this mountain is 10 times bigger," expedition organizer Lukas Furtenbach said.