KATHMANDU: In a remarkable mountaineering feat, a young Sherpa climber from the Everest region has summited the world’s highest peak three times through three different routes in less than a year, setting a new milestone in Himalayan climbing history.

Thirty-year-old Pasang Sona Sherpa from Phortse village of Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality reached the summit of Mt Everest on May 21 this year, becoming the world’s youngest climber to successfully scale the mountain via three separate routes within such a short period.

According to available records, Pasang Sona first climbed Everest from the northern Tibet side on May 27, 2025 while working with Alpenglow Expeditions. He later returned to the mountain in October 2025 as part of the National Geographic Ski Expedition.

On October 15, 2025, Pasang Sona summited Everest alongside renowned climbers Jim Morrison and Jimmy Chin through the rarely-attempted Hornbein Couloir route on the Tibetan side.

Continuing his extraordinary run, Pasang Sona again stood atop the 8,849-metre peak on May 21, 2026 while working with Expeditions High Mountain Treks through the traditional southern route from Nepal.

Expedition officials said the achievement also makes him the youngest climber in the world to summit Everest three times in a single year through three distinct routes.

“I am very happy to become the only climber in the world to scale Mt Everest three times from three different routes in less than a year,” Pasang Sona said after returning to Kathmandu from the Everest region on Saturday morning.

Pasang Sona was born into a renowned mountaineering family in Khumjung village. His father, Lhakpa Sonam Sherpa, received the prestigious Suprabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu award for his historic achievement during the China-Japan-Nepal Friendship Expedition in 1988, when he became the fastest climber to reach the summit of Mt Everest. He was also honoured by the Mountaineering Association of China for his bravery and contribution to mountaineering.

Pasang Sona attended adventure training at the Khumbu Climbing Centre in Phortse from 2014 to 2016. He then climbed Mount Everest for the first time in 2017.

He also took part in two expeditions by the National Geographic Society in 2019 and 2023, during which the team successfully installed five weather stations, including at high camps in the Everest region.

Pasang Sona also took part in the Everest Marathon three times.

Mountaineering runs deep in the family, as all three sons of Lhakpa Sonam have successfully summited Everest multiple times. Pasang Sona, as well as his brothers Sonam Dorjee Sherpa and Mingma Tenjin Sherpa, climbed Mt Everest and several other peaks on numerous occasions.