A veteran Sherpa guide who scaled Mount Everest for a record 22nd time has returned from the mountain and says he is already planning his next trip.

Kami Rita flew back to Kathmandu by helicopter on Sunday, saying he is not ready to retire and plans to continue to guide on Everest next year.

Nepalese veteran Sherpa guide, Kami Rita, 48, waves as he arrives in Kathmandu after scaling Mount Everest for the 22nd time, setting the record for most climbs of the world’s highest mountain (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)
Nepalese veteran Sherpa guide, Kami Rita waves as he arrives in Kathmandu after scaling Everest for the 22nd time, setting the record for most climbs of the world’s highest mountain (Niranjan Shrestha/AP)

Friends and supporters welcomed the 48-year-old at Kathmandu’s airport with bouquets and traditional ceremonial scarves.

Two other Sherpa guides have climbed Everest 21 times, and both have already retired.

Kami Rita first scaled the world’s highest peak when he was 24 and has made the climb to the 29,035ft summit almost every year since then.