By Gopal Sharma
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - A&nbsp;Nepali&nbsp;climber who scaled Mount&nbsp;Everest&nbsp;for a&nbsp;record&nbsp;28th time this week, the most by any mountaineer, said on Thursday he had no immediate plans to hang up his&nbsp;climbing&nbsp;boots.
Kami Rita&nbsp;Sherpa, 53, who reached the 8,849-metre (29,032-foot) summit of the world's highest mountain on Tuesday, returned to the&nbsp;Nepali&nbsp;capital of Kathmandu to a hero&rsquo;s welcome.
He was surrounded by friends and family after flying by helicopter from Lukla, gateway to&nbsp;Everest&nbsp;climbs.
"If my health permits I&rsquo;ll continue (climbing) next year," he told reporters in&nbsp;Nepali.
His latest climb was the second time he had scaled the mountain to the summit within a week.
A British climber, Kenton Cool, climbed the peak last week for the 17th time, the most ascents by a foreigner.
Kami Rita first climbed&nbsp;Everest&nbsp;in 1994 and has climbed every year since then except in 2014, 2015 and 2020 when authorities closed the mountain for various reasons.
Sherpas come mainly from the Solukhumbu district, home to Mount&nbsp;Everest&nbsp;and several other peaks, and are known for their&nbsp;climbing&nbsp;skills. They earn a living mainly by guiding foreign clients to&nbsp;Everest&nbsp;and other&nbsp;Himalayan peaks.
Nepal issued a&nbsp;record&nbsp;of 478 permits to&nbsp;Everest&nbsp;for the current&nbsp;climbing&nbsp;season that ends this month as the monsoon rains are expected to lash the&nbsp;Himalayas and lowlands.
Hundreds of climbers have made it to the top this season while 11 mountaineers have died and three climbers have gone missing on the slopes of the mountain.
Mountain&nbsp;climbing&nbsp;is a key source of employment and income for the cash-strapped nation, home to eight of the world's 14 highest peaks, including Mount&nbsp;Everest.
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(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Frances Kerry)

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Nepali sherpa with record Everest summits behind him says he'll keep climbing