When questioned about stopping at 21, Apa stated: Everyone says 21 is a good number. I have to make my family happy. Every time I go, they worry because Everest is very risky. He was still the joint holder of the world record of Mount Everest summits as of 2017, with Phurba Tashi and Kami Rita Sherpa, but the record was broken in 2018 by Kami Rita Sherpa.