An 18-year-old Nepalese mountaineer yesterday broke the record for the youngest person to summit all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks, his team said.
Nima Rinji Sherpa yesterday morning reached the summit of Tibet’s 8,027m Shisha Pangma, completing his mission to stand on the world’s highest peaks.
“He reached the summit this morning. He had trained well and I was confident he would do it,” his father, Tashi Sherpa, said.
Peaks Expedition / AFP
Summiting all 14 of the “eight-thousanders” is considered the peak of mountaineering aspirations. Climbers cross “death zones” where there is not enough oxygen in the air to sustain human life for long periods.
“This summit is not just the culmination of my personal journey, but a tribute to every Sherpa who has ever dared to dream beyond the traditional boundaries set for us,” Nima Rinji Sherpa said in a statement. “Mountaineering is more than labor, it is a testament to our strength, resilience and passion.”
Nima Rinji Sherpa is no stranger to the mountains, hailing from a family of record-holding mountaineers, who also run Nepal’s largest mountaineering expedition company.
The record was previously held by another Nepalese climber, Mingma Gyabu “David” Sherpa. He achieved it in 2019, at the age of 30.
Nima Rinji Sherpa, who already holds multiple records from his ascents of dozens of peaks, started high-altitude climbing at the age of 16, by climbing Mount Manaslu in August 2022. By June this year, he had climbed his 13th mountain, Kanchenjunga, the world’s third-highest.
“This is a proud moment for our country,” Nepal Mountaineering Association president Nima Nuru Sherpa said. “Nima broke all the stereotypes, and his success has given a message that nothing is impossible if you have a strong determination.”
Nepalese climbers — usually ethnic Sherpas from the valleys around Everest — are considered the backbone of the climbing industry in the Himalayas.
Long in the shadows as supporters of foreign climbers, they are slowly being recognized in their own right. In 2021, a team of Nepalese climbers made the first winter ascent of K2, the world’s second-highest peak — the notoriously challenging 8,611m “savage mountain” of Pakistan.
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