A Nepalese teen, the youngest person ever to climb all 14 of the world’s highest peaks, says he hopes to use his skills to benefit the Himalayan nation’s Sherpa community and produce world-class athletes. Wants.
The Sherpa, an ethnic group that lives primarily around Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, are known for their climbing skills that make them the backbone of mountain expeditions.
They fix ropes, ladders, carry loads, cook and guide foreign climbers, earning earnings from an expedition that range from $2,500 to $16,500 or more, depending on experience.
“I want to see Sherpas not just as guides, but as global athletes,” said Nima Rinji Sherpa, 18, who last week climbed Shishapangma, the world’s 14th highest peak at 8,027 meters (26,335 feet), in Tibet. “
“We deserve the same privileges as Western climbers,” said the 12th grade student, who started climbing at age 16 and has climbed all 14 peaks higher than 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) in the past two years.
He said he planned to exploit his climbing skills to make contacts with donor agencies, raising funds and support for schools, hospitals and activities benefiting the mountain community.
“I want to be a medium between the community and donor agencies,” Nima said on Wednesday, the lower part of his face still black from burns caused by the sun’s reflections off the snow during the climb.
The son of an experienced Everest climber who now runs his own company that organizes expeditions, Nima broke the record of Nepal’s Mingma Gyalu Sherpa, who was 30 when he achieved the feat in 2019.
His toughest attempt was the 8,034-metre (26,358-ft) climb of Gasherbrum II in Pakistan last year, after which he scaled the 8,080-metre (26,510 ft) peak, the world’s 11th highest peak, in 25 hours, without proper rest and food. Attacked Gasherbrum I. He said.
Nima said that muscle cramps were her biggest physical challenge because her “fragile” teenage body had not yet developed, adding, “I’m not as strong as I should be.”
This year he was caught in a small avalanche on Nepal’s Annapurna I peak after falling about 5 meters to 10 meters (16 ft to 32 ft) on Pakistan’s Nanga Parbat last year, but fortunately escaped serious injury both times. Went.
“I never push myself beyond my limits,” he said. “Good judgment (is needed). Security is (needed).”
This winter, Nima aims to make an alpine-style climb of Nepal’s Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest peak at 8,163 meters (26,781 feet).
Referring to the technique in which climbers climb to the summit in one go, with minimal support, without oxygen and relying mainly on themselves, he said that there is never any alpine skiing on an 8,000-metre-high mountain in winter. The climb has not been done in style.
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