Oldest Everest climber-world record set by
Min Bahadur Sherchan
KATHMANDU, Nepal -- MinBahadur Sherchan,
had conquered Mt Everest on May 25 last year when he was just
a few days away from celebrating his 77th birthday-sets the
world record for the Oldest
Everest climber. MinBahadur Sherchan
told the media that he felt the Everest was shorter than him
atop the highest mountain. Sherchan’s attempt was meant to
inspire senior citizens, as well as the youth of his native
homeland of Nepal. (enlarge
photo)
The country´s president, prime minister,
the ministry of tourism and all the concerned authorities
in the country honored him, besides providing him with certificates.
"Many Nepalese have established records
on Mount Everest," Sherchan said had told journalists. "The
record for the oldest climber to reach the summit of Mount
Everest should also belong to a Nepali."
Sherchan, a retired soldier, was just a few
weeks from his 77th birthday. Until Sherchan’s success, the
only climbers over 70 to top out on Everest had been from
Japan.
Min Bahadur Sherchan reached the 8,848-meter
summit early in the morning with his climbing guides, said
a Nepal Tourism Ministry official, Ramesh Chetri. (enlarge
photo)
The former soldier climbed smaller mountains before
Everest and has been an active sportsman, Chetri said. Pemba Dorje Sherpa, who set the record
of being the fastest person to climb the Everest, was the
team leader when Sherchan scaled the peak.
More than 1 400 climbers have reached
the summit since Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa
became the first to attain the feat May 29, 1953. More than
200 others have died trying to scale the summit.