Nepalese "Super Sherpa" sets Everest record with 21 ascents

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Kathmandu, May 11: A 51-year-old Nepalese mountaineer has scaled Mount Everest for the 21st time, extending his own record for the number of successful ascents of the world’s highest mountain.

Apa Sherpa, nicknamed “Super Sherpa” reached the summit early Wednesday after climbing all night in conditions expedition organizers described as “perfect.”

“He along with five other climbers had left camp four last night at 10 pm and all of them made it to the top,” the Telegraph quoted Ang Tshering Sherpa, chairman of expeditions organizers Asian Trekking, as saying.

All were climbing as part of the annual Eco Everest campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the impact of climate change on the Himalayas and remove tonnes of rubbish left behind by previous expeditions from the mountain.

Sherpa’s first expedition to the summit was in 1990, and he has dedicated his last four climbs to the Eco Everest campaign.

After last year’s expedition, he said he was disturbed by the visible changes on the mountain caused by rising temperatures, which were making climbing more dangerous.

“The snow along the slopes had melted, exposing the bare rocks underneath, which made it very difficult for us to walk up the slope as there was no snow to dig our crampons into,” said Sherpa. (ANI)