Nepali mountaineer Nima Rinji Sherpa was greeted with cheers and admiration upon his return to Kathmandu on Monday, after breaking the record as the youngest person to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-metre peaks. Sherpa successfully reached the summit of Tibet's 8,027-metre-high Shisha Pangma on October 9, marking the completion of his monumental mission.
Upon his arrival in Nepal's capital, a crowd eagerly awaited his return. 'I am feeling very happy,' Sherpa told AFP, adorned in traditional Buddhist scarves and garlands of marigold flowers, as he stepped out to a chorus of cheers at the airport. 'Thank you so much everyone,' he said to his supporters, flashing a wide smile. Sherpa embraced his family and received an outpouring of scarves and flowers from well-wishers. He later waved to the crowd from a car sunroof, proudly displaying the national flag.
Nepal's climbing community also celebrated the return of several other climbers who had completed the summit of the 14 peaks. Achieving the feat of summiting all 14 'eight-thousanders' is considered the pinnacle of mountaineering aspirations, with all the peaks located in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, spanning Nepal, Pakistan, Tibet, and India. Climbers must navigate 'death zones' where the lack of oxygen poses a significant threat to human life.
Italian climber Reinhold Messner first accomplished this feat in 1986, and only around 50 others have successfully followed in his footsteps. Many elite climbers have tragically lost their lives in pursuit of this goal. All of the mountains are situated in the Himalayas and the adjacent Karakoram range, which stretches across Nepal, China, India, and Pakistan.
In recent years, mountaineers are required to reach the 'true summit' of each mountain, a challenge that many climbers of previous generations did not face. Sherpa, who comes from a family of record-holding climbers and runs Nepal's largest mountaineering expedition company, is no stranger to the mountains. Raised in Kathmandu, he initially preferred football and video shooting but shifted his focus to mountaineering two years ago.
Sherpa, who already holds multiple records from his numerous ascents, began high-altitude climbing at the age of 16, scaling Mount Manaslu in August 2022. Nepali climbers, typically ethnic Sherpas from the Everest region, are integral to the Himalayan climbing industry, carrying equipment and food, and fixing ropes and ladders. Historically supporting foreign climbers, they are now gaining recognition for their own achievements.
'I want to show the younger generation of Sherpas that they can rise above the stereotype of being only support climbers and embrace their potential as top-tier athletes, adventurers, and creators,' Sherpa stated after his final summit. 'We are not just guides. We are trailblazers.' Recent years have seen climbers like Sherpa setting record after record, inspiring the next generation of Nepali mountaineers. The previous record was held by another Nepali climber, Mingma Gyabu 'David' Sherpa, who achieved the feat in 2019 at the age of 30.
