Teen breaks record by climbing Earth’s highest peaks

A Nepalese teenager has broken the world record for the youngest mountaineer to summit Earth’s 14 highest peaks.

Nima Rinji Sherpa, 18, stood atop Tibet’s Mount Shishapangma at about 06:05 local time on Wednesday.

In doing so, he became the latest of just a few dozen people to have scaled all of the world’s “eight-thousanders” – the 14 mountains that the International Mountaineering and Climbing Federation (UIAA) recognises as more than 8,000 metres above sea level.

Sherpa, who started climbing high-altitude mountains at the age of 16, summited all eight-thousanders in 740 days.

He reached the peak of Nepal’s Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain, on 30 September, 2022 – shortly after finishing his 10th-grade high school exams.

On each trek the young athlete was accompanied by his climbing partner, Pasang Nurbu Sherpa.

The record-shattering ascent on Wednesday marked the latest in a long list of accolades for Nima Rinji, who is also the world’s youngest climber to have scaled Himalayan mountains G1 and G2; the youngest climber to have scaled Kashmir’s Nanga Parbat; and the youngest climber to have scaled both Mount Everest and nearby Lhotse within 10 hours.

Standing atop Mount Shishapangma on Wednesday morning, though, another life ambition was front of mind for the 18-year-old: to subvert the stereotype of Sherpas as mere helpers who assist foreign climbers on their ascents.

“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 said shortly after scaling Mount Shishapangma.

“Mountaineering is more than labour, it is a testament to our strength, resilience and passion.”

Although the word ‘Sherpa’ is commonly used to describe someone who is a mountain guide or porter working in the Everest area, it is in fact the name of an ethnic group of people who live in the mountains of Nepal.

Nima Rinji said he wants to prove to 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”.

“We are not just guides; we are trailblazers,” he said on Wednesday. “Let this be a call to every Sherpa to see the dignity in our work, the power in our heritage, and the limitless possibilities in our future.”

Nima Rinji comes from a family of record-holding mountaineers, who now run Seven Summit Treks: Nepal’s largest mountaineering expedition company, and the group with whom he completed the Mount Shishapangma climb.

Speaking to the BBC shortly after the record had been set, his father, Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, recounted the moment he delivered the news via satellite phone.

“He told me, ‘Dad, I reached the summit at 6:05 Chinese time. ‘My colleague Pasang Norbu and I have arrived’,” Tashi Lakpa recalled.

“Being highly trained and professional, he wasn’t even thrilled; it was normal. I said ‘I had faith in you. Return safely’.”

Rakesh Gurung, Director of Adventure Tourism and Mountaineering Branch under Nepal’s Department of Tourism, confirmed to the BBC that Nima Rinji had set the record.

“The peak has been confirmed this morning. Now I understand that there is a matter of giving a certificate after returning to the base camp,” he said.

The previous record holder for the youngest mountaineer to scale all eight-thousanders was also a Nepali climber, Mingma Gyabu ‘David’ Sherpa, who achieved it at the age of 30 in 2019.

“This record is difficult to break now,” Gurung noted.

All 14 eight-thousanders are located in Asia, in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges.