Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks

An 18-year-old Nepali mountaineer on Wednesday broke the record for the youngest person to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks, his team said.

Nima Rinji Sherpa reached the summit of Tibet's 8,027-meter-high (26,335 feet) Shisha Pangma on Wednesday morning, completing his mission to stand on the world's highest peaks.

"He reached the summit this morning. He had trained well and I was confident he would do it," his father Tashi Sherpa told AFP.

Summiting all 14 "eight-thousanders" is considered the peak of mountaineering aspirations. Climbers cross "death zones" where there is not enough oxygen in the air to sustain human life for long periods.

"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," Sherpa said in a statement. 

"Mountaineering is more than labor, it is a testament to our strength, resilience and passion."

Sherpa is no stranger to the mountains, hailing from a family of record-holding mountaineers, who also now run Nepal's largest mountaineering expedition company.

The record was previously held by another Nepali climber, Mingma Gyabu 'David' Sherpa. He achieved it in 2019, at the age of 30.

'Proud moment'

Nima Rinji Sherpa, who already holds multiple records from his ascents of dozens of peaks, started high-altitude climbing at the age of 16, by climbing Mount Manaslu in August 2022. 

By June this year, he had climbed his 13th mountain, Kanchenjunga, the world's third highest.  

"This is a proud moment for our country," Nima Nuru Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, told AFP.  

"Nima broke all the stereotypes, and his success has given a message that nothing is impossible if you have a strong determination."

Nepali climbers -- usually ethnic Sherpas from the valleys around Everest -- are considered the backbone of the climbing industry in the Himalayas.

They carry the majority of equipment and food, fixing ropes and repairing ladders.

Long in the shadows as supporters of foreign climbers, they are slowly being recognized in their own right. 

In 2021, a team of Nepali climbers made the first winter ascent of K2, the world's second-highest peak -- the notoriously challenging 8,611-meter (28,251-feet) "savage mountain" of Pakistan.