Nepalese teenager becomes youngest person to climb 14 ‘eight-thousanders'

Nepalese teenager, Nima Rinji Sherpa, has become the youngest mountaineer to climb the 14 highest peaks on the Earth, generally known as the “eight-thousanders”.

All of the gigantic peaks are located in Asia, in the mountain ranges of Himalayas and Karakoram.

Nima Rinji stood atop the peak of Mount Shishapangma on Wednesday, achieving a feat for which many have died.

The eight-thousanders are 14 mountains whose height exceed 8,000m.

As for the 18-year-old Nepalese climber, his record becomes all the more special as he summited all the peaks in 740 days, as per BBC.

On each of his expeditions, taking him one stop closer to the glory of the record, he was accompanied by his climbing partner, Pasang Nurbu Sherpa.

Nima Rinji is also the youngest climber to have climbed the mountains Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II situated in the Himalayan mountain range and he also became the youngest to Nanga Parbat in the same range.

His passion for mountaineering is however proved by his expedition in which he scaled both the tallest peak of the world, Mount Everest and its neighbouring mountain Lhotse within 10 hours. 

"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 stated shortly after reaching the peak of Mount Shishapangma as quoted by BBC.

“Sherpa” is commonly used to refer to mountain guides or porters in the vicinity of Everest but it is actually an ethnicity that continues to thrive in the mountains of Nepal.

"Mountaineering is more than labour, it is a testament to our strength, resilience and passion”, the young climber added.

Nima Rinji said he wanted the younger Sherpas to know that they can rise above the stereotype that they are “just guides”.

"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”, he said.

The previous holder of this record was Mingma Gyabu “David” Sherpa, also a Nepalese mountaineer, who achieved the feat at the age of 30 in 2019.

Director of Adventure Tourism and Mountaineering Branch under Nepal's Department of Tourism, Rakesh Gurung, said the record is now “difficult” to break.