Climber from Nepal, 77, oldest mountaineer to reach the top of Chomolungma
12 June 2008Hall was frostbitten and severely disoriented due to altitude sickness. Min Bahadur Sherchan returned a hero to Calgarians. The Chinese were flying their airplanes over Mount Everest and had Chinese officials in Kathmandu. They flexed their muscles this year all the in name of the Olympic spirit, but it was hardly spirited at all.”
Nevertheless, the decision to actualize a long-time personal goal left Bahadur Sherchan with some internal uncertainties, he cited the political actions of China and Nepal as providing the greatest adversity he faced on his journey. Now that Andrew Brash has successfully scaled the tallest mountain in the world, he is once again ready to focus on his family. This season European mountaineer Anthony Loeff is reporting the scales for the Mount Everest after reaching the peak of Kilimanjaro earlier this year.
Min Bahadur Sherchan and four climbing guides reached the 29,035-foot (8,850-meters) summit of the world’s highest mountain early Sunday, said Ramesh Chretri, an official with Nepal’s ministry of tourism.
Bahadur Sherchan last attempt resulted in the rescue of Lincoln Hall, an Australian climber who was left by his team in the “death zone.”
Sherchan just 11 days away from his 77th birthday beat the age record set last year by 71-year-old Japanese teacher Katsusuke Yanagisawa.
More than 3224 people have climbed to the summit since it was first conquered in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary, who died in January, and Nepal’s Tenzing Norgay.
Andrew Brash returned this week from Nepal after successfully climbing to the summit of Chomolungma. They basically coerced the Nepali government to not allow any climbers past camp two on the Nepali side. Indeed, he was all too aware of the potential dangers Chomolungma or Mount Everest could bring. Certain parts of the climb are more dangerous than others and it is important for climbers to remain focused As he planned for the climb, Sherchan told reporters he wanted to inspire fellow senior citizens. He also said many Nepalese have established records on Mt Everest, so it was only fitting that the record for the oldest climber to reach the summit should also belong to a Nepali. The 74-year-old man from Nepal is now the oldest person to have reached the top of Everest. His first found him within 223 metres of the peak when his team stopped to help a fellow mountaineer who was left for dead. Two years later, Min Bahadur Sherchan, a University of Calgary alumni, returned to the Mount Everest to finish what he had started.
“The Chinese weren’t allowing anybody on Chomolungma. They ended up commandeering it for themselves, even though Everest is shared by two countries. With the Chinese preparing for the impending summer Olympic Games, Andrew Brash noted that the government’s actions hardly reflected the Olympic spirit. “Chomolungma or Mount Everest this year became a political pawn,” he said with some frustration.
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