He climbed the 8,027 m Shishapangma. This summit located in Tibet is “the smallest” of the 14 peaks over 8,000 m on our planet. This Wednesday morning, an 18-year-old Nepalese mountaineer managed to climb to its summit. Already an achievement. Except that before climbing the Tibetan peak, Nima Rinji Sherpa had already climbed the 13 others: Everest, obviously, but also K2, Annapurna, Nanga Parbat, Broad Peak, Makalu and all the others. At 18, he became the youngest climber in history to achieve this true feat. “He had trained well and was confident he could do it,” said his father Tashi Sherpa.
The conquest of the 14 highest peaks in the world, located in the Himalayas and Karakorum massifs, is considered one of the holy grails of mountaineering. Since the Italian Reinhold Messner in 1986, only around fifty climbers have succeeded.
“A tribute to all Sherpas”
More than twenty climbers reached the base camp of Shisha Pangma (8,027 m), in the Chinese province of Tibet, this season in the hope of completing their quest for the 14 “8,000”.
“This summit is not only the culmination of my personal journey but also a tribute to all the Sherpas who dared to dream beyond the limits that have traditionally been imposed on us,” said Nima Rinji Sherpa. “The high mountains are more than a job,
it is a testimony to our strength, our resilience and our passion,” continued the young man, from a family of Sherpas who created the largest Himalayan expedition company.
Nima Rinji Sherpa started high mountains at the age of 16 by climbing Mount Manaslu in August 2022. The previous youngest winner of the 14 “8,000” was Nepalese Mingma Gyabu “David” Sherpa, in 2019 at the age of 30.
Sherpas finally have recognition
“This is a proud moment for our country,” said the president of the Nepalese High Mountain Association, Nima Nuru Sherpa. “Nima has freed himself from all stereotypes, his success shows that anything is possible with strong determination,” he added.
Nepalese climbers – most of them from the valleys of Mount Everest – have long been considered the little hands of mountaineering, responsible for carrying equipment and equipping the ascent routes to the Himalayan peaks for many foreign climbers. .
Their exploits have recently made them accepted as mountaineers in their own right. In 2021, an expedition of Nepalese climbers successfully made the first winter ascent of Pakistan’s K2, the second highest mountain in the world (8,611 m).