Saturday, May 22, 2010

Apa Sherpa' climbs Everest a record 20th time

KATHMANDU: A Nepalese Sherpa climbed Mount Everest for the 20th time early Saturday, beating his own world record, an official said.

Apa Sherpa, 50, reached the summit of world's highest peak on Saturday morning, a spokesman for the tourism ministry said.

"He reached the top of Everest this morning. He is in sound health and is now heading back to base camp after spending around half an hour on the summit," Laxman Bhattarai told foreign news agency.

Sherpa, who first scaled Everest in 1990 and has been dubbed the "super Sherpa" for the apparent ease with which he climbs the mountain, dedicated his latest expedition to the impact of climate change on the Himalayas.

"I am thankful to have been able to climb Mount Everest for the 20th time," he said in a statement published on his website. "I also climbed to bring attention to the damage done to the Himalayas because of global climate change."

Thousands of people have climbed Mount Everest since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first people to conquer the 8,848-metre (29,028-foot) mountain in 1953.

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