Nepal grandpop pips Japanese in race for oldest Everest conqueror

KATHMANDU: A nearly decade-old struggle finally resulted in sweet victory for Nepali grandpop Min Bahadur Sherchan Sunday when amidst thundering applause PM Madhav Kumar Nepal unveiled in public a Guinness World Record certificate testifying the 78-year-old to be the oldest man to have conquered Mt Everest, the highest peak in the world.
“Mt Everest is one of the few means that has helped keep Nepal in the eye of the world,” the smiling prime minister said.“The youngest woman to have climbed the summit is from Nepal (Ming Kipa Sherpa, 15 years); the youngest man to have climbed Mt Everest is from Nepal (Temba Tsheri Sherpa, 16); the fastest Everest climber is from Nepal (Pemba Dorjee Sherpa, 8 hrs 10 mins) and the maximum Everest summiter is from Nepal (Apa Sherpa, 19 times).
“Now a Nepali has amazed the world and set an example for bravery and activeness by summiting Mt Everest at the age of 76.”
On May 25, 2008, Sherchan, then 76 years and 340 days old, clambered atop the 8848m peak with a trident and the flags of Nepal and South Korea, hoping to set the record for being the oldest Everest conqueror. But to his shock, his fellow climber, 75-year-old Japanese Yuichiro Miura, who reached the top two days after him, was the one to gain official recognition from Guinness as Sherchan was not savvy enough to send all the necessary documents to the organisation.
However, his cause was championed by the Nepali NGO, the 77 Years Senior Citizen Mt Everest Expedition Nepal 2008, that had also raised money for his climb. The organisation went to London to follow up the claim and in August, after all the necessary documents had been submitted, endorsed by Nepal’s tourism ministry, the Guinness authorities updated the record, handing over the certificate which now officially makes Sherchan the oldest man to have accomplished the feat.
“The oldest man to climb Mt Everest is Min Bahadur Sherchan (Nepal b. 20 June 1931) who reached the summit on 25 May 2008 at the age of 76 years 340 days,” the Guinness certificate, unveiled before public Sunday, says.
The new Everest hero has now set himself even more challenging tasks. “I was confident I would ascend Mt Everest,” Sherchan said. “I did it for a noble cause: for world peace. Now I want to accomplish some more missions.” The man from remote Myagdi district wants to found a home for the aged as well as orphans and a “human temple” where intellectuals from Nepal and abroad would come to promote global fellow feeling. But his most important aim, he says, is to save Mother Earth.
To do that, he plans to wait for another six years, when he turns 84, the age when people in Nepal are considered to become “living gods”. After having become a living god, Sherchan plans to have a go at climbing Mt Everest once more and breaking his own record.