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Friday, 31 March, 2000, 12:35 GMT 13:35 UK
Sherpa's race to the top
![]() Sherpa Babu Chhiri: Just 16 hours to the top?
By Sushil Sharma in Kathmandu
A Nepalese sherpa climber is attempting two records on Everest during the current spring climbing season. Babu Chhiri is attempting to become the fastest climber of the world's highest mountain. He is also looking for a record eleventh climb of the 8,850 metre peak.
The 34-year-old sherpa left the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, on Thursday for the Everest region to prepare for the first leg of the journey up to
the peak.
He plans to reach the peak in 16 hours to become the fastest climber ever. The current record of 20 hours 24 minutes is held by another sherpa climber, Kaji, who made it to the top two years ago. Babu Chhiri is also aiming for his eleventh Everest ascent. Sherpa records If Babu succeeds in his plan to reach the summit twice this season, he will break the record of another sherpa climber, Ang Rita, who last year retired after getting to the top of Everest ten times.
If he succeeds, this will be Babu's third record-breaking
Everest achievement.
Last year, he went into the Guinness Book of Records for the longest stay at the top of Everest. He spent a record 21 hours at the peak. Climbers normally spend just a few minutes at the top because of the freezing temperatures, high winds and unpredictable weather. About 900 climbers from more than 50 countries have climbed Everest since Tenzing Norgay of Nepal and Edmund Hillary of New Zealand first made it to the top in 1953. More than 150 climbers have died in the Everest expedition. Taking on risks Babu Chhiri knows the mission involves risks. But he exudes confidence. "I am not afraid of the climbing or the death. Fear is always there but it is not going to keep me from going to Everest again and again." Everest apart, Babu Chhiri has another mission. Born to a poor sherpa family, Babu, who never went to a school, wants to build a school in his home village in the remote hill district, Solukhumbu. |
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