Record-setting teen climber says Sherpas should be seen as team leaders, not just guides
Nima Rinji Sherpa, who this month completed a mission to scale the world’s 14 tallest mountains, wants to change his community’s image
A Sherpa teenager who has won mountaineering celebrity as the youngest person ever to reach the summits of the world’s 14 highest peaks called for Sherpas to be recognised as athletes and expedition leaders as well as porters and guides.
“It’s always been that Sherpas were supporting climbers and we’re never seen as leaders of expeditions,” Nima Rinji Sherpa said on Friday.
The 18-year-old is planning more, tougher climbs after completing a mission to scale all 14 mountains that rise above 8,000 meters (26,247 feet) earlier this month – on October 9 – on China’s Mount Shishapangma.
The Sherpa community were mostly yak herders and traders living deep within the Himalayas until Nepal opened its borders in the 1950s. Their stamina and familiarity with the mountains quickly made them sought-after guides and porters, and eventually for them to dominate the Himalayan climbing business.
Tenzing Norgay conquered Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953, establishing the community’s fame as climbing masters.
