Young record-setting Nima Rinji Sherpa says climbing masters are athletes, leaders
A Sherpa teenager who's won mountaineering celebrity as the youngest person ever to summit the world's 14 highest peaks called for Sherpas to be recognized as athletes and expedition leaders
“It’s always been that Sherpas were supporting climbers and we’re never seen as leaders of expeditions,” Nima Rinji Sherpa told The Associated Press 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 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 Himalyan climbing business.
Tenzing Norgay conquered Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953, establishing the community’s fame as climbing masters.
But since then, Nima Rinji said, Sherpas have rarely been seen as expedition leaders. He’s started a “Sherpa power” campaign to change that. “This generation does have the potential because we have the privileges that those before us didn’t have, like good education, speaking well and we can understand what is happening regarding climate change, regarding the mountains,” he said.