At 18, Nepalese Nima Rinji Sherpa becomes the youngest mountaineer to climb the 14 peaks over 8,000 meters – Libération

Climbing the planet’s 14 peaks over 8,000 meters above sea level is already a feat, but its scope becomes unprecedented when their winner also sets a record for precocity. This Wednesday, October 9, an 18-year-old Nepalese mountaineer made history by climbing the “14 of 8,000». . . . In the Rinji Sherpa “reached the summit this morning” informed his father, Tashi Sherpa. In order to climb Shisha Pangma Mountain, located in the Chinese province of Tibet, the young man “had trained well and was confident he could do it”.

The conquest of the fourteen highest peaks in the world, located in the Himalayas and Karakorum massifs, is considered one of the “Grails” of mountaineering. Since the very first ascent of the 14 peaks by the Italian Reinhold Messner in 1986, only around fifty climbers have succeeded. In addition, more than twenty mountaineers have reached the Shisha Pangma base camp at an altitude of 8,027 meters this season, in the hope of completing their quest for the 14 peaks above 8,000 meters.

The sherpa who “frees itself from stereotypes”

The young man comes from a family of Sherpas who created the largest Himalayan expedition company, Seven Summit Peaks: “High mountaineering is more than a job, it is a testimony to our strength, our resilience and our passion.” An event all the more remarkable since these exploits are rarely carried out by the Sherpas themselves. Nepalese climbers – most of them from the valleys of Mount Everest – have long been considered the little hands of mountaineering, responsible for carrying equipment and equipping the ascent routes to the Himalayan peaks for many foreign climbers. .

Their exploits have recently made them accepted as mountaineers in their own right. “This summit is not only the culmination of my personal journey but also a tribute to all the Sherpas who dared to dream beyond the limits that have traditionally been imposed on us”rejoiced Nima Rinji Sherpa, president of the Nepalese High Mountain Association.

“It’s a proud moment for our country”the young man “freed himself from all stereotypes, his success shows that anything is possible with strong determination”added the president of the Association. Nima Rinji Sherpa started high mountains at age 16, climbing Mount Manaslu in August 2022. The previous youngest winner in the history of the “14 of 8,000» was the Nepalese Mingma Gyabu, nicknamed “David” Sherpa, who successfully climbed in 2019 at the age of 30.

This season is marked by another revelation, on the French side, with the ascent of Alasdair McKenzie, a 20-year-old Savoyard who becomes the youngest European, but also the second Frenchman to climb the fourteen peaks over 8,000 meters.

Update : at 12:30 p.m. addition of French mountaineer Alasdair McKenzie