Record-breaking Nepali teen eyes final 8,000-metre peak

The State argues that Moroadi Cholota has established a base and a network to be able to survive outside the borders of South Africa.
View of an irrigation system on a farm. AFP/Nelson Almeida
Avbob Investment Plan
KATHMANDU – At just 18 years old, Nepali mountaineer Nima Rinji Sherpa is on the brink of a remarkable achievement.
With 13 of the world’s highest peaks already behind him, he is now one summit away from becoming the youngest person to conquer all 14 mountains towering above 8,000 metres.
Sherpa, who already holds multiple records from his ascents of dozens of peaks, said he is on a mission to “inspire a new generation and redefine mountaineering”.
His final challenge, Shishapangma in Tibet, awaits him next month — if China issues a permit.
Summiting all 14 “eight-thousanders” is considered the epitome of mountaineering aspirations.
Italian climber Reinhold Messner first completed the feat in 1986, and only around 40 climbers have successfully followed in his footsteps. Many other elite climbers have died in the pursuit.
All of the mountains are in the Himalayas and neighbouring Karakoram range, which span Nepal, China, India and Pakistan.
Reaching each summit requires entering the thin air of the “death zone”, where there is not enough oxygen to sustain life for long.
“When I am in the mountains, I may die anytime,” Sherpa said. “You need to realise how important your life is.”
The young man says the mountains have taught him to stay calm.
“Mentally, I have convinced myself… when I see an avalanche, bad weather, an accident in the mountains I am not in a hurry, I don’t get nervous,” he added.
“I have convinced myself; this is normal in the mountains. I think this has helped me a lot.”
Hailing from the Sherpa ethnic group, renowned for its mountaineering prowess, the teenage climber is no stranger to the treacherous terrain.
His uncle, Mingma Gyabu ‘David’ Sherpa, currently holds the record of the youngest person to climb all 14 peaks. He achieved it in 2019, at the age of 30.
His father, Tashi Sherpa, grew up in the remote Sankhuwasabha district, herding yaks before joining mountaineering as a teenager with his siblings.
The entrepreneurial brothers now lead the biggest mountain expedition company in Nepal, Seven Summit Treks, and its sister company, 14 Peaks Expedition.
“I come from a privileged family,” the teen climber said. “But going to the mountains has taught me what hardship is, and the real value of life”.
In August 2022, Sherpa scaled his first of the 14 peaks, reaching the top of the world’s eighth highest Mount Manaslu (8,163 metres) at the age of 16, the first teenager to do so.
The last mountain he scaled was Kanchenjunga in June, again making a record for the youngest to climb the world’s third-highest mountain.
“I have learned so many things about nature, the human body, human psychology”, he said.
“Everything in the world I learnt from the mountain.”