NEW DELHI : Nepali mountaineer Apa Sherpa has broken his own world record by successfully scaling the 8,850-metre summit of Mt. Everest for the 17th time.

Forty-seven-year-old Apa Sherpa reached the summit at 8.44 a.m. on Wednesday, as part of an historic all-Sherpa climbing team put together to raise awareness of the community's little-known role as the backbone of Everest mountaineering.

According to an official statement issued by the team's Government of Nepal liaison officer, Prabodh Sagar Dhakal, six other members of the team, which called itself the Super Sherpas, also succeeded in reaching the summit.

Lakhpa Gelu (39) climbed the summit for the 13th time, while Ang Rita (39) achieved his ninth summit. Ang Passang (39) made the summit for the eighth time, and Pemba Rinjin (36) achieved his sixth success. Two others, Passang Gyaljen (20) and Ang Chhiring (25), registered their first summit success.

Designed to draw attention to the community's extraordinary contribution to high-altitude mountaineering, the Super Sherpa expedition was conceived by two Everest mountaineering legends to challenge media narratives, which focus attention on climbers from the United States and Europe.

Born in Thame, home village of Everest legend Tenzing Norgay, Apa Sherpa began working as a porter on mountaineering expeditions after the death of his father. Expedition leaders soon noticed the 12-year-old could carry loads far greater than his own body weight — and at exceptional speeds.

In May 1990, Apa Sherpa climbed Everest for the first time. He has since done so each year barring 1996, when harsh weather conditions claimed the lives of 15 mountaineers, including his mentor, Rob Hall. Many of the dead were inexperienced western climbers who had paid thousands of dollars to be ushered to the top.

Lakhpa Gelu, in turn, set the record for the fastest artificial-oxygen assisted Everest ascent in 2003, reaching the summit in just 10 hours and 56 minutes. Sherpa climbers Pemba Dorje, who scaled the mountain in 12 hours and 45 minutes, and Chhiri Dorje, who did so in 16 hours and 56 minutes, held the earlier records.

Regarded as one of the great athletic achievements of all time, Lakhpa Gelu's climb involved the equivalent of a vertical ascent of over 3,000 metres at 300 metres an hour — an increase in altitude that would have left most professional mountaineers suffering from potentially fatal high-latitude pulmonary oedema.

"This is the first time in history that two record holders will be on an expedition at the same time and they are both Sherpas," Lakhpa Gelu had told The Salt Lake Tribune in an interview shortly before the climb. "We will make history and tell the history of our people at the same time."

Making a point

But the Super Sherpas' leaders also hope to make a point about the working conditions of high-altitude guides and porters.

Capable of carrying loads as heavy as their own body up the mountain several times, guides and porters are responsible for hauling the oxygen, tents, food and fuel-assisted climbers needed to attempt the summit.

This work isn't just hard, but also exceptionally hazardous. Guides and porters cross the Ice Fall, the most dangerous zone on the Everest, upwards of 20 times or more to stock the successive camps their expeditions will use during their summit bid. By contrast, assisted climbers limit their time on the Ice Fall to between four and six traverses.

Limited rewards

Despite the risks, the rewards are limited. Pay for guides and porters is substantial by Nepali standards, ranging between $500 and $5,000 depending on their skills.

But western team leaders can make anywhere from $15,000 to over $1,00,000 because of their access to affluent climbers who wish to be guided up Everest.

According to the Super Sherpas' official website, "guides regularly risk and even lose their lives saving members who are in distress. This is rarely reported. In the case of a Nepali guide's death, the compensation paid to the next of kin is barely enough to pay for the funeral costs."

Interestingly, Apa Sherpa is on record stating that he would "gladly have given up the world records for a good education and a career as a medical doctor."

Apa Sherpa moved to the U.S. in order to give his children a quality education — an education the top mountaineer hopes will ensure they can have a safe life.

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