Nepali woman Lhakpa Sherpa beats own world record for most Everest summits by a woman

A Nepali mountaineer has broken her own world record for the most Everest summits by a woman after scaling the peak for the seventh time on Friday, her expedition company said.

The daughter of a yak herder, 43-year-old Lhakpa Sherpa worked as a porter and kitchen hand on trekking and mountaineering expeditions when she was young, before becoming a climber herself.

Key points:

• Sherpa first summitted Mt Everest in 2000, becoming the first woman to do so successfully
• Friday was the seventh time Sherpa summitted the mountain
• Sherpa plans to eventually beat the male record of 21 total summits, held by Apa Sherpa

The mother of three retired from climbing after her sixth summit of the 8,850-metre high Mount Everest in 2006 before deciding to make a comeback, 16 years after she first scaled the world’s tallest peak.

“Lhakpa summitted Everest at 5:00am (local time) today for the seventh time,” said Svetlana Nujoom, program manager of 7 Summits Adventure, which organised her expedition.

In March, Sherpa said she intended to summit Everest twice this season, although Ms Nujoom was unable to confirm whether she still planned a second bid before weather conditions worsen by the end of the month.

“The team is descending at the moment and I am not sure if she will go back up this season,” Nujoom said.

Sherpa, who works as a part-time housekeeper in the United States, scaled the peak from its Tibetan side. Unlike most climbers, who begin their ascent from Everest base camp in Nepal, this route is less common. The base camp route is the easiest and most popular.

Generations of men from Nepal’s famed Sherpa community have climbed the Himalayas. Meanwhile, their wives and daughters have traditionally kept the home fires burning.

Sherpa said she eventually wants to beat the record held by male climber Apa Sherpa. That record stands at 21 total summits.

Her record caps a successful season for climbing on Everest. Since last week, around 300 summits have been achieved. This success ends a years-long lull following two disasters.

Last week, nine Nepalese climbers became the first group in three years to summit the peak. Their achievement paved the way for others to follow.

Hundreds of climbers abandoned their expeditions last year after an earthquake-triggered avalanche at Everest Base Camp killed 18 people.

In 2014, only one climber reached the summit. The climber used a helicopter to transport tent equipment to higher camps. This followed an avalanche that killed 16 Nepali guides and led to the cancellation of that year’s mountaineering season.

Mountaineering is a major revenue-earner for impoverished Nepal but last year’s earthquakes, which killed almost 9,000 people, threatened the future of the Himalayan nation’s climbing and trekking industry.

(Source: www.abc.net.au/news , May 21, 2016)