Mt. Everest - Courageous men and their world records 01

Among the outdoor adventure sports, mountain climbing is the most exciting, but grueling one. To get to the top of the peak, say Everest or Annapurna or any other peak above 20,000 feet, one has to toil and cross tough terrains and steep cliffs. In the case of Mt. Everest, the climber needs exemplary mental strength and good concentration, apart from good health. Listed below are amazing men who not only reached Mt. Everest in style, taking all the risks under the sun, but also set world records, thus each one of them made history and has found a permanent niche in the history of Mt. Everest expedition. The unique aspect of Everest records is the holders include young people in teens as well as men above 70 years and for them sky is the limit.

Everest camps www.cbc.ca

Apa (born Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa (Nepal):

(Most ascents on Everest - 21 times)

Apa (born Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa en.wikipedia.org

Apa (born Lhakpa Tenzing) Sherpa (20 January 1960): A Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer holds jointly with Phurba Tashi, the record for reaching the summit of Mount Everest more times than any other person. Apa made his 21st Mount Everest summit on 11 May 2011 as a member of the Eco Everest Expedition. His achievement of
21 ascents of Mount Everest as of May 2011 shows his rare talents in mountain climbing in the most most difficult mountainous terrain in the world. and his record is not yet broken.

Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa, born in Thame, a village in the Everest region of Nepal, began his climbing career in 1985, and in 1990 got a chance to climb Everest. Apa first reached the summit of Mount Everest on his fourth attempt, on May 10, 1990, with a New Zealand team led by climber Rob Hall along with Peter Hillary, son of legendary Edmund Hillary. He successfully led the first expedition on April 2012 to complete the Great Himalaya Trail, an adventure trip, covering 1,700-kilometre (1,050-mile) trek spanning the entire length of the Nepalese Himalayas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apa_Sherpa

Dave Hahn (USA):

(Most summits by a foreigner- 15 times)

RMI Expedition

Dave Hahn (November 3, 1961, Okinawa, Japan): A professional American mountain guide, ski patroller, journalist and lecturer in May 2013, he made history by reaching the summit of Mount Everest for the 15th time - the most for a non-Sherpa climber, according to Outside Magazine contributor and climber Alan Arnette. He also reached 35 summits of Vinson Massif, Antarctica’s highest mountain, 21 times the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest peak over the course of 30 expeditions. Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1984, Hahn's name is inducted into the university's Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1999, Hahn was a key member of the team that discovered the remains of George Mallory at 27,000 feet (8,200 m) on Mount Everest's North Face. Mallory died on the mountain in 1924, along with fellow climber Andrew Irvine, but it has never been determined whether or not he first reached the top.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/everest-2011-dave-hahn-on-the-summit-photos-eventually-we-had-the-top-to-ourselves-and-enjoyed-the-q

Nawang Gombu (Nepal):

(First to summit twice)

Nawang Gombu. The Hindu

Nawang Gombu ( born 1935-April 24, 2011): A Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer, Gombu was born in Khumbu, Nepal, and his uncle is Tenzing Norgay, who along with Hillary climbed Everest for the first time in 1953. He was not only the youngest Sherpa to reach 26,000 ft. in 1964, but also became the first Indian and the third man in the world to summit Nanda Devi (24,645 ft). In 1965, he created world record then by becoming the first man in the world to have climbed Everest twice - with the Indian Expedition and American, a record that would remain unbroken for almost 20 years.

When he was a boy Gombu was sent to Tibet to become a monk at Rongbuk Monastery, but it did not happen. He traveled extensively and several times climbed Mt. Rainier in Washington state, USA. He was an advisor at the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute and lived in in Darjeeling, West Bengal.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/mountaineer-nawang-gombu-passes-away/story-eQKoAxTTrOhLk3GBlVpmnL.html

Mt. Everest trekking, The Himalayan Times

Kazi Sherpa (Nepal):

(Fastest ascent without oxygen)

Confirmed by Everest historian Elizabeth Hawley and Everest Summiteers' Association, Kazi holds the current speed climbing record on Mount Everest for the South Col Route, from base camp to the summit, without oxygen from base camp to the summit.

Ang Kaji Sherpa P. YouTube

Kazi has the rare distinction of being the first man to have made the fastest ascent on Everest. He set the record on the South Col Route, without supplemental oxygen, without steroid drug assistance (Dexamethasone), and without Sherpa assistance or guide assistance. In 1998, he took 20 hours 24 minutes, from the south base camp to the summit. Earlier record was held by Marc Batard in 1988 by 22 hours and 29 minutes.

Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kazi_Sherpa

Ang Rita aka Angrita Sherpa:

(Most summits without supplemental oxygen)

Ang Rita Ang Rita Sherpa. Alchetron

Ang Rita aka Angrita Sherpa (Nepali), born in 1948 in small village called Yillajung in eastern Nepal is a remarkable mountain climber who was on the roof of the world - Mount Everest ten times without the use of supplemental (bottled) oxygen, and is thus known as "The Snow Leopard". He took Southeast Ridge route eight times. When he climbed Everest for the 6th time in 1990, setting the world record for the most number of successful ascents, eventually reaching 10 on May 23, 1996. His last summit followed 12 days after the second deadliest accident in the history of Everest when eight people were caught in a blizzard and died on Mount Everest during attempts to ascend to or descend from the summit. That particular season the death toll was 12 people.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ang_Rita

Erik Weihenmayer (USA):

(First blind climb to summit Everest)

Reached the summit of Mount Everest, on May 25, 2001Erik Weihenmayer

Climbing the tallest peak in the world - mount Everest is a Herculean task for able bodied men with lots of mountaineering experience. If a man does summit the peak with no eye sight, barring all the dangers on the way, is something great, something impossible to imagine.

Erik Weihenmayer, despite his blindness, must be a man of steel and fortitude, taking inspiration from Helen Keller. He unfortunately lost his sight at the age of 13. Undeterred, he kept his life going, surmounting the barriers on the way. That fighting spirit ultimately took him to the roof of the world Mount Everest in 2001, being the first blind climber to achieve this great triumph.

Besides in 2001, he scaled the highest peaks of the seven continents along with the elite group of climbers, thus becoming the only blind person to climb the Seven Summits. In 2014, he also solo kayaked the Grand Canyon, a journey of 277 miles along the Colorado River. His other achievement includes his 50 solo sky dives. Time Magazine honored him with a cover story. He also completed the Seven Summits in September 2002,

Earlier his exceptional climbs included the Nose of El Capitan in Yosemite in 1996, and Losar, a 2700-foot tough vertical ice face in the Himalayas which he ascended in two days and 3 hours, in 2008. US President George W Bush congratulated him on his achievement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Weihenmayer

Doug Scott and Dougal Haston (Britain):

(First Pair to summit Everest)

Scott and Haston reached the top of Everest taking a new route for the first time on the south -west face of the mountain led by Bonington. In September 1975, they became the first pair from Britain ever to reach the summit. It is worth mentioning here that five previous expeditions had failed to reach the summit on the same route.

Dougal Haston and Doug Scott at top camp Everest, 1975Hiyalife

Dougal Haston (19 April 1940 -17 January 1977) born in Currie, on the outskirts of Edinburgh.was a Scottish mountaineer, well-known for his adventures in the British Isles, Alps, and the Himalayas. He died in an avalanche while skiing above Leysin, Switzerland. Earlier, in 1970, he and Don Whillans were the first to climb the south face of Annapurna on an expedition led by Chris Bonington, and in 1975.

Douglas Keith Scott CBE, educated at Cottesmore School in Lenton, Nottingham (born 29 May 1941), is an English mountaineer. In his early age, he showed interest in outdoor activities, in particular, mountain climbing. He is popular for his trail blazing efforts to establish a new route to Mt. Everest. He along with Dougal Haston made the first ever ascent of the south-west face choosing a new route to Mount Everest on 24 September 1975. Scott and Dougal Haston were the first Britons to climb Everest during this expedition (discounting Mallory and Irvine). He and his partner received prestigious mountaineering awards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dougal_Haston

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Scott

Reinhold Messner (Italian):

(First Everest climber without bottled oxygen)

During the last phase of ascent on Everest, the air is very thin so, the available oxygen is not good enough for the climbers who pant a lot while ascending. With inadequate oxygen at very high elevation on the snow capped peak, one may experience dizziness and disorientation. It requires lots of guts and determination to summit the peak without supplemental oxygen. Reinhold M

essner and Austrian companion Peter Habeler were the first men to successfully reach the summit without supplemental oxygen.

On 8 May 1978, Reinhold Messner stood with Peter Habeler on the summit of Mount Everest, of course, without oxygen cylinder.

On 20 August 1980, Messner also made the first solo ascent without oxygen. Prior to May 1978, this ascent was disputed whether this was possible at all. For this solo climb, he chose the northeast ridge to the summit, where he crossed above the North Col in the North Face to the Norton Couloir. Thus, he became the first man to climb through this steep gorge to the summit

Reinhold Messner in June 2002. en.wikipedia.org

His other achievements: In May and June 1970, Reinhold Messner was a member of an South Face expedition to the Nanga Parbat led by Karl Herrligkoffer, the objective being to climb the as yet un-climbed Rupal Face, the highest rock and ice face in the world. On 9 August 1978 Messner successfully made a solo trip to
the summit of Nanga Parbat again via the Diamir, after three unsuccessful attempts.

https://www.ndtv.com/people/this-italian-mountaineer-practices-the-art-of-not-getting-killed-1763086

Everest Tibetan plateau en.wikipedia.org/

Pemba Dorje Sherpa(Nepal):

(fastest ascent from Base Camp with bottled oxygen)
Pemba Dorje Sherpa from bedding, Rolwaling Valley, Dolkha, Nepal made a record by making the fastest ever ascent of Mount Everest on 21 May 2004, taking eight hours and ten minutes; ascent from Everest South Base Camp with supplemental oxygen . The record was confirmed by Nepal's tourism ministry.

His early record for the fastest summit of 12 hours and 45 minutes in 2003, was broken by Lakpa Gelu Sherpa three days later who set a new record of 10 hours 56 minutes. Pemba Dorje disputed the claim of Lakpa Gelu, but the Nepalese government ruled it was valid.