Man scales Everest for 17th time
16/05/2007 11:46  - (SA)  

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Kathmandu - A veteran Sherpa mountain guide has scaled the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, for a record 17th time, beating his own record, officials said on Wednesday.

Appa Sherpa, 46, reached the summit of the 8 848-metre-high mountain before dawn on Wednesday along with eight other climbers, said the president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Ang Tshering Sherpa.

Appa is a member of the Super Sherpa Expedition climbing the mountain from the Nepalese side.

Appa first reached the summit of Everest in 1989.

The expedition is part of the climbers' efforts to make a documentary film highlighting the role of the Sherpas and the Nepalese people since the historic climb of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa in 1953.

NMA president Ang Tshering said the climbers took advantage of a break in weather to push for the summit early on Wednesday from their high altitude Camp Four at 7 950 metres above sea level.

Another member of the expedition, Lakpha Gelu Sherpa, also reached the summit on Wednesday. It was his 13th time on the peak.

Lakpha Gelu came into his own after reaching the summit from the base camp in a record time of 10 hours 56 minutes and 46 seconds.

According to the Nepalese government, more than 17 expeditions are currently attempting to climb Mount Everest.

May is considered the best time to climb the mountains in the Nepalese Himalayas before the monsoon makes the area almost inaccessible from June to October.

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