Kathmandu — Nepali climber Phunjo Lama reached the summit of Mount Everest in 14 hours and 31 minutes on Thursday, breaking the record for the world's fastest ascent of the mountain by a woman. Climbers typically take days to reach the summit of the 29,032-foot mountain, spending nights at its various camps to rest and acclimatize.
But Lama, who is in his 30s, shaved more than 11 hours off his best since 2021. That means he has reclaimed his own record.
“It started (from the base camp) at 15:52 on May 22, it arrived at 6:23 in the morning on May 23,” Khim Lal Gautam, head of the office of camp of the tourism department of the base camp.
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Earlier this month, when Lama was still at Everest Base Camp, she said in a Facebook post that she was “100 percent sure” she would reach the top of “the Mother Goddess.”
In 2018, Lama held the record for the fastest ascent by a woman by climbing Mount Everest in 39 hours and six minutes.
This record was broken in 2021 by Ada Tsang Yin-hung from Hong Kong, who conquered the mountain in 25 hours and 50 minutes.
Nepali climber Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa holds the record for the fastest ascent of Everest, reaching the summit in 10 hours and 56 minutes in 2003.
Just one day before Lama set her record, another Nepali climber, renowned Sherpa mountain guide Kami Rita, reached the summit of the world's highest mountain. for a record 30th time.
Niranjan Shrestha / AP
Known as “the man of Everest,” the 54-year-old reached the summit at 7:49 a.m. local time on Wednesday, Lal Gautam said.
It was his second summit in a month, and after his previous ascent he told AFP that “I was happy for the record, but eventually records are broken. I'm happier that my ascents will help Nepal to be recognized in the world.”
