Nima Rinji Sherpa, an 18-year-old mountaineer from Nepal, became the youngest to climb all 14 of the world’s highest mountains on Oct. 9. He has already announced plans for his next big feat. After resting for a few weeks, he plans to climb Manaslu, the world’s eighth-highest mountain.
Nima Rinji plans to do so during the winter in alpine style, which presents an extra challenge. It would require him to climb the 8,000-m peak without fixed ropes, supplementary oxygen, gear caches, and previously fixed camps. In his own words, he will be relying on “pure human endurance,” making the climb an unprecedented attempt in the history of mountaineering.
Nima Rinji comes from a family with an impressive mountaineering record. His father climbed Everest nine times and set the record as the youngest person to summit Mount Everest without bottled oxygen at age 19. His uncle became the first South Asian climber to summit all 14 peaks in 2011.
The Sherpas, an ethnic group in Nepal, have lived in the Himalayas for many generations and have long served as guides for mountaineers. Despite their vast contribution to the field, they often do not receive the same recognition as their Western counterparts.
Nima Rinji hopes to inspire other young Sherpa climbers to realize their dreams and raise them to be more than mere support for other climbers. He wants them to see mountaineering as an athletic feat, not just a dangerous job.
The journey wasn’t all easy for the young mountaineer. He got caught in a few avalanches on Annapurna and suffered cramps while climbing Shishapangma. He also slipped on an icy rock while climbing Nanga Parbat.