Mount Everest Records

Mount Everest has been an ideal place for record setting for adventurers. In a recent news, mountaineering authorities are calling for a ban on nudity on the highest peak. In this context, I want to present some of the records set on the top of the world.

The record setting game started with New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Nepali Sherpa Tensing Norgay on 29 May 1953 when they became the first people to scale the highest peak in the world.

Last year, a Nepali climber claimed the world’s highest display of nudity when he disrobed for several minutes while standing on the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit in temperatures about minus 10 degrees Celsius. In a recent news, another record-setting attempt by a Dutch man who attempted to scale the peak wearing only shorts has sparked controversy.

According to the officials, mountaineering authorities are calling for a ban on nudity and attempts to set ‘obscene records’ on the world’s highest peak. The reason they are quoting are based on some religious belief of people worshiping the mountains as gods. But if I were to choose a valid reason I would quote health and safety reason. I believe it is not a healthy thing to to be naked for a couple of days in sub-zero temperature.

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The oldest climber, Katsusuke Yanagisawa was 71 years, 2 months and 2 days old when he reached the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak on May 22, 2007.

Photo of the 71-year-old Japanese mountain climber, Katsusuke Yanagisawa, after returning from climbing the summit of Mount Everest to become the oldest person to scale it. Credit: AP Photo/Binod Joshi

On May 16, 2007, Apa Sherpa climbed Everest for the 17th time—breaking his own record for the highest number of successful Everest summits. Apa started climbing Everest since 1989.

On May 22, 2001, 15 year-old Temba Tseri became the youngest person to reach the top of Mount Everest – the world’s highest mountain. In June, 2000, Temba tried to climb Everest and would have been been one year younger climber, but bad weather forced him to return back when he was less than 70 feet (22 meters) from the top of Everest. It was sad he lost five of his fingers to frost-bite. He broke the record of Shambhu Tamang who conquered Everest back in 1974 at the age of 17.

In 5/16/1975, Junko Tabei from Japan became the first woman to reach the top.

Reinhold Messner, from Italy, and Peter Habeler, from Austria, became the first men to climb to the summit without oxygen in 1978. Three years later Messner became the first man to achieve the feat alone.

Eric Weihenmayer became the first blind climber to scale Mt. Everest in May 25, 2001.

The most romantic record ever on top of the world is the first couple to get married on Everest. The couple Pem Dorjee and Moni Mulepati kept their plans secret until they briefly took off their oxygen masks and put on plastic garlands, while the groom symbolically applied red powder on the bride’s forehead.

Tom Whittaker, 49 at that time, conquered Everest on May 27, 1998 and it was his third attempt. You can read the story here (Photo is taken from the site).

More records dateline can be found in this page. It is a bit outdated as the latest records recorded in the page dates back to 2003. But still it is quite informative. I will update this page when I find some new records on the roof of the world.