76 Year-Old Man Climbs Everest, Breaks Record

A 76 year-old Nepalese man summited Mount Everest on Sunday, becoming the oldest man in history to do so. Min Bahadur Sherchan, just days from his 77th birthday, reached the summit with dozens of other climbers in what was the busiest Everest week on record.

Min Bahadur Sherchan was a veteran of the military and has remained active into his golden years. It goes without saying that he must be in amazing shape. Climbing Everest is no simple task. To summit at 76 is truly incredible.

From an article on BBC News…

In a message on a website for the 2008 senior citizens’ Everest expedition, the veteran climber said he wanted to inspire his fellow Nepalese pensioners to look for a better life.

“I have vigorosity [sic] inside me and inside my life-philosophy,” Mr Sherchan said.

“…I have commenced the great mission with a great vision in a great season (spring season) to fight against the mighty Mount Everest with my will-power of mind and clean energy of my heart.”

In other record-breaking news, a Sherpa named Appa scaled Everest on Thursday for an unprecedented 18th time. No one has been to the summit that many times before. Appa summited that day with about 80 other people, the most people to ever reach the peak in one day. That’s a record, too, although I’m not sure if that’s one climbers should try and break again. 80 people on Everest at once sounds a little crowded to me… and more than a little unsafe.