Pemba Dorjee Sherpa, 30, who holds the record for the fastest ascent of Mt Everest reaching atop the peak in just eight hours and ten minutes in 2004, plans to climb both the world´s tallest peak and the 8,511m Mt Lhotse in just 24 hours.[break]
If he achieves the feat, he will become the first climber to have conquered two 8,000-ers within a span of 24 hours.
“It will be tough. But I am confident I´ll make it,” Pemba told Republica on Sunday.
Pemba will leave Kathmandu with his 10-member expedition on April 1. He plans to scale Everest first before attempting Mt Lhotse, fourth tallest in the world. Lhotse and Everest are connected by the South Col, a pass along which climbers set up their final camp while attempting Everest from the southeast ridge.
Pemba has already climbed Mt. Everest 10 times.
Meanwhile, Pemba´s younger brothers Mingma Gyalzen, 26, and Phurba Tenzing, 21, have decided to stay atop Mt Everest for 24 hours in their attempt to set a world record for the longest stay at the altitude of 8,848 meters without artificial oxygen.
Phurba already holds a world record for the most ascents of Everest for climbers under the age of 20. He climbed the peak for the fifth time in 2009 when he was just 20 years of age.
Two summits in one season
Additionally, Nawang Phuchi Sherpa, a 30-year old female member of the expedition, will climb the world´s highest peak twice this season, Pemba said. If she achieves it, Nawang will be the first woman to do so.
A familiar face in the expedition is Temba Chiri Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest at the age of 16, becoming the youngest climber to conquer the mountain, until American teenager Jordan Romero scaled the mountain in 2010 at the age of 13.
“Our expedition will also bring down garbage from the slopes of Everest,” Pemba said. His team members will clean up slopes of the mountain above the altitude of 8,000 meters.
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