KATHMANDU, Sept 21: Ang Rita Sherpa -- popularly known as 'Himchituwa' (snow leopard) for his 10 Everest ascents without supplemental oxygen -- passed away at 10 am on Monday in Kathmandu. He was 72.
According to former President of Nepal Mountaineering Association Ang Tshering Sherpa, the mountaineering legend breathed his last at his daughter's residence in Bauddha. He was suffering from brain stroke and liver disease.
In April 2017, Sherpa had undergone treatment at Neuro Hospital in Bansbari, Kathmandu after he suffered brain stroke. His health condition was still critical as he had blood clots in his brain and also problems in liver, according to the former president of NMA.
Mountaineering legend Ang Rita Sherpa to be laid to rest with s...
According to Sherpa, the NMA was bearing all the treatment costs for ailing Ang Rita. His health condition worsened further after the death of his eldest son in 2012.
Born to a middle-class family in Solukhumbu, Ang Rita was a giant in Nepal’s mountaineering. He is survived by two sons and a daughter.
The mountaineering legend was awarded with a prestigious Guinness World Record certificate for making the most number of successful ascents on Mt Everest without using the supplemental oxygen.
Sherpa came to the limelight after he made it to the top of the world's highetst mountain for ten times in 1996 without using the bottled oxygen.
Ang Rita reached the summit of Mt Everest eight times via the Southeast ridge route.
