A team member, Dame, said Min Bahadur Sherchan had turned back on Tuesday because weather conditions were worsening late in the spring climbing season for the Himalayas. He would have made the attempt sooner but had funding problems that were resolved only last week.[break]
Sherchan became the oldest Everest climber in 2008 at 76. He held the record until last week, when the 80-year-old Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura scaled the 8,850-metre (29,035ft) mountain.
Money had been a big hurdle for Sherchan. He had no sponsors and it took until last week for the Nepalese government to follow through on a promise to give him a grant and waive the $70,000 climbing permit fee.
By the time his financial problems eased, the weather got worse. The popular spring climbing season ends in May on Everest. Monsoon sweeps the country in June, making climbing high peaks impossible.
Reports said the route had become unstable because heat had made the slopes slippery and melted the ice chunks where ladders are fixed and ropes are tied. It has also been raining for the past few days in Nepal.
More than 500 climbers scaled the peak last week during the window of favourable weather conditions, but most climbers had packed up and left the mountain by the time Sherchan was able to begin.
Dame, who uses only one name, said conditions were too dangerous for Sherchan to attempt the climb, and it would have been difficult to get help had there been an emergency. He turned back soon after leaving the 5,300-metre-elevation base camp and was back in Kathmandu, the capital, on Wednesday.
Sherchan´s family members said he was planning to rest for now and hold a press conference in a few days to give his reasons for quitting the climb.
Read the full article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/29/nepalese-man-abandons-attempt-everest#ixzz2UfllEsx4
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