86-year-old man wants to climb Mount Everest to reclaim title

Kathmandu: An 86-year-old former Gurkha soldier in Nepal on March 6 announced his plans to climb Mount Everest, seeking to reclaim his record of world’s oldest person to summit the earth’s highest peak.

Min Bahadur Sherchan, who hails from Tatopani in Myagdi, shared about his upcoming Everest expedition during a press conference in Kathmandu.

“I may be old in terms of age but I still have young courage. I will reach the peak of Everest come what may,” Sherchan told reporters.

Sherchan would be climbing Everest for the cause of world peace and to protect mother Earth, besides winning back the record, said campaign coordinator Jit Bahadur Gharti Magar.

Sherchan had scaled the 8,848-metre peak at the age of 76 in 2008 and recorded his name in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2010 as the oldest summiteer.

Five years later, his record was broken by an 80-year-old Japanese national, Yuichiro Miura.

Sherchan is making an attempt to break the Japanese national’s record and reclaim his title.

Earlier, Sherchan had made an attempt to scale Everest in 2015 but could not make it due to the avalanche triggered by the earthquake.

“Thus we launched a campaign for Sherchan in his record breaking spree,” said Gharti Magar.

Various organizations like Non-Resident Nepali Association UK, Thakali Association UK, Magar Association among others have joined hands for the cause.

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