KATMANDU, Nepal – A veteran sherpa guide set off Thursday on an attempt to scale Mount Everest for a record 17th time and is confident he’ll make it to the top, as he won’t be worrying about helping a foreign client up the slopes.
Appa, who goes by one name, will lead an eight-member team of sherpas calling themselves the “Super Sherpas Expedition” as he attempts to break his own record for the number of climbs to the 29,035-foot summit.
“This is my 17th time … I hope this is my 17th time (to reach the peak),” Appa said before leaving for Everest.
Appa – a modest, thinly built 46-year-old – is one of the most respected climbers in the mountaineering community. His closest competitor, fellow sherpa guide Chewang Nima, 41, scaled the peak for a 14th time last year.
Appa and his teammates will make a documentary about the climb and all money raised will go toward providing better education and health care for children in their community at the foothills of the mountain.
Appa said he expects his 17th climb of Everest to be easier, as he will not have to worry about helping foreign clients – but he still is not taking any chances. He visited a Buddhist monastery in Katmandu where he offered scarves and colored flags and received a blessing from the head priest.
He said he also won approval to climb the peak from his concerned wife, who now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his three children. Appa’s wife normally discourages him from climbing Everest because of the enormous risks involved.
The team will try for the summit in the second week of May after spending time acclimatizing.
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