Reach

My heart leaps each time I read of people taking the step of faith to reach for their dreams; to reach for what they've always wanted to do - despite the odds.

Question is... will I rise to my call?

Straits Times May 26, 2008

77-year-old sets record for Everest

A NEPALESE climber has become the oldest person to summit the world's highest mountain, breaking the previous record held by a Japanese man.

'Min Bahadur Sherchan, 77, reached the top of Everest on Sunday,' Mr Ramesh Khatri Chhetri, an official at Nepal's Tourism Ministry said yesterday.

'Sherchan is in good health and is slowly descending from the summit. He will probably reach the base camp on Monday,' he said.

The previous record was held by Mr Katsusuke Yanagisawa, 71, just last year.

Various records have already been set this spring season as 32 expedition teams push for the summit.

The official said about 220 climbers, including 87 foreigners, had scaled the summit by yesterday morning.

Last week, Appa Sherpa, 48, broke his own world record by getting to the summit of Mount Everest for the 18th time.

The same day, at least 86 climbers successfully made it to the top, which was another record, the official said.

Since it was first conquered in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, the 8,848m mountain has been scaled more than 3,000 times.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE