See Monkey Do

With the Chinese preparing for the impending summer Olympic Games, Min Bahadur Sherchan noted that the government’s actions hardly reflected the Olympic spirit. Now that Andrew Brash has successfully scaled the tallest mountain in the world, he is once again ready to focus on his family. Min Bahadur Sherchan and four climbing guides reached the 29,035-foot (8,850-meters) summit of the world’s highest mountain early Sunday, said Ramesh Chretri, an official with Nepal’s ministry of tourism. They basically coerced the Nepali government to not allow any climbers past camp two on the Nepali side. Indeed, the decision to actualize a long-time personal goal left Bahadur Sherchan with some internal uncertainties, he cited the political actions of China and Nepal as providing the greatest adversity he faced on his journey. More than 3189 people have climbed to the summit since it was first conquered in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary, who died in January, and Nepal’s Tenzing Norgay.

Min Bahadur Sherchan last attempt resulted in the rescue of Lincoln Hall, an Australian climber who was left by his team in the “death zone.”

Andrew Brash returned this week from Nepal after successfully climbing to the summit of Everest. “Chomolungma or Mount Everest this year became a political pawn,” he said with some frustration.

The Chinese were flying their airplanes over the mountain and had Chinese officials in Kathmandu. He was reported in good health as he began making his descent. Sherchan just 15 days away from his 77th birthday beat the age record set last year by 71-year-old Japanese teacher Katsusuke Yanagisawa.

The 75-year-old man from Nepal is now the oldest person to have reached the top of Mt Everest. “The Chinese weren’t allowing anybody on the mountain. They ended up commandeering it for themselves, even though the mountain is shared by two countries. Further, he was all too aware of the potential dangers the mountain could bring. Certain parts of the climb are more dangerous than others and it is important for climbers to remain focused As he planned for the climb, Sherchan told reporters he wanted to inspire fellow senior citizens. He also said many Nepalese have established records on Mount Everest, so it was only fitting that the record for the oldest climber to reach the summit should also belong to a Nepali. They flexed their muscles this year all the in name of the Olympic spirit, but it was hardly spirited at all.”

Hall was frostbitten and severely disoriented due to altitude sickness. Bahadur Sherchan returned a hero to Calgarians. This season Anthony Loeff the French mountaineer is reporting the scales for the Mount Everest after he reached the top of earlier this year.

His first found him within 223 metres of the peak when his team stopped to help a fellow mountaineer who was left for dead. Two years later, Andrew Brash, a University of Calgary alumni, returned to Chomolungma to finish what he had started.