* TEENAGE *. CLIMBER'S ACHIEVEMENT : HONOURS

A record achievement for a teenage climber. Nima Rinji Sherpa hopes his feat will draw attention to the work of his people.

Last fall, Nima Rinji Sherpa, then 17, was in Tibet preparing to ascend Mount Shishapangma, the world's 14th-highest mountain. He knew that reaching its summit would require entering the so-called death zone where organs begin to shut down, minute by minute.

But tragedy struck before he could begin his climb. Avalanches on the 26, 335 foot [ 8,027 meter ] mountains killed two climbers who were each vying to be the first American woman to summit the world's 14 highest mountains, and the two sherpas guiding them.

Among the dead was Tenjen Lama Sherpa, a decorated mountain guide whom Mr. Sherpa considered a mentor and friend.

So he set aside his own record attempt and joined the rescue effort to help other stranded climbers off the mountain.

'' We're still in shock,'' Mr. Sherpa said during a video interview from his home in Kathmandu last month. '' He was the strongest guy I knew.''

Mr. Sherpa, 18, recently returned to Mount Shishapangma carrying the memory of his mentor. On Wednesday, he reached the summit and became the youngest person to scale the '' 8,000ers,'' the 14 mountains over 8,000 meters tall.

His climbs were confirmed one recent Thursday by Rakesh Gurung, the head of the mountaineering division of Nepal's Department of Tourism.

The previous record-holder, Mingma Gyabu Sherpa, finished climbing them in 2019 at the age of 30, according to Guinness World Records. Certifying a record can take days or even months, the organization says on its website.

Ahead of the latest climb, Mr. Sherpa said that he hoped his achievements would elevate the role of Nepal's ethnic Sherpas in a high-stakes activity where they shoulder much of the risk but often receive a fraction of the glory.

'' I have to show that we are as good as any foreign athletes,'' he said.

Nepal's ethnic Sherpas are the mountain guides who pave the way for foreign climbers to fulfill dreams and break records. They fix ropes, lug food and heavy equipment, and steer their clients up summits.

Doing all of that work requires them to spend more time in the death zone, which begins at around 8,000 meters, than their clients do.

Sherpas represent about a third of more than 300 known deaths on Mount Everest. They are often relegated to the footnotes of mountaineering history, and are rarely afforded the lucrative endorsements that foreign mountaineers can attract. 

The Publishing continues. The World Students Society thanks Yan Zhuang.