Sherpa Shatters Mt. Everest Record

A Sherpa guide reached the top of Mt. Everest in less than 16 hours, shattering the record for the fastest climb of the world’s highest peak, the Nepalese Tourism Ministry said in Katmandu, the capital. Babu Chhiri, 34, made the climb to the 29,035-foot summit a year after he set a duration record by camping 21 hours on the peak. His brother Dawa had scaled the mountain earlier and waited at the summit to welcome him, said Chhiri’s business partner, who contacted the climbers by radio. Chhiri, a veteran climber, reached the peak in 15 hours, 56 minutes to easily break the previous record of 20 hours, 24 minutes, set two years ago.