Veteran Sherpa Guide Who Set Everest Record Dies At 72

A NEPALESE VETERAN Sherpa guide who was the first person to climb Mount Everest 10 times died at the age of 72 after a long illness, family members said.

Ang Rita, one of the first Sherpa guides to receive international fame for his achievements, had suffered from health problems for many years and had not climbed any mountains since setting the Everest record in 1996.

His daughter, Dolma Lhamo, said she died in her sleep at her home on the outskirts of the Nepalese capital Kathmandu.

The guide was a national hero known as the “snow leopard”, but he had financial and health problems.

He was in poor health at home in his mountain village in 1999 when his close friend, the former president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, Ang Tshering, hired a helicopter and took him to a hospital in Kathmandu for treatment.

The Sherpas are an ethnic group from the Himalayan region, many of whom work as guides or support personnel for foreign climbers. They carry equipment and supplies and dig paths in snow and ice to help their clients get to the top, usually with little recognition.