Nima Rinji Sherpa : The extraordinary journey of a record-breaking teenage mountaineer

By Pradeep Bashyal
Published in the BBC 

At just 18 years old, Nima Rinji Sherpa from Nepal has etched his name among the legends of mountaineering, breaking the record for the youngest person to conquer all 14 "eight-thousanders" - the world's tallest peaks over 8,000m high.

Nima reached the summit of Tibet's Shishapangma at 06:05 local time on 9 October, completing his ascent of all 14 eight-thousanders in 740 days and smashing the age record by some 12 years.

His latest achievement adds to his growing list of accolades. Nima is also the youngest person to summit Himalayan peaks G1 and G2, Kashmir’s Nanga Parbat, and both Mount Everest and nearby Lhotse within 10 hours.

But his early years were far-removed from the life of a traditional Sherpa, who normally act as guides for climbers scaling treacherous heights.

A childhood away from the mountains

Nima didn’t grow up among the snow-capped peaks his ancestors once called home. Instead, he spent his early life in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, attending a prestigious English-speaking school.

Yet mountaineering ran in his blood. His father and uncles were all Sherpas, each having endured the struggles and triumphs that define their community.

However, Nima’s life in the city blended modern urban experiences with a deep connection to his family's mountaineering heritage.

Although "Sherpa" - part of Nima's surname - is commonly used to describe mountain guides or porters in the Everest region, it is actually the name of an ethnic group native to the mountains of Nepal.

During his final year of high school, while preparing for Nepal’s critical Secondary Education Examination (SEE), Nima’s thoughts began to drift from the classroom to the mountains.

At 16 - the legal age to start climbing in Nepal - his mind was already focused on the Himalayas.

"During the preparation for SEE, my mind was on the mountains," recalls Nima, who spoke to BBC Nepali shortly after breaking the world record. As soon as his exams were over, while his peers celebrated, Nima embarked on his first major expedition: to climb Manaslu, the eighth highest mountain in the world.

'In the mountains there's no second chance'

“At first, my goal was to take videos and photos, to tell the story of the Himalayas,” he says.

But what started as a project to capture the beauty of the mountains quickly turned into a passion for climbing itself.

Within two years and 10 days, Nima had scaled all 14 of the world’s highest peaks.

Nima attributes much of his success to his “passion for sports from a young age” and strong self-discipline.

"A healthy body and mind can manage a lot," he says. "I don’t even go to the gym every day, but every morning I do a few push-ups."

He believes his Sherpa heritage gives him "psychological strength".

His father, Tasi Lakpa Sherpa, holds the record for being the youngest person to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.

His uncles, Mingma Sherpa and Chhang Dawa Sherpa, were the first siblings to climb all 14 peaks.

Nima sees himself as a "mountain athlete," focused on personal limits, rather than following the traditional Sherpa role of leading others.

"I’ve learned that in the mountains, there’s no second chance," he says, reflecting on the stories of climbers who never made it home.

Nima is restless in his pursuit of new goals.

When he summited Everest, the world’s highest mountain, in 2023, he says he was unable to savour the achievement because he was focused on his next goal - climbing Lhotse, the world's fourth highest mountain.

He reached Everest’s summit at 02:00 and Lhotse’s at 11:00 the same day.

The mountains of Pakistan, where climbing is typically limited to one season per year, posed some of Nima’s toughest challenges. In just one month, he climbed five peaks.

"You can’t just stay in villages or hotels and head to base camp via well-maintained routes. You have to set up your own camp, carry everything, and move forward".

Unlike Everest, where organised expeditions and ropes simplify the climb, Pakistan’s climbs are more "old-fashioned".

"Nothing is prepared for you. You gather everything yourself, build strong bonds with your team, and sometimes even ride horses," he says.

On K2, the world’s second-highest peak, Nima slept with a helmet on due to constant rockfalls around the campsite.

At just 18, Nima Rinji Sherpa has already secured his place in mountaineering history.

But for him, this is only the beginning. He plans to continue climbing, pushing his limits even further. His next expedition will be to climb Manaslu again - but this time it will be in the winter with no Sherpa support or supplementary oxygen.

"I’m excited to think about what I’ll accomplish by 25," he says.