Nepal sherpa mulls travelling world after scaling 14 highest peaks twice – including Mount Everest 7 times

Former farmer Sanu Sherpa was 31 when he completed his first mountain climb, just a year after he began working in the mountaineering world

Now 47, he’s finished his second round of the 14 peaks over 8,000 metres and is pondering becoming a regular tourist, instead of taking risks

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Mountaineer Sanu Sherpa arrives at Nepal’s Tribhuvan airport last month after becoming the first climber to summit all of the world’s 14 peaks above 8000 metres (26,247 ft) for the second time. Photo: AFP

Published: 5:00pm, 3 Sep 2022Updated: 11:16pm, 3 Sep 2022

A farmer-turned-mountain guide who recently became the first person to climb all of the world’s 14 highest peaks twice, is deciding whether he should retire.

“I think I want to quit climbing high mountains and travel to foreign countries as a tourist for a while,” Sanu Sherpa said in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

Sherpa, 47, recently returned to Nepal after completing his second round of all 14 peaks over the height of 8,000 metres (26,240 feet). He has scaled Mount Everest seven times.

He began mountain climbing later than most people in his community. His first successful climb was in 2006, when he scaled Mount Cho Oyu aged 31. It was only a year after he had begun working in mountaineering, carrying supplies and climbing gear on his back to the mountains and helping out in the base camp kitchen.

Veteran climber Sanu Sherpa in Kathmandu on Friday. The farmer-turned-mountain guide, 47, is trying to decide if he should retire from climbing the world’s highest mountains. Photo: AP

Before then he worked in his remote mountain village growing potatoes, corn and wheat and helping his parents graze yaks.