All news: 29 February 2012

Apa Sherpa, the Nepali climber who has conquered Mount Everest a record 21 times was felicitated with the Guinness World Record. On the 44th day of the Great Himalayan Trail-Climate Smart Celebrity Trek lead by Apa, Guinness World Record Editor-in-chief Mr. Craig Glenday and his team met him and handed over a certificate at a function at Shree Saraswati Higher Secondary School in Gyalthum, Sindhupalchowk. Apa is accompanied by Dawa Stephen Sherpa (two time Mt.Everest Summiteer), Saurabh Dhakal and Sameer Jung Thapa, as part of a campaign to promote tourism and highlight the impact of climate change. The team that plans to walk 1,700 km has covered seven districts and a distance of 590 km so far.

“It feels great to receive this honour as Mr.Glenday himself has traveled this far to hand over the certificate. I feel proud to be identified all over the world,” Sherpa beamed. He further said, interacting with people is altogether a new experience to him and added, "Now onwards I will not climb up to the top of the world but I have been witnessing the hills and people for the last one and half months which has given me ample of opportunities to learn about the communities living in the vicinity of mountains". Hundreds of people attending functions expressed their happiness with the honour bestowed on Sherpa.

On the other hand Mr. Glenday expressed his feeling as “What Sherpa has achieved is unbelievable. He is not just a local hero but hero of the world. He is an inspiration to millions of people. It is a great privilege to hand him the official certificate. “The trip to Nepal has been amazing so far. It feels like I've been here for ever,” he added.

The sherpa from Thame, Solukhumbu; home town of Everest Legend Tenzing Norgay first summited Everest on 1990. Last year on May he conquered Everest for the 21sttime as the climbing leader of Eco Everest Expedition and became eligible for this award. He has shown his effort towards Everest clean up by engaging in Eco Everest Expedition since 2008 and continuing it for four consecutive years. He made his 18th summit in 2008, 19th in 2009 and 20thin 2010 and with Eco Everest Expedition organized by Asian Trekking to raise awareness about the impact of climate change.