So what if 2008 is a record breaking year on Everest? I think the only
record worth talking about here is the motivation. I mean Apa Sherpa
climbed Everest 18 times. Honestly, I can’t think of many places in
the world I would consider going back to 18 times; and much less on
such an inhospitable summit. It’s time consuming, tiring and
cold. And by the looks of it, very crowded! 75 people were
standing on the summit on some given day in May! No wonder the air is
so thin up there!
Can we still talk of climbing Everest as an exploit when no less than
260 climbers summit in a season? I can only imagine the highway to the
summit created by all these little footsteps! I mean, it can’t be that
hard to get up there: a 76 year old man raised the age limit this
year, standing on the summit at almost 77 years of age!
Ok, I’ll give credit to guides like David Hahn and Willie Benegas, who
set foot respectively 10 and 8 times on the highest point on the
globe. At least they’re banking!