Mountaineering Legend ‘snow leopard’ Sherpa passes away

Kathmandu: Nepal’s mountaineering legend, ‘snow leopard or Himchituwa’ Ang Rita Sherpa has passed away  in Kathmandu on Monday.

Ang Rita Sherpa is famous for his 10 Everest ascents without supplemental oxygen. He was 72 and was suffering from brain stroke and liver disease. Sherpa is survived by two sons and a daughter.

Sherpa died at his daughter’s residence in Bauddha according to former President of Nepal Mountaineering Association  Ang Tshering Sherpa.

It is said that the NMA was bearing all the medical treatment expenses for ailing Ang Rita.

The mountaineering legend Ang Rita Sherpa was awarded a prestigious Guinness World Record certificate for attempting the maximum number of successful ascents on Mt Everest without using the supplemental oxygen.

Sherpa, born in Solukhumbu in 1948 in a farmer family had plunged into the tourism sector as a porter to support his family at the age of 15 years.

He had worked as a porter for many years. But later he earned his fame as a giant of Himal. He ascended the Mt Everest in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1990,1992,1993,1995 and 1996 without bottled oxygen which brought him to limelight abruptly.

Now, Kami Rita Sherpa holds the world record of having ascended the Mt Everest for 24 times.

PM Minister KP Oli and Minister for Tourism Yogesh Bhattarai pay tribute to legendary Sherpa.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai duo have expressed heartfelt condolence to the bereaved family of Sherpa through twits and social media respectively.