Everest Speed Spat Settled
A dispute between two Sherpas over who's climbed Everest faster has been resolved by a government investigation, but it's unlikely thing will end there...
Posted: 22 September 2004
by Jon
The dispute between two Sherpas over who has made the fastest ever
ascent of Everest appears to have been settled, for now at least.
As we
reported a couple of months ago, a new 'record' set by Pemba
Dorje Sherpa this spring was disputed by no fewer than ten prominent
Sherpa climbers who demanded an investigation on the grounds that the
weather on the day would have made the speed climb impossible.
The dispute seems to have begun the year before when Pemba Dorje
questioned the validity of Lapka Gelu's then record of 10 hours and
56 minutes and called for an investigation. Lapka Gelu in turn was
one of those who complained aboout the new record of just over eight
hours.
Anyway... A seven-man Nepal government investigation has concluded
that the Pemba record is valid and will stand. Meanwhile Lapka Gelu
has, in turn reportedly resolved
to better the new record. All in all, a storm in a very big tea
cup.
He may get his chance sooner rather than later with the autumn
climbing season on the world's highest mountain already underway. For
more news from Nepal see www.nepalnews.com
while for the latest Everest updates see www.everestnews.com.
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