Woman Reaches Everest Summit in '14 and a Half Hours,' Cuts Shortest Record by 11 Hours

Nepalese Female Mountaineer Punjo Lama
Records 14 Hours 31 Minutes, Cuts Previous Time by 11 Hours
Shortest Climbing Record Including Men is 10 Hours 56 Minutes

Nepalese female mountaineer Punzo Lama reached the summit of the world's highest peak, Everest, in just 14 hours and 31 minutes, becoming the female climber with the shortest time to ascend Everest. The previous record was 25 hours and 50 minutes, and Lama cut it by a remarkable 11 hours.

Nepalese female mountaineer Punjo Lama in 2018
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 24th, Yonhap News, citing foreign media including AFP, reported that Punzo Lama, a Nepalese female mountaineer in her 30s, reached the summit of Everest on the morning of the 23rd (local time), setting the female shortest time ascent record. Kim Lal Gautam, an official from the Nepal Tourism Board, stated, "Lama departed from the base camp at 3:52 PM on the 22nd and reached the summit at 6:23 AM on the 23rd."

Lama reached the Everest summit at an altitude of 8,848.86 meters just 14 hours and 31 minutes after leaving the base camp located at approximately 5,300 meters above sea level. With this, Lama shortened the previous record of 25 hours and 50 minutes set by Hong Kong female mountaineer Chang Yin-hung in 2021 by about 11 hours.

Previously, Lama had also set a record by reaching the Everest summit in 39 hours and 6 minutes in 2018. Chang Yin-hung broke this record in 2021, and now Lama has set a new record again.

The shortest time record for ascending Everest regardless of gender is 10 hours and 56 minutes, set by Nepalese mountaineer Lakpa Gelu Sherpa in 2003.

It is generally known that climbing to the Everest summit takes several days. After departing from the base camp, climbers stay overnight several times at camps set up elsewhere to rest before attempting the summit.

Lama is reported to have built her mountaineering career working as a climbing guide and helicopter rescue worker in the Himalayas. Besides Everest, she has climbed several 8,000-meter-class peaks such as Manaslu and Cho Oyu.

Lama’s colleague Maya Sherpa said, "Lama’s record achievement will inspire other Nepalese female mountaineers."

Everest was first successfully summited in 1953 by New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa. This year, about 500 people have summited with guides so far, during which two people lost their lives.

On the 22nd, Nepalese Sherpa Kami Rita Sherpa (54) made headlines by setting a new record for 30 ascents of Everest.