A Nepalese woman climber just smashed a world record by reaching the top of Mount Everest in under 15 hours. Phunjo Jhangmu Lama, hailing from Gorkha, made it to the summit at 6:23 am on Thursday, making her the fastest female climber ever on the planet’s highest peak. Base camp officials confirmed her achievement.
Phunjo kicked off her climb from base camp at 3:52 pm on Wednesday and reached the summit in less than 15 hours, according to Khim Lal Gautam, head of the Expedition Monitoring Field Office at base camp.
Back in 2018, Phunjo gained recognition for her speedy ascent of Everest from the Nepal side, completing it in 39 hours and 6 minutes. But in May 2021, Ada Tsang Yin-hung from Hong Kong broke Phunjo’s record by scaling Everest in just 25 hours and 50 minutes, completing her climb 14 hours faster than Phunjo.
Apart from her climbing feats, Phunjo is also the first Nepali female helicopter long-line rescuer and has received the prestigious Tenzing-Hilary award from the government.
Phunjo, who grew up in Tsum valley in the mountainous district of Gorkha in north west of Kathmandu, has climbed numerous peaks including Mount Manaslu, Amdablam, Lobuche, Denali, and Mount Cho Oyu.
