Trekking
7 Weirdest Of The Weird Mount Everest Records That Will Leave You Dumbfounded!
Mount Everest has always been a mecca for all those adventure-seekers, who want to prove themselves high on a mountain. From 1953 onwards when it was summited for the first time, the world’s highest mountain has seen some great records being set and broken — from solo and without-oxygen ascents to newer routes to fastest climbers to mountaineers who summited maximum times to oldest men and women on the summit to youngest boys and girls to the awe-inspiring feats achieved by the physically-challenged people. Phew! The list of Everest records gets bigger each passing year.
But then there are others, who are in a league of their own and who have attempted or set such strange ‘records’, to say the least, which will leave you dumbfounded. Some of these records and even the attempts are so crazy that I am sure they are still making Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay turn in their graves.
These are also enough to convince that there is hardly any record left to be broken, at least on the Everest. Here are my top picks.
1. First man to strip off on the top of the Mount Everest
How would you react when you finally realise you dream of reaching the top of the world’s highest mountain? Raise your hands, clinch your fists, shake hands with partners, hug them, cry and scream in jubilation?
But what about taking off your clothes in the mind-numbing bone-freezing temperature? Well, Lakpa Tharke Sherpa, a Nepali climber, did just that to become the first man in the world to stand naked on the top of the Everest in 2006. He stood there buck naked for full three minutes in temperature that can go down to as low as -36 degrees Celsius. Jeez! What a record, man! Clothes off! Er.. I mean hats off!
2. First man to attempt climbing the Everest in shorts and shoes
Talking about nudes on Everest, A Dutch man called Wim Hof, who also goes by the name of Ice Man for his apparent ability to withstand extreme cold, tried setting a new record by climbing the Everest in just a pair of shorts and shoes in 2007.
The Ice Man could manage to go up to an altitude of 6,700 meters and had to return to the base camp. Must have been quite chilly up there, I guess.
3. First couple to tie the knot on the Everest top
Now this one can make even die-hard romantics skip a beat or two. Moni Mulepati and Pem Dorjee Sherpa became the first couple in the world in 2005 to get married on the Everest summit.
After the grueling climb, the couple remained on the summit for about 10 minutes during which they took off their masks briefly and put on plastic garlands to the shock of fellow climbers, who had absolutely no idea that they were part of a marriage party.
By the way, there is this another couple from California that also tied the knot in 2017, not on the Everest top but at the base camp. But still, that’s a record.
4. First climber to sing national anthem on the Everest Top
Now, no climber had also sung a national anthem on the top of the world till Ratnesh Pandey did it successfully in 2016. Upon reaching the summit in the early morning hours, the Indian climber stiffened himself up and started singing the national anthem, which lasted for over a minute during which he had to use the Oxygen supply. Quite an unbreakable record, I must say.
5. First DJ to throw the highest party on Earth
What about highest party in the world at the risk of setting off an avalanche? Paul Oakenfold became the first DJ in the world in 2017 to perform at the Everest base camp at an altitude of over 5300 meters.
The audience at Oakenfold’s gig mainly consisted of climbers, who stood there tapping their feet, nodding heads, and occasionally looking over their shoulders just in case the blasting sound triggered an avalanche or something.
6. First twins to climb Mount Everest
What happens when your climbing partner happens to be your twin? It’s a record! Tashi Malik and Nungshi Malik are the first twins in the world to have climbed the Everest together in 2013. The twin sisters, who belong to Dehradun in India, have also climbed all the seven summits, oh, well, together. And that’s also a record, mind you!
7. First dog to reach the Everest Base Camp
Enough of the human beings going crazy on the Everest. In 2013, the world stood still in sheer amazement when the news came in that a dog, yes, a dog, has reached the summit of Mount Everest!!
Alas, it was not correct, the dog had not summited Everest but managed to climb up to the Base Camp, not a small achievement nonetheless. Rupee achieved the feat after trekking for 10 days with owner Joanne Lefson, who had adopted Rupee after finding him starving in Ladakh, India, and made him her climbing partner.
