Purnima Shrestha, a distinguished Nepalese mountaineer and photojournalist, has made history by becoming the first person to summit Mount Everest three times in a single climbing season.
Shrestha’s remarkable achievement unfolded over a mere two-week period.
Purnima first summited the 8848.86-metre peak on May 12.
She reached the summit again on May 19 with Pasang Sherpa and achieved her third summit on Saturday at 5:50 AM, said Pemba Sherpa, expedition director at Eight K Expeditions which organised the expedition.
This marks Shrestha’s fourth successful ascent of Everest, her first being in 2018.
“This is the first time in mountaineering history that anyone has summited Everest three times in a single season,” stated Nima Doma Sherpa, an Everest summiter.
Shrestha’s journey to the top of the world began in 2017 when she visited Everest Base Camp to cover the Everest marathon as a photojournalist.
This experience sparked her interest in climbing, leading her to summit Mt. Manaslu (8,163 metres) the same year. She conquered Everest for the first time the following year.
In addition to her Everest achievements, Shrestha has scaled other formidable peaks including Manaslu, Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, and Mount K2.