Nepal record-setting teen climber Nima Rinji returns home to hero’s welcome

A Sherpa teenager who became the youngest person to scale all the world’s 14 highest peaks returned home to Nepal on Monday to a hero’s welcome.

Nima Rinji Sherpa, 18, reached the 8,027-metre (26,335 feet) summit of Mount Shishapangma in Tibet last week, completing his mission to climb the world’s peaks that are more than 8,000 metres high.

He broke a previous record by another Sherpa, who was 30 years old at the time.

Nepal’s Tourism Minister Badri Prasad Pandey, along with members of the climbing community, fellow Sherpas and supporters, lined up outside Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu to offer flowers and scarfs to Nima Rinji.

“I am very happy and I want to say thank you so much everyone. It was a difficult mission but finally I was able to be successful,” Nima Rinji told reporters.

00:59

The Nepali teen staring down the world’s tallest peaks

He comes from a well-known family in the Sherpa mountaineering community.