Nepalese climber, 81, ends Mt. Everest bid

KATHMANDU, Nepal - An 81-year-old Nepalese man has abandoned his attempt to climb Mount Everest, leaving a Japanese mountaineer with the record as the oldest person to scale the world’s highest mountain.

Team member Dame said Wednesday that Min Bahadur Sherchan turned back Tuesday because weather conditions were worsening late in the spring climbing season for the Himalayas.

He would have made the attempt sooner but had funding problems that were resolved only last week.

Sherchan became the oldest Everest climber in 2008 at age 76. He held the record until last week, when 80-year-old Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura scaled the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) mountain.

Money had been a big hurdle for Sherchan. He had no sponsors and it took until last week for the Nepal government to follow through on a promise to give him a grant and waive the $70,000 climbing permit fee.

By the time his financial problems eased, the weather got worse. The popular spring climbing season ends in May on Everest. Monsoons sweep the country in June, making climbing high peaks impossible.

AP