Apa Sherpa atop Mount Everest for record 20th time

May 22, 2010, 16:38 GMT

Kathmandu - A Nepalese mountaineer has reached the summit of the world's highest peak, Mt Everest, for a record 20th time, shattering his own record, mountaineering officials said Saturday.

Apa Sherpa, 49, reached the summit of the 8,848-metre high peak early Saturday morning, along with several other climbers, his handling agent Ang Tshering Sherpa of Asian Trekking said in Kathmandu.

'Apa Sherpa, climbing leader of Eco Everest Expedition 2010 broke his own record and reach the summit of the world's highest mountain for the 20th time,' a statement said.

'He started from Camp IV located at 7,950 metres at Midnight on 21 May and reached summit early Saturday morning along with 14 other Eco Everest Expedition Members,' Ang Tshering said.

Among those reaching the summit on Saturday morning included a 16- year-old Indian national.

'Arjun Vajpai ... is the youngest Indian National to reached the summit of Mt Everest,' the statement said. Vajpai's age was listed as 16 years, 11 months and 18 days.

Apa first reached the summit of Mt Everest in 1989 and has returned to climb the mountain almost every year since them.

Also Saturday, a 13-year-old US boy, Jordan Romero, set the record as the youngest climber ever to reach the summit.

Apa currently lives in the United States, where he works as a climbing instructor.

He is a member of Eco Everest expedition 2010, which aims to highlight problems of garbage on the mountain.

This year, the expedition brought back 5,000 kilogrammes of garbage down to the base camp.

With the increase in the number of expeditions, the Nepalese government has tightened regulations for climbers, requiring them to bring back equipment they use on the mountain.

Sir Edmund Hillary from New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay from Nepal were the first people to reached the summit of Everest on May 20 1959.

Since then, nearly 2,900 individuals have reached the summit, while 215 have died trying.