KATHMANDU: Solukhumbu mountaineer Fur Diki Sherpa has reached the summit of Mount Lhotse (8,516m) in a 24-hour speed-record attempt and is now descending. She completed the ascent from base camp to summit in a single push.

Sherpa launched her bid from Everest Base Camp at 2:22 PM on May 21, aiming to complete the round trip, base camp to summit and back, within a single day. The expedition is organised by Iceland Trek and Expedition in collaboration with Furtenbach Adventures.

The expedition carries multiple layers of purpose. Beyond the personal milestone, Fura Diki, who is working toward certification as a licensed professional mountain guide, said the climb is a campaign for women's empowerment, aimed at inspiring young Nepali women to break free from traditional barriers and take on leadership roles. She also hopes to draw international attention to climate change and glacial retreat in the Himalayas, and to promote Nepal's tourism globally.

"This time, I am climbing with a renewed and forward-looking purpose: to qualify and earn my certification as a licensed professional mountain guide, and to set a women's speed record on Lhotse, milestones that would make me one of the very few Nepali women to hold such distinctions," she wrote earlier in her social media post.

A veteran of multiple Himalayan ascents, Sherpa made history in 2019 when she and Nima Doma Sherpa became among the first widowed women climbers to summit Everest together. She has since led all-women expeditions to Himlung Himal (October 2025) and Paldor Peak (December 2025), and holds High Mountain Rescue Training and Rock Climbing Level I certification from the Nepal Mountaineering Association and the Khumbu Climbing Center.

Originally from Dingboche in Solukhumbu, her summit roster includes Everest, Ama Dablam, Himlung Himal, Island Peak, Lobuche Peak, Mera Peak, and several other peaks across the Khumbu region.