KATHMANDU: Record-setting Nepali mountaineer Nima Rinji Sherpa has once again drawn international attention, with his extraordinary Himalayan journey and achievements featured on the acclaimed American television programme CBS’s 60 Minutes.

At just 18 years and five months, Nima Rinji made mountaineering history by becoming the world’s youngest climber to summit all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres. The episode, filmed in the Everest region, highlights not only his record-breaking climbs but also the realities, risks and responsibilities that come with high-altitude mountaineering.

Reflecting on life in the mountains, Nima Rinji told CBS that confidence can quickly turn into vulnerability at extreme altitude. “You have to be more careful when you're in the mountains because every time you go, you feel like nothing is going to happen to you,” he said, adding that witnessing accidents and fatalities brings a sobering sense of reality.

Watch the video here: https://www.cbsnews.com/video/sherpas-risk-lives-everest-climb-60-minutes-video-2025-12-21/

Originally from the Makalu region, Nima Rinji completed his historic 14-peak journey on Mt Shishapangma in Tibet, where he reached the summit at around 6:05 am alongside climbing partner Pasang Nurbu Sherpa. According to his father Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, Chief Executive Officer of 14 Peaks Expedition, the achievement was completed in just two years and 40 days.

His climbing career is marked by a series of age-defying records. Nima Rinji is the youngest climber to summit Everest and Lhotse in a single push, completing the double ascent at 17 years and 35 days within 10 hours. He is also the youngest to summit Kanchenjunga, Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I and II, and to reach the true summit of Manaslu.

His ascent list spans Manaslu (September 2022), Everest and Lhotse (May 2023), Nanga Parbat (June 2023), Gasherbrum I and II, Broad Peak and K2 (July 2023), Dhaulagiri (September 2023), Cho-Oyu (October 2023), Annapurna I without supplemental oxygen (April 2024), Makalu (May 2024), Kanchenjunga (June 2024) and Shishapangma (October 2024).

Tashi Lakpa Sherpa said the global exposure has helped project Nepal and its mountains to a wider international audience, inspiring young climbers while reinforcing the country’s standing as the heart of Himalayan mountaineering.

For Nepal’s tourism and adventure sector, Nima Rinji’s story underscores a generational shift in mountaineering—one led increasingly by young Nepali climbers who are redefining the sport on the world stage.