Phunjo Lama Sets World Record as Fastest Woman on Mount Everest

A Nepali woman has set a new world record by becoming the fastest female to scale Mount Everest, completing the climb in under 15 hours.

Phunjo Jhangmu Lama from Gorkha reached the summit of Everest at 6:23 am on 23rd of May, 2024 reclaiming her title as the fastest woman climber on the mountain, as confirmed by base camp officials.

Khim Lal Gautam, head of the Expedition Monitoring Field Office at base camp, reported that Phunjo began her ascent at 3:52 pm on Wednesday and reached the summit at 6:23 am on Thursday.

“Phunjo scaled Everest in 14 hours and 31 minutes,” Gautam stated after confirming the summit time with the expedition operator. In 2018, Phunjo gained fame by summiting Everest in 39 hours and 6 minutes. Her record was broken in 2021 by Ada Tsang Yin-hung of Hong Kong, who completed the climb in 25 hours and 50 minutes.

This season, Phunjo joined the TAG Nepal Everest expedition with the goal of reclaiming her record. Shiva Bahadur Sapkota, General Secretary of the Everest Summiteers Association, congratulated her on her extraordinary accomplishment.

Gautam, who confirmed her climb from base camp, praised Phunjo’s outstanding courage and determination. With training in the Swiss Alps and Nepal’s Himalayas, Phunjo summited Everest on Buddha Jayanti, a day symbolizing peace, as noted by Sapkota. Phunjo, the first Nepali female helicopter long-line rescuer, has also been honored with the Tenzing-Hilary award by the government.

“I dedicate this climb to women’s empowerment, mountain environment protection, and world peace,” the single mother told THT before embarking on her expedition last month.

Hailing from Chhokangpaaro village in the Tsum Valley of Gorkha, Phunjo has also summited Mount Manaslu, Mount Cho Oyu, and other peaks including Amdablam, Lobuche, and Denali. She has actively supported rural communities to improve their livelihoods.