Phunjo Lama Reclaims Title as Fastest Woman on Mount Everest with World Record
A Nepali woman climber has set a new world record by becoming the fastest female to summit the world’s highest peak in under 15 hours.
Phunjo Jhangmu Lama from Gorkha reached the top of Mount Everest at 6:23 on May 23, 2024, reclaiming her title as the fastest woman to climb Everest, confirmed by base camp officials.
According to Khim Lal Gautam, chief at the Expedition Monitoring Field Office at base camp, Phunjo began her ascent from base camp at 3:52 pm on Wednesday and reached the summit at 6:23 am on Thursday.
“She scaled Everest in 14 hours and 31 minutes,” Gautam said after verifying the summit time with the expedition operator. In 2018, Phunjo made headlines by reaching Everest’s summit in 39 hours and 6 minutes. In 2021, Ada Tsang Yin-hung of Hong Kong broke Phunjo’s record by summiting in 25 hours and 50 minutes.
This season, as part of the TAG Nepal Everest expedition, Phunjo aimed to reclaim her title. Shiva Bahadur Sapkota, General Secretary of the Everest Summiteers Association, congratulated her on her remarkable achievement.
Gautam, who verified her climb from base camp, praised Phunjo’s exceptional courage and determination. Trained in the Swiss Alps and Nepal’s Himalayas, Phunjo summited Mount Everest on the auspicious occasion of Buddha Jayanti, calling for world peace. Sapkota also noted that Phunjo, the first Nepali female helicopter long-line rescuer, had received the Tenzing-Hilary award from the government.
“I want to dedicate my climb to women’s empowerment, mountain environment protection, and world peace,” the single mother told THT before her expedition last month.
Born in Chhokangpaaro village in the Tsum Valley of Gorkha, Phunjo has also climbed Mount Manaslu, Mount Cho Oyu, and other peaks including Amdablam, Lobuche, and Denali. She has supported rural communities in improving their livelihoods.
