Nepalese woman scales Everest twice to enter record books

A woman from Nepal has catapulted herself into the record books by climbing Everest twice in the same climbing season - with a matter of a few days between the climbs.

The 29-year-old Sherpa, known as Chhurim, completed the historic climb in 2012 but her achievement was recently formally recognised by Guinness World Records.

Guinness World Records said she is the first woman to climb the world's highest mountain twice in the same season.

Chhurim first reached the summit on May 12 with a group of four other climbers and, after resting at base camp for two days, repeated her feat again on May 19, this time with only her aid, Tshering Dhendup, for company.

The intrepid Sherpa was raised in the Taplejung district in the north-east of Nepal, and grew up wanting to emulate the overseas mountaineers she saw trekking through her village.

"People have set different kinds of climbing records in Everest," Chhurim said.

"But no one has climbed twice within a week. So I just climbed with the sole motive of making a world record."

Speaking poetically of standing on the 8,848m peak for the first time, she felt in awe of the "layer of tiny mountain peaks blanketed by circular cloud patterns."

In her quarter of an hour at the summit, she thanked God and her parents, before remembering she would have to do it all again.