Kathmandu (AFP)

Hong Kong mountaineer Tsang Yin-hung, who broke the world record for the fastest ever female climb, said on Sunday that she always believed in aiming high to achieve goals.

Ms. Tsang, 44, climbed the world's tallest mountain (8,848.86 meters) in 25 hours and 50 minutes on May 23, the government liaison officer at the base camp told AFP on Thursday. 'Everest.

On Sunday, the former Hong Kong teacher returned to Kathmandu.

"I am relaxed and happy because I set myself this goal four years ago," she told AFP.

“I have always shared with my students and my friends (the idea) that if you aim high and hope (reach a goal) high, you can reach the high level,” she explained.

The mountaineer had tried earlier in May to reach the summit of Everest, but had to give up because of bad weather when she was at 8,755 meters above sea level, her guide Pemba Sherpa said.

She had returned to base camp before embarking on this new attempt which allowed her to break the speed record for the ascent of Everest by a woman.

Ms. Tsang was born in mainland China, and her family moved to Hong Kong when she was ten years old.

Her family was "destitute" and the sport she could play at school had become a source of happiness for her.

- Roof of the world -

“When I was young, I used to run in the mountains, play basketball and play other sports,” she said.

Ms. Tsang began her mountaineering training eleven years ago and climbed Everest in 2017, becoming the first Hong Kong woman to reach the top of the world.

The fastest woman to accomplish this feat until then was the Nepalese Phunjo Jhangmu Lama.

She had completed the ascent in 2018 in 39 hours and six minutes.

For this season, Nepal has issued a record number of 408 climbing permits, after the cancellation of the 2020 season due to a pandemic.

Several cases of coronavirus contamination have been reported at the base camp, as Nepal grapples with an outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Up to 350 people have already reached the peak this spring, according to the Ministry of Tourism.

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Other records have been broken during this season, including that of the most climbs of Everest: the Nepalese guide Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record by achieving his 25th ascent.

Arthur Muir, 75, became the oldest American to reach the summit of Everest, breaking the previous record set by compatriot Bill Burke who reached it in 2009 at the age of 67.

Four people, two foreign climbers and two Sherpa guides, were killed on Everest in 2021.

© 2021 AFP