UPDATE: In his courageous attempt to climb the Mt. Everest, Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay died on May 9, 2011 just above the Everest base camp. May his soul rest in peace!

The record keeping mountain, Mt. Everest, has been the best place for Nepali people to break old records and make new ones. Energetic, ambitious mountaineers like Apa Sherpa make and break their own records on it. But this time a well-known but unsuspected mountaineer is planning for a new record on the top of the world. Not so young, well known for works others than mountaineering, Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay is planning to scale the peak to break a previous record set by a 75 year old Japanese climber.

If you are from Nepal and had lived through the Panchayat System of 80s you would probably know Mr. Shailendra Kumanr Upadhyay. He had been a diplomat, social worker, and he also worked as Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Looks like the old guy is serious in climbing the peak. He and his family have formed a group called Shailendra Kumar Everest Expedition Support Group (SKEESUG) with an objective to:

…help Mr. Shailendra Kumar Upadhyay achieve his mission to scale Mt. Everest at the age of eighty and enhance the glory and prestige of Nepal and its people.

He is also doing intensive trainings and mountain climbing to prepare himself for the feat. He did climb a 6,050m high Iceland peak successfully in December 2008.

Let’s wish him all the best for the tough job! (Photo from the group site)