No stranger to controversy
* Mounting rubbish has long been a negative side-effect of the 4000 adventurers who are drawn to climb Mount Everest every year, prompting calls for the world-famous landmark to be added to the World Heritage danger list. Last year, a group of 20 climbers led by Namgyal Sherpa braved the notorious 'death zone', which is above the 8,000-metre mark, to retrieve around 2000kg of spent oxygen tanks, food packaging and ripped tents. Rising temperatures linked to global warming had melted snow in the area, causing the litter to become exposed.
* Namgyal Sherpa angered fellow climbers in 2006 when he took off his clothes at the Summit to become the first person to stand naked 'on the top of the world'. Sherpas consider Everest to be a holy natural wonder, and called for a ban on the setting of 'obscene' and offensive records on the mountain. "There should be strict regulations to discourage such attempts by climbers," said Ang Tshering, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association.
* A row over the record for fastest ascent erupted between two Nepalese mountaineers in 2003, when Lakba Gelu Sherpa broke the record time of Pemba Dorjie Sherpa. The latter accused his rival of foul play. An enquiry found that Lakba Gelu Sherpa had climbed the mountain in 10 hours and 56 minutes on 26 May, and confirmed he was the new record holder.
