KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 23 Hundreds of government officials, mountaineers, fellow Sherpa guides and supporters gathered in Nepal today to mourn the veteran guide who scaled Mount Everest 10 times without supplimentary oxygen. The body of Ang Rita was cremated today according to Buddhist rituals, two days after he died. He was 72 and had been ill with liver and brain diseases for months. The body wrapped in Buddhist flags, flowers and cream scarf was taken on a decorated truck from the Sherpa Monastery on the outskirts of Kathmandu to cremation grounds in the heart of the city. Hundreds of people lined up at the monastery to pay their last respects, covering the body with the scarf and flowers. Among them was Nepal’s Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai. “This is an irreplaceable loss to not just Nepal but also for the entire mountaineering community. He has been the reason for Nepali mountaineers getting recognition around the world,” said Tika Ram Gurung of Nepal Mountaineering Association, the umbrella body of Nepali climbers and guides. Ang Rita was a national hero known as the “snow leopard” and was among the first Sherpa guides internationally recognised for his mountaineering accomplishments. He struggled with his health and had not climbed since setting the Everest record in 1996. Kami Rita has scaled the world’s highest mountain 24 times, but not without supplementary oxygen. A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 24, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.