KATMANDU, Nepal -- Sundare Sherpa climbed Mount Everest for a record fourth time Monday, but one of the four Norwegians with him tried unsuccessfully to be the first to fly a kite at the top of the world.
Sherpa, 30, the Norwegians and three guides began their final assault from 26,181 feet just after midnight and reached the summit eight hours and 10 minutes later, a Ministry of Tourism official said.
The mountaineers spent 45 minutes on the 29,029-foot summit, hoisted flags, and climber Peter Stein Aasheim tried to fly a kite there, 'but the wind was too low' and the kite wouldn't fly, the official said, quoting a report from base camp.
The Norwegians were identified as Arne Naess, 48, a London shipper and the expedition leader; Ralph Hoibakk, 49, and Aasheim, 49, both of Oslo, and Havard Nesheim, 29, a physician from Tromso.
The Norwegian expedition has put seven Norwegians and seven Sherpas on the summit in nine days, with initial ascent Sunday giving Norway its first national conquest.
An American member of the expedition, Dallas millionaire Dick Bass, remained on the mountain and hoped to become the oldest man to climb Everest. He is 55.
A total of 175 persons have now climbed Everest.
Sundare first scaled the mountain in 1979. His two Western climbing companions were killed on the way down. During his second climb with an American team in 1981, a American companion had to goad him on with a tip because Sundare came across the frozen corpse of one of the previous climbers and refused to continue.
'I am not afraid to climb, but when I see friends die before me, especially personal friends, I get afraid,' Sundare said later.
Sundare became the first man to climb Everest three times when he climbed with a Canadian expedition in1983. Several months later the feat was equalled by the famed Japanese climber Kkato.
