KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — "No amount of money can help you to summit the Mount Everest,” that’s the advice given to aspiring climbers who wish to conquer Mount Everest by the renowned Pasang Tendi Sherpa, who has sumitted the world’s highest peak 17 times.

Sharing excerpts of the treacherous climbs, Tendi who operates a mountain guide service company said his company has rejected 27 clients who wished to climb Everest after assessing that they lacked in training and experience, as climbers’ safety was always the priority over financial gains.

The 41-years-old Tendi said, the mission for his clients is not just to reach Everest’s summit but to ensure climbers return home safely, well-prepared, and aware of the challenges they faced.

"The rejection of 27 clients was a big loss for our company, but safety goes first. A lot of people think that if they have a lot of money today, they can plan to climb Everest in a couple of months. But that’s not true because climbing Everest is a big commitment. It’s a big challenge and it’s also a very high risk if you’re not well prepared.

"So, it is very important for every climber who wished to come and climb the Everest to be very well prepared mentally, physically, and they should have a good knowledge of mountaineering because I have seen some problems on the mountain for climbers, those who have no training,” he said.

He was speaking to reporters at a press conference organised by the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia in collaboration with Universal Fitness & Leisure Sdn Bhd (UFL) at Wisma UFL here today.

Therefore, the Nepalese advises aspiring climbers to undergo rigorous physical training and build mountaineering experience by starting with smaller mountains, such as Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu followed by training at higher altitudes, like 6,000-meter peaks in Nepal.

He also urged climbers to join mountaineering courses to learn essential skills such as rescue techniques, mountain navigation, and weather awareness.

"Nowadays in Malaysia, I know that they have quite a number of indoor wall climbing, indoor gyms. So if you want to climb mountains in the future, you should start climbing in the climbing gym, to start to get to know about your climbing equipment and about techniques and also to be in good shape,” he added

Tendi who was born in the village of Saisima in Nepal is an experienced climber, starting since the age of 13, and has conquered more than 20 mountains with a height of 6000 meters in the Himalayas.

Meanwhile, Peninsula Malaysia Forestry Department’s Forest Eco-Park & State Park Forest Division director Mohd Yussainy Md Yusop said the department has targeted 2,000 trained sherpas to be certified by 2025.

"We see a strong demand for experienced sherpas to improve their skills, not just domestic qualifications but a standard guideline that we need to adhere to. A big thank you to Tendi who is under the Nepal Mountain Guide Association and part of the International Federation Mountain Guide to offer advice,” he said.

He said the department had organised the Forest Trail Conservation program to clean up the climbing routes of a number of mountains throughout Malaysia.

"We want the people to assist the department to preserve the climbing routes in forest reserves. Until today there are 18,000 participants in the program, fixing ropes along climbing trails, setting up steps for climbing, fixing markers and other relevant necessities to ease the process of mountain climbing.

"UFL will become the host to restore the climbing trail in Kota Damansara,” he said. — Bernama