Three Sherpa brothers are hoping to set a new record by spending 24 hours at the top of the world set out Sunday for the summit of Mount Everest. The trio, Pemba Dorje, 31; Nima Gyalzen, 23; and Phurba Tenzing, 20, boarded a plane in Katmandu, Nepal's capital, and flew to a small airport on the foothills of Everest. They were expected to trek to the base camp with their team, climbing gear and supplies in the next few days. The brothers plan to reach the 29,035-foot (8,850-meter) summit in May and spend 24 hours at the top, known as “the death zone” because of the extreme weather. Most climbers linger there for only a few minutes, just long enough to take a photograph. Several friends and supporters of the brothers gathered at the airport to wish them success. “It is going to be difficult, but we are confident because all of us have reached the Everest summit many times and we are all experienced climbers on the mountain,” Dorje told reporters at the airport. At the summit, they will face extreme cold weather, low air pressure, brain-starving low levels of oxygen, high winds and blizzard conditions. The last record was set by Babu Chhiri, who spent 21 hours at the summit in 1999.
