This week, Kami Rita Sherpa accomplished his 23rd ascent to the summit of Mount Everest, the most of any person. Lhakpa Sherpa successfully completed her 9th ascent, the most of any woman last spring. Kami’s latest ascent put him two climbs above his closest competitors, all of whom are neck and neck for the most climbs. Lhakpa is a comfortable 3 climbs above her closest female competitor with plans to accomplish her tenth ascent next year.
The grueling hike is over 8500 meters high, making it the size of roughly 20 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other. It takes about $25,000 per person to adequately complete the dangerous, low-oxygen trek, with many hikers perishing along the way.
Have you ever heard of Fernando Belasteguín, Paquito Navarro or Maxi Sánchez? Well, neither have 99.99 percent of the world’s population. But what if I told you that to millions of people in Spain, Argentina and other parts of Europe and Latin America these guys are like Roger Federer, Cristiano Ronaldo or Lebron James? These three, along with some others, are the best of the best in what is often described as the fastest-growing sport in the world and what may very well be the biggest sport you’ve never heard of: padel.
As the following chart shows, Spain and Argentina are at the forefront of the padel revolution, with thousands of courts available to players in both countries. However, in recent years, the sport has grown beyond the borders of its “homelands” and spread rapidly to other countries. The number of rackets sold worldwide grew roughly fivefold between 2002 and 2017, and with new courts popping up left and right in countries like the Netherlands, Sweden and France, that growth will likely continue going forward. In case you want to find out more about the sport, the International Padel Federation’s website is as good a place to start as any.
