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Narendra Shrestha / EPA
Nima Chemji Sherpa, 16, is welcomed by friends and family at Domestic airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, on May 25, 2012.
A 16-year-old Nepali girl received a hero's welcome Friday as she returned home to be hailed as the youngest woman to climb Mount Everest.
Nima Chemji Sherpa was accompanied by her father in an expedition team that reached the summit on May 19, nepalnews.com reports. Her claim to be the youngest woman ever to scale the mountain is yet to be officially verified by the government.
In 2010, a 13-year-old American boy became the youngest climber to reach the top of Everest.
Last weekend, four climbers died on their way down from the summit amid worsening weather and a traffic jam of more than 200 people scrambling to conquer the peak, The Associated Press reports. A similar crowd is expected this weekend, but there have been no reports of climbers in trouble and the weather is good.
Climbers hoping to conquer the world's tallest peak hit a bottleneck over the weekend when the weather cleared, which caused a greater number of climbers to attempt the same route without the ability to pass one another. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.