Nepali Mt. Qomolangma climber Min Bahadur Sherchan, 78, who was shocked in February to learn that the Guinness Book had recognized a Japanese climber instead of him as the oldest man to climb the peak, will soon make it to the Guinness Book, an official at the Tourism Ministry said.

According to Wednesday's myrepublica.com, oldest Mt. Qomolangma climber to challenge Guinness Books record Sherchan climbed the world's tallest peak on May 25 last year just 25 days before his 77th birthday.

Japanese climber Yuichiro Miura, whom the Guinness Book recognized in February this year as the oldest climber to climb the 8,844-meter peak, made it to the top the same season at the age of 75.

"The Guinness Book is in the final stages of recognizing Sherchan's achievement," Surendra Sapkota, under-secretary of the ministry's Mountaineering Division, told myrepublica.com.

"They have admitted that technical lapses led to the recognition going to Miura instead of Sherchan," Sapkota said Tuesday.

The mistake occurred because Sherchan was unaware of the proper procedure to get his name into the records book.

Sherchan told the website that during his visit to London over a month ago, he was briefed by officials at the Guinness Book about the official procedure.

"I didn't know that one has to personally claim a record, fill up a host of necessary documents and then furnish documentary evidence to support the claim," said Sherchan.

The necessary formalities will be completed by the end of this week. "In my correspondence with them, officials at the Guinness Book have said the mistake will certainly be rectified after the formalities are complete," he added.

Unaware of the formalities, Sherchan last year couriered to the Guinness Book copies of the certificate of his achievement provided by the government, and an appreciation letter given him by President Ram Baran Yadav.