In his short 35-year life, only 10 years of which he spent guiding Himalayan mountaineering expeditions, Tenjen Sherpa was known for his stamina and humility. Unlike most of Nepal’s famous Sherpa climbers, Tenjen was not from the Khumbu region below Mt Everest, but from the foothills of Mt Makalu, the world’s fifth highest mountain. He herded yaks and farmed potatoes on the steep terraces of the village of Walung, where he was born in 1988, the seventh of eight brothers. He never went to school, but attended a monastery and was therefore known by the nickname ‘Mantare Lama’, after the lucky number seven. Tenjen quickly mastered the methods of technical climbing at high altitude, and was much sought after by international expeditions to fix ropes to summits. For most Nepali climbing guides, this is a nameless and largely thankless job, while the foreigners they help to the summit get most of the attention and fame.&nbsp; But that did not bother Tenjen too much. He was not the complaining type, and the expeditions earned him money. But Tenjen also represented a new breed of Nepalis for whom climbing was not just a job, but an adventure he enjoyed and excelled at. Earlier this year, he completed climbs of 14 peaks above 8,000m in just 92 days helping Norwegian mountaineer Kristin Harila also accomplish the feat. They beat the previous 14-peak record set by Nepali-British climber Nims Purja for climbing the world’s highest peaks in the shortest time.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231121071136_b266a0133e4de4a95aaa824f53ad3ca0dd46386da7088ae76ee9cc5947d8ed5c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231121071136_b266a0133e4de4a95aaa824f53ad3ca0dd46386da7088ae76ee9cc5947d8ed5c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="628" loading="lazy" alt="Tenjen and Harila"> </figure>  Perhaps even more remarkable than the record was the tale of Tenjen Sherpa’s struggle. He was married off when he was just 13. His father abandoned his family, and Tenjen had to help his mother take care of his siblings, as well as his wife and their own two sons.&nbsp; Financial hardship forced Tenjen to leave the village and seek his fortune elsewhere. Because he lacked schooling, there were only two options: migrate to India or work as a porter for climbing expeditions.&nbsp; Even as a child, Tenjen had seen expeditions to Makalu camp near his village and admired their climbing gear, flashy clothing and the money that some of his neighbours earned from being guides.&nbsp; Tenjen was inspired by the famous Sherpa guides he worked with, and was determined to become a high-altitude guide himself. He knew it was a risky job, but it paid well.&nbsp; Tenjen found a job with Seven Summit Treks, one of the new Nepali-run mountaineering outfitters that have been taking over the Himalayan climbing business from foreign companies in recent years. It is led by Mingma Sherpa, also from the Makalu region, and himself an accomplished mountaineer who has also climbed all 14 eight-thousanders.&nbsp; Mingma sent Tenjen with an expedition to Makalu in 2014, and despite having no prior experience at high altitude he reached the South Summit. Tenjen learnt fast to fix ropes, wear crampons, use bottled oxygen, and belay fellow climbers on steep sections.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231121071136_4b05955b11e8a5c3aa4d5fbdf06328a8589ecb3c10b8d97c264182fef9ae65e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231121071136_4b05955b11e8a5c3aa4d5fbdf06328a8589ecb3c10b8d97c264182fef9ae65e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1948" height="2355" loading="lazy" alt="Tenjen Sherpa"> </figure>  In 2016, Tenjen was sent as part of a rope-fixing team to Mt Dhaulagiri and reached the top of the world’s seventh-highest mountain. Tenjen never looked back after that, successfully summiting every peak he attempted.&nbsp; By July 2023, he had climbed 35 of the world’s highest mountains, many of them multiple times. He had helped Harila become the first woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders after climbing Cho Oyu in May this year. After the monsoon, he was on Mt Shishapangma in China, guiding the American climber Gina Marie Rzucidlo who was competing with compatriot Anna Gutu to become the first female American to climb all 14 eight-thousanders, both had completed 13 peaks and had only one left. Rzucidlo had hired Tenjen at the last moment although he was not with her expedition company because he had proven to be a fast climber with Harila. On 7 October, at around 12:30PM a slab of avalanche swept away Gutu and her guide Mingmar Sherpa at an altitude of 7,600 meters. A few hours later, Tenjen and Gina were also hit by an avalanche at 8,000m on the north face of Shishapangma. Their bodies were never found. For Tenjen’s family, this was an added tragedy. Two of his brothers, Norbu and Phurba who were also climbers, had died earlier. Phurba died on Everest in the spring 2023, while Norbu died during the Covid-19 pandemic. Three of his other brothers had died at an early age. Tenjen’s eldest brother is the only one remaining in Walung, farming the family terraces. The youngest brother, Pas Dawa also works as a climbing guide. “I don't know whether to continue this job or quit," Pas Dawa told us in Kathmandu during a break between expeditions. "We cannot take care of our families if we do not work on the mountains, but it is a job that we could never return from."

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Tenjen Sherpa, a tribute

&nbsp;At 8:30AM on 13 May, Jacob Weasel, MD, became the first Native American to summit Mt Everest. Standing on the world’s tallest peak, the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe member suddenly felt a deep connection with his ancestors from the other side of the planet. And he also felt an immense sense of pride for not just his Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, but for all First Nation communities from the Americas and the world. “My journey to becoming a surgeon and scaling Mt Everest is a story of perseverance, determination, and community support,” Weasel, 36, told Nepali Times in Kathmandu after the climb. “I am humbled by the encouragement I have received and proud to carry my people's legacy forward.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/to-the-base-of-everest-on-one-kidney">To the base of Everest on one kidney</a>, Shristi Karki  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230528140536_f06f00aeab12619a8a0f362d84aa2c8aacfa41ae3e5436c95b503448bb1986cf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230528140536_f06f00aeab12619a8a0f362d84aa2c8aacfa41ae3e5436c95b503448bb1986cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="622" height="902" loading="lazy" alt="First Native American on world’s tallest peak NT 4"> <figcaption> Photos courtesy: JACOB WEASEL</figcaption> </figure>  Weasel is also the first and the only person to become a surgeon from his tribe. Over 70% of Sioux children drop out of school, families are poor and the unemployment rate is high. Few go on to get a college education, or have prestigious professions so a surgeon-mountaineer could not be further from the stereotype. But young Jacob Weasel was so inspired by the story of Sophia Dannenberg, the first African American and the first Black woman to summit Mt Everest in 2003 that he started researching her, and was surprised to find that no Native American has ever climbed the mountain. “It took a year and a half of relentless exploration, alongside pursuing my education and medical career,” he said. “I completed my undergraduate studies, medical school, and surgical training all the while keeping the mountains in my heart.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-70-years-on">Everest 70 years on</a>, Lisa Choegyal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230528140540_e68e3c2d90fdd0e65773676d47193eb78462e64c1509de70e663d9c7e1d2146e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20230528140540_e68e3c2d90fdd0e65773676d47193eb78462e64c1509de70e663d9c7e1d2146e" data-rendition-name="original" width="4032" height="3024" loading="lazy" alt="First Native American on world’s tallest peak NT 5"> <figcaption>Jacob Weasel was inspired by Sophia Dannenberg, the first African Amercian woman to climb Everest.</figcaption> </figure>  Weasel and his two siblings were born in New Mexico and they moved to Omaha with their parents when Jacob was only 12. But only he went on to finish college, and studied medicine in South Dakota. His father was born on a reservation, and had a challenging upbringing within a broken family. He dropped out of school in eighth grade and was pushed into drug dealing. But he managed to leave it behind, passed his GED test, attended Bible school, and became a pastor. Weasel started climbing at Mt Rainier and went on various expeditions including ones to Ecuador, Kilimanjaro, and Denali, fuelling his passion even more. But the goal was always to get atop the world’s highest mountain. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/the-pinnacle-of-determination-and-courage">The pinnacle of determination and courage</a>, Bhadra Sharma <div class="embed-block"><div style="max-width: 56vh;"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 177.7778%;"><iframe src="//cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Fshorts%2Fklrh1pC4sPI%3Ffeature%3Dshare&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media *;"></iframe></div></div>Video: JACOB WEASEL</div> However, an Everest expedition meant much money and time, physical and mental strength and lots of training. But the fundraising efforts paid off, and Weasel was off to Nepal earlier this year.&nbsp; Things were much tougher than he imagined: the weather was harsh this spring, the Khumbu Icefall was treacherous as ever, and the north wall of Nuptse was heavy with new snow. The high altitude also took a toll on Weasel, each step felt like a tremendous effort, and monitoring oxygen levels became important. Weasel and his Nepali guides also narrowly survived avalanches in the Khumbu Icefall.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/billi-bierling-s-life-cycle">Billi Bierling’s life cycle</a>, Pradnya Pradhan <div class="embed-block"><div style="max-width: 56vh;"><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 177.7778%;"><iframe src="//cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutube.com%2Fshorts%2FD-xXsu0CAU4%3Ffeature%3Dshare&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="encrypted-media *;"></iframe></div></div>VIDEO: JACOB WEASEL</div> Finally approaching the summit on a clear but windy morning, Weasel unfurled his Cheyenne River Sioux flag, with an eagle feather securely packed in red cloth in his backpack for protection.&nbsp; “It was an honour to carry my tribe's symbol to Earth's highest point,” Weasel told us. For Weasel, climbing Everest was not the only achievement, it was also to visit an Asian country for the first time and see how he can contribute as a medical practitioner to Nepal’s healthcare. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/high-himalayan-rescue">High Himalayan rescue</a>, Buddha Basnyat and Gobi Bashyal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230528140540_2e503e0070e8e0db449d62324d92af0ccece8edb34f0ac58707087f5413be956.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20230528140540_2e503e0070e8e0db449d62324d92af0ccece8edb34f0ac58707087f5413be956" data-rendition-name="original" width="3716" height="2787" loading="lazy" alt="First Native American on world’s tallest peak NT 6"> <figcaption>Panoramic view of Everest as Jacob Weasel summitted the mountain.</figcaption> </figure>  “Leveraging my medical background, I aim to improve access to healthcare services, particularly for women and children in Nepal’s rural areas with limited resources,” he said. He wants to fundraise to build women's health clinics and birthing centres in Nepal in collaboration with local organisations working exclusively on maternal health like One Heart Worldwide. “I feel so welcomed here, Nepalis have been generous and shared wisdom, and taught me about resilience, humility, and the indomitable human spirit,” he said with feeling. “Leaving Everest, I carry those lessons to respect the mountains and the people who live among them.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">On Mt Everest’s 70th, records and fatalities</a>, Pradnya Pradhan  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230528140536_66c25ad0-bcb9-42d0-aece-4bd7e18f0e7d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20230528140536_66c25ad0-bcb9-42d0-aece-4bd7e18f0e7d" data-rendition-name="original" width="3024" height="4032" loading="lazy" alt="First Native American on world’s tallest peak NT 3"> <figcaption>Weasel wants to help Nepal-based organisations like One Heart Worldwide build women's health clinics and birthing center.</figcaption> </figure>  Excited by his Everest success, Weasel now plans to become the first Native American to climb all seven highest peaks in the seven continents and complete the Explorers Grand Slam by reaching the North and South Poles. With his adventures, Weasel wants to create a ripple effect of positive change that extends beyond individual mountaineering achievements. His ultimate goal is to raise awareness about and support Native American communities. He wants his mountaineering feats to inspire others in his community to realise their potential, pursue their passion, break barriers, embrace their cultural heritage, and actively contribute to building stronger and more resilient communities. What is his most important take-home? Weasel replied: “With perseverance and support, we can overcome obstacles and achieve extraordinary things. Let us uplift and empower one another.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/without-sherpas-there-is-no-mountaineering">“Without Sherpas, there is no mountaineering”</a>, Bhadra Sharma

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First Native American on world’s tallest peak

The Himalayan Rescue Association Nepal (HRA) is a voluntary, non-profit set up in 1973 to reduce casualties among trekkers and porters in the Himalaya.
Its aid-post in Pheriche at an altitude of 4,250m has been saving lives of Nepali and foreign hikers for 50 years. It is staffed twice yearly during the trekking season by volunteer doctors.&nbsp;
Another permanent aid-post in Manang at 3,550m has been treating patients since 1981. Ivan Somlai and Basanta Thapa were instrumental in opening the Manang aid post.
The HRA started Everest ER medical camp at Everest Base Camp in 2003 to mark the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the world’s highest mountain in 1953.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/without-sherpas-there-is-no-mountaineering">“Without Sherpas, there is no mountaineering”</a>, Bhadra Sharma
&nbsp;Everest ER provides medical support to the porters, climbers, expedition staff and visitors and promotes safety. Luane Freer spearheaded the establishment of Everest-ER. HRA also has a temporary medical camp at Gosainkunda lake during Janai Purnima Festival to provide free medical care to Nepali pilgrims. Young Nepali volunteer doctors from the<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/high-alert"> Mountain Medicine Society of Nepal (MMSN)</a> have been working here since 1997.&nbsp;
For the first time, HRA staffed the Manang, Pheriche Aid-posts and HRA Everest-ER with all Nepali volunteer doctors in spring 2021 due to the pandemic.
The HRA has published pamphlets on mountain safety, especially dealing with the prevention of altitude illness and updated information on prevention and treatment.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">On Mt Everest’s 70th, records and fatalities</a>, Pradnya Pradhan
Major credit for the foundation of HRA goes to John Skow, an American national, who in 1973 went to Khumbu on completion of his assignment as a Peace Corps volunteer in Nepal. It saddened him to see trekkers severely ill from altitude illness, which is 100% preventable.
He organised a meeting of officials from the ministry of health, doctors and trekking companies which figured out that this was in the best interest of their clients and hence good for business. 
Joining HRA were John Dickinson from Shanta Bhawan Hospital and Mr Tek Chandra Pokharel from the trekking industry.
The charismatic Peter Hackett was one of the first doctors to volunteer at the Pheriche aid post. Based on his experience of seeing patients there, he co-authored a milestone article in 1976 (including a placebo controlled, double blind, randomised controlled trial using Diamox) in the journal Lance, ‘The incidence, importance, and prophylaxis of acute mountain sickness’.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/the-pinnacle-of-determination-and-courage">The pinnacle of determination and courage</a>, Bhadra Sharma
This paper is a classic in its field and clearly helped establish the relevance of the HRA in tackling altitude illness in all its spectrum, from the relatively benign acute mountain sickness to life-threatening <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Altitude-illness-awareness,1381">high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE)</a> and high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) in the Himalaya.
An example of the usefulness of the HRA was recently illustrated this spring season. A comatosed porter was brought to the Pheriche aid post by passing fellow porters who appeared to know nothing about him except that he was found very drowsy and somnolent in a teahouse. The HRA staff got to work right away and determined, with the help of a portable butterfly ultrasound, that the patient had HAPE which probably led to HACE.&nbsp;
He was treated suitably with oxygen and dexamethasone. In two days the patient, under the competent care of the volunteers, was able to walk and was subsequently helicoptered out.
Since its inception in 1973, the HRA has quietly helped countless sojourners to the high Himalaya and saved many lives. Many Nepalis used to dismiss altitude illness as a “bideshi” (foreign) disease, Nepali trekkers, mountaineers, porters, pilgrims and soldiers now take it much more seriously. &nbsp;&nbsp;
Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/billi-bierling-s-life-cycle"> Billi Bierling’s life cycle</a>, Pradnya Pradhan
Buddha Basnyat, MD is Medical Director of HRA, and Gobi Bashyal is CEO.

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High Himalayan rescue

Kami Rita Sherpa broke his own record last week when he climbed the world’s highest mountain for the 27th time, keeping ahead of compatriot Pasang Dawa Sherpa who had tied his 26th climb earlier this season. Kami Rita <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/i-can-do-it-25-times">has been climbing Mt Everest </a>every year since the first time he helped an international expedition get to the summit in 1994, sometimes reaching the top twice in the same season. The only years he could not climb were in 2014 and 2015 because of deadly avalanches, and in 2020 due to the pandemic. But Kami Rita says with characteristic understatement that for him it has never been about the record. It is just another job that requires him to guide expeditions to the top, and it is a job he does well. “Had I been chasing records, I could have summited many more times,” says Kami Rita, who has turned back several times from near the summit because he had to rescue foreign climbers, or blizzards. “I have seen first hand how unpredictable and unforgiving the mountain can be.’ Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-the-ice-is-gone-we-are-done">“If the ice is gone, we are done”</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230521040552_8387b98b50704cf7ed76007be3d6e6ad3b27c6ade00288923033cf6dd3670434.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230521040552_8387b98b50704cf7ed76007be3d6e6ad3b27c6ade00288923033cf6dd3670434" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1354" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita Sherpa NT"> </figure>  He was at Base Camp in 2014 preparing for a live telecast with his brother for a National Geographic expedition when an avalanche slammed into the Khumbu Icefall, killing 16 Sherpas, many of whom he knew.&nbsp; A year later, 19 climbers and Sherpas lost their lives when an <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/big-drops-in-Everest-bookings-affect-livelihoods-of-Nepali-high-altitude-guides,2048">avalanche triggered by the 2015 earthquake</a> destroyed Base Camp. Then the Covid-19 pandemic halted all expeditions, depriving many guides and porters of income. Throughout all this, Kami Rita has remained in Nepal, declining job offers from overseas. “For me, there is nothing more meaningful than serving my community and people,” he says matter-of-factly. "The younger generation is aware of the dangers and some have given up working on the mountains. But if we Sherpas were not here, there would be no mountaineering.” Many, including previous summit record holders like Apa Sherpa, have migrated abroad. A new generation of Sherpas are now scientists, climatologists, businessmen, or airline pilots, and their success has been made possible because of the sacrifices of their parents. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/from-the-nepali-press/khumbu-wants-its-share">Khumbu wants its share</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230521040552_c0c351ab9fe199499a4698b6f56a9cee2fdfa61b825593ece63bfe72aa2c5ffb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230521040552_c0c351ab9fe199499a4698b6f56a9cee2fdfa61b825593ece63bfe72aa2c5ffb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita Sherpa NT"> </figure>  For Kami Rita, it looks like his family’s involvement in mountaineering may end with him. His son Lhakpa Tenzing is studying tourism as an undergrad and has no desire to follow in his father’s footsteps. His daughter Pasang Dolma is pursuing a computer science degree. “I worked hard all my life so they got a good education, even though mountaineering is an unpredictable business with seasonal income,” he says. “I have made sure that they have opportunities I never got.” <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/where-have-all-the-guides-gone">Expedition guides </a>are now increasingly being replaced by ethnic groups from lower valleys, as younger Sherpas move on to other jobs. Kami Rita says younger Nepalis from other ethnicities should have access to rock and ice climbing training so that they can take over.&nbsp; Born and raised in the Khumbu, Kami Rita attended school in Thame, one of many established by New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, who along with Tenzing Norgay became the first to climb Mt Everest 70 years ago. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/letters-from-everest-base-camp-1-vfqcer0e">Letters from Everest Base Camp 1</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230521040552_41b36f9ee594f1ec5ecdfce673d21472c3a32738085784d5f1c1f088d01d0e33.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20230521040552_41b36f9ee594f1ec5ecdfce673d21472c3a32738085784d5f1c1f088d01d0e33" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Kami Rita Sherpa NT"> <figcaption>Kami Rita with his family.</figcaption> </figure>  Kami Rita’s own father went to Darjeeling with Tenzing Norgay, and one of his two brothers Lhakpa Rita Sherpa was a climbing guide himself before he went on to become the first Nepali to climb the Seven Summits. Mountains was all that his family knew, so it was no surprise that Kami Rita followed in their footsteps. “I wasn’t able to get much of an education, and working for expeditions would earn me much more money,” says Kami Rita, who became a porter at just 12. His only regret is that the Nepal government has never really helped the Sherpas of Khumbu. He cites the example of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-trail-repaired-during-pandemic">Ang Rita Sherpa</a> who climbed Everest 10 times without oxygen but never got the support due to him. “If someone like Ang Rita does not get respect, what hope is there for the rest of us?” says Kami Rita. “The sad truth is that we have always thought of the nation first, but the nation has not shown us the same consideration.” Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-are-sherpas-always-happy">Why are Sherpas always happy?</a>, Tom Robertson

“Without Sherpas, there is no mountaineering”

The Sherpa high altitude guides who take climbers to the tops of Himalayan peaks and glory have for decades been nameless and consigned to the shadows. They are also exposed to the most dangerous parts of mountains for the longest period -- as the tragic death of three guides on the Khumbu Icefall this month proved. Things were not much different back in the autumn of 1990 when Pasang Lhamu Sherpa attempted to climb Mt Everest. The French leader of the expedition she was with ordered her to go back down. He seemed to be worried Pasang would steal the thunder from his climbers.&nbsp; As it turned out, Christine Janine became the first French woman to climb the world’s highest peak as Pasang Lhamu looked on from a lower camp. She realised it was her identity as a Nepali Sherpa woman that prevented her from getting to the top too. This ordeal only made her more determined to become the first Nepali woman to conquer Chomolungma. Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest is an inspiring story of the ambition, dedication, and triumph of this amazing woman. In equal part, it is the retelling of a tragedy that transcends socio-cultural boundaries.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230422040440_a41b978e19c989753156c07a2cdebb4d5fcc2b3637e5143cdff192f4d8e1e6a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20230422040440_a41b978e19c989753156c07a2cdebb4d5fcc2b3637e5143cdff192f4d8e1e6a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="719" height="478" loading="lazy" alt="Nancy Svendsen, Ang Dorjee Sherpa, and Dawa Yangzum"> <figcaption>From left: Dawa Yangzum, Ang Dorjee Sherpa and Director Nancy Svendsen.</figcaption> </figure>  "Her incredible story moved me," says Nancy Svendsen, the director of the 72-minute documentary that premiered on 19 April, ahead of the 30th anniversary of Pasang Lhamu’s historic climb on 22 April 1993, and the 70th anniversary of the first climb on 29 May 1953.&nbsp; Svendsen was first introduced to Pasang Lhamu not as a Nepali national hero, but as the late sister of her brother-in-law, Ang Dorjee Sherpa. But the climber’s story resonated strongly with Svendsen who had worked in corporate America, a field traditionally dominated by men. "From that moment, I have been working to gather her archival footage and pictures. I started with very little. We had maybe a few home videos and scrapbooks of pictures her daughter gave me, and that was it," recalls Svendsen. Pasang Lhamu came from a deprived farming family so much of her climbs and expeditions were never filmed. But Pasang makes it work with press footage combined with contemporary photos to portray her life. Svendsen has also deployed clever edits and animation to show Pasang Lhamu’s last journey. The entire production took 10 years with Svendsen changing her career to become a first-time filmmaker to locate and interview the late mountaineer’s colleagues, including Pemba Norbu, the last person to see Pasang Lhamu alive. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/on-screen-mountains">On-screen mountains</a>, Sahina Shrestha  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230422040440_720c4705cb02a6e2881cc63ae2188da46c580cb200f2202977e3c8c5a6841163.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20230422040440_720c4705cb02a6e2881cc63ae2188da46c580cb200f2202977e3c8c5a6841163" data-rendition-name="original" width="452" height="700" loading="lazy" alt="thumbnail_Pasang-Lhamu-Sherpa"> <figcaption>Pasang Lhamu Sherpa</figcaption> </figure>  "It seems much like everything even risk-taking is gendered," says Dawa Futi Sherpa, Pasang Lhamu's eldest daughter and president of the Pasang Lhamu Foundation and Nepal’s former ambassador to Spain. "For the longest time my mother was criticised for leaving her family and takings risks with her life even as she was doing it for her country and Nepali women." Pasang Lhamu, born the only daughter of a Sherpa mountaineer, was not allowed to go to school or mountaineering with her brothers like the majority of Nepali women of her time. She eloped, escaping an arranged marriage, with Lhakpa Sonam Sherpa and opened her own trekking company in Kathmandu. Mother to three, she was a homemaker determined to level the status of Nepali women to what Western women had at that time. It was not necessarily her mountaineering skill she wanted to prove. Her struggle is seen in the backdrop of Nepal's quest for democracy as she clashes with the prime minister, political parties, and Western mountaineers to fund her expeditions. As she embarks on her fourth and final mission to Everest, we can see how the subordinate status inflicted on her for being a woman, a Sherpa, and a Nepali led to decisions that proved to be fatal for her and her team in that 1993 expedition. Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest brings the real Pasang Lhamu Sherpa to life, beyond what little is depicted in school textbooks while also addressing controversies surrounding her final climb through first-hand accounts. It equally showcases her trailblazing character that led to national mourning after her demise. "Climbing Mt Everest as a Nepali woman then is harder than climbing 14 peaks now," notes Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, the first Nepali international mountain guide who was at the premiere of the film in Kathmandu this week. Dawa Yangzum Sherpa herself started her career by climbing the Pasang Lhamu Foundation walls, and says that a whole generation of Nepali women mountaineers has grown up inspired by the legacy of Pasang Lhamu. After Pasang Lhamu, 65 Nepali women have scaled Mt Everest. Winner of 14 international film awards, Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest honors the legendary climber while also delving into the realities of Sherpas, often sidelined in mountaineering films. Public screenings of the Nepali version will begin on 28 April and there are plans for shows in 15 locations in Kosi and Madhes provinces with donations raised during its Nepali premiere. House Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire and famed ophthalmologist Sanduk Ruit were among the attendees at the premiere where Ang Dorjee Sherpa said: "This documentary will encourage Nepali women to dream big and conquer their summits." Read Also: <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/women-take-over-the-%20mountains,1868" target="blank">After Everest and K2, Sherpa women set sights on Kanchenjunga</a>, Tsering Dolker Gurung <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/all-women-nepali-team-scale-k2,1557" target="blank">Ketis on K2</a>, Ayesha Shakya <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/k2-women-nepal,1610" target="blank">Conquering the world</a>, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita <a href="http://nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/WOMEN-ON-TOP,236" target="blank">Women on top</a>, Tsering Dolker Gurung <div class="embed-block"><iframe id="aswift_0" name="aswift_0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation" width="718" height="0" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" vspace="0" hspace="0" allowtransparency="true" scrolling="no" src="https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-6415359448570403&amp;output=html&amp;h=180&amp;slotname=1392833685&amp;adk=461865442&amp;adf=3145719360&amp;pi=t.ma~as.1392833685&amp;w=718&amp;fwrn=4&amp;lmt=1682131490&amp;rafmt=11&amp;format=718x180&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.nepalitimes.com%2Farticle%2FNepali-Times-Buzz%2Fnepali-mountaineer-breaking-barriers%2C2708&amp;wgl=1&amp;adsid=ChAI8OiIogYQ0pOKyM7hx5U3EjkA3d-9b1mqGISDvdad8KAx3AewqDjyt9En6FuVBwQ5_OqP8GNB75I6e4TO0kQbDFGrRvZVZo9DZfI&amp;uach=WyJtYWNPUyIsIjEzLjIuMSIsImFybSIsIiIsIjExMS4wLjU1NjMuNjQiLFtdLGZhbHNlLG51bGwsIjY0IixbWyJHb29nbGUgQ2hyb21lIiwiMTExLjAuNTU2My42NCJdLFsiTm90KEE6QnJhbmQiLCI4LjAuMC4wIl0sWyJDaHJvbWl1bSIsIjExMS4wLjU1NjMuNjQiXV0sZmFsc2Vd&amp;dt=1682131427262&amp;bpp=2&amp;bdt=367&amp;idt=788&amp;shv=r20230418&amp;mjsv=m202304130102&amp;ptt=9&amp;saldr=aa&amp;abxe=1&amp;cookie=ID%3Dc5b4cdb05cf8144d-229b93d9a5de0091%3AT%3D1680592509%3AS%3DALNI_Mamkt9UmuQGMOCGLpZz_oPKpUIwdw&amp;gpic=UID%3D00000bebd63f863d%3AT%3D1680592509%3ART%3D1682128380%3AS%3DALNI_Ma_YtFySMX09AOoZZN28vO0GUGzPA&amp;prev_fmts=0x0&amp;nras=1&amp;correlator=4350293643221&amp;frm=20&amp;pv=1&amp;ga_vid=2032045364.1680592509&amp;ga_sid=1682131428&amp;ga_hid=371399134&amp;ga_fc=1&amp;rplot=4&amp;u_tz=345&amp;u_his=1&amp;u_h=900&amp;u_w=1440&amp;u_ah=813&amp;u_aw=1440&amp;u_cd=30&amp;u_sd=2&amp;dmc=8&amp;adx=207&amp;ady=3244&amp;biw=1440&amp;bih=657&amp;scr_x=0&amp;scr_y=691&amp;eid=44759926%2C44759842%2C44759875%2C31073974%2C31074012%2C42531706&amp;oid=2&amp;pvsid=2703339081112636&amp;tmod=178841159&amp;uas=0&amp;nvt=1&amp;ref=https%3A%2F%2Fnepalitimes.com%2F&amp;fc=896&amp;brdim=0%2C25%2C0%2C25%2C1440%2C25%2C1440%2C793%2C1440%2C657&amp;vis=1&amp;rsz=%7C%7CEebr%7C&amp;abl=CS&amp;pfx=0&amp;fu=128&amp;bc=31&amp;jar=2023-04-22-02&amp;ifi=1&amp;uci=a!1&amp;btvi=1&amp;fsb=1&amp;xpc=4JnXA4eA5J&amp;p=https%3A//archive.nepalitimes.com&amp;dtd=63261" data-google-container-id="a!1" data-google-query-id="CKu69o-8vP4CFYgIXAodE-4JOg" data-load-complete="true" style="overflow: hidden; left: 0px; position: absolute; top: 0px; border: 0px; width: 718px; height: 0px;"></iframe></div>

Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the film

The spring mountaineering season had started when the Nepal government suddenly banned cargo helicopters to <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/on-everest-4-years-after-the-nepal-earthquake">Everest Base Camp</a> and told expeditions to use porters and yaks instead.&nbsp; Just like another rule making it mandatory for all trekkers to hire guides, the decision has been greeted with cheers and jeers. Helicopter companies and expeditions are outraged, while porters, and owners of mules and yaks support the idea.&nbsp; So far, 400 international climbers are expected on Mt Everest, about the same number as last year. Nepal’s trekking and mountaineering industry is seeing a revival after the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-season-on-everest-during-nepals-covid-peak">2020-21 </a>break. The Expedition Operator's Association Nepal estimates that there will be more than 2,500 Nepali guides and support staff at Base Camp for expeditions on Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse peaks. They have to be supplied by food, energy and material for 3 months. Nepal shares Everest (Chomolungma) with China, and expeditions from the north Tibet side have also been opened this season after a three year gap. Nepal gets some of the largest numbers of mountaineers from China as well.&nbsp; This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the first ascent of Everest by Edmund Hilary and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/was-tenzing-a-tibetan-nepali-or-indian-it-does-not-matter">Tenzing Norgay</a> on 29 May 1953, and this is expected to attract more climbers and trekkers. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mt-everest-city">Mt Everest City</a>, Monika Deupala  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023040413048_e9efc0626c853117574e17af075cd8e80f6bc50226b5fc6d64259aad606679f1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2023040413048_e9efc0626c853117574e17af075cd8e80f6bc50226b5fc6d64259aad606679f1" data-rendition-name="original" width="750" height="498" loading="lazy" alt="Porter EBC"> <figcaption>Photo: HIMAL ARCHIVES</figcaption> </figure>  Many mountaineers already arrived at base camp before the climbing season officially began, in order to acclimatise to the high altitude. Even before they arrived, helicopters have already been doing the heavy lifting from Kathmandu and Lukla. Expeditions begin only after climbers have made sure that they have all the necessary supplies, and the Icefall Doctors forge a route and fix ropes, which is already underway.&nbsp; The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-tourism-in-2023-9ukoi8iz">sheer volume</a> of climbers will mean that it will be difficult to get essential supplies to base camp in time. Now, tourism operators say that the difficulty will be compounded after the local government of the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality banned helicopters from making supply runs to base camp for environmental and employment reasons.&nbsp; At present, the municipality allows helicopters to transport supplies up to Dingboche (4,400m) and nearby Pheriche. Now choppers will only be allowed to fly gear up to Syangboche airfield (3,800m). The municipality has stipulated that porters, yaks or jokpe be used to move supplies from Syangboche. It can take up to four days for yak caravans and porters to carry supplies from Syangboche to &nbsp;base camp. Expedition operators complain that they are facing difficulty finding porters and pack animals. Local youth from districts to the south have <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/letter-from-sikles">migrated</a> to cities for better education and employment. Farmers in Khumbu are also moving away from traditional pastoralism, which means fewer yaks and jokpe.&nbsp; The sudden rule change at the cusp of the climbing season has not given expeditions time to prepare logistical alternatives. In fact, one expedition to Lhotse through Seven Summit Treks switched to climb Makalu after facing delays in supplies reaching Everest Base Camp. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/annapurna-dhaulagiri-double-take">Other expeditions</a> may &nbsp;follow suit. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-the-ice-is-gone-we-are-done">“If the ice is gone, we are done”</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023040413048_36f8a83e8280c3475f239a64a420139615cbf51fabb925791406e1c0aa47c1db.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2023040413048_36f8a83e8280c3475f239a64a420139615cbf51fabb925791406e1c0aa47c1db" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality"> </figure>  But some residents of Namche and surrounding villages are against what they see as “<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/so-far-so-good/the-season-of-summits">hyper-commercialisation</a>” of Everest by expedition operators and helicopter companies which have taken away local jobs. Chopper flights in the Everest region have increased after climbers who could afford the fares began paying to be flown down even from Camp 2 under the guise of rescue operations. Locals add that the amount of trash in the region has increased significantly since helicopters started transporting goods directly to base camp. This politicisation of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/peak-climbing-season-in-nepal">mountaineering</a> will hurt this season’s expeditions if the local government and tourism bodies do not find a solution on time, say operators. Fifty climbing clients are booked for Everest just through Lakpa Sherpa’s ATK Expedition, and 15 have applied to climb Lhotse, and 160 guides will be helping them. But Sherpa says his supplies are stuck at Syangboche. “I have 14 tons of supplies waiting for transportation, our guides at base camp are spending nights in cowsheds,” he adds. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/expedition-brings-down-11-tons-of-mt-everest-trash">Expedition brings down 11 tons of Mt Everest trash</a>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230404130412_0dd3ca72a7ada3980ce4468100696b36f3d0b1e4c200753f9e37bf982edcd020.png" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20230404130412_0dd3ca72a7ada3980ce4468100696b36f3d0b1e4c200753f9e37bf982edcd020" data-rendition-name="original" width="505" height="423" loading="lazy" alt="Yaks NT"> </figure>  Operators are worried that delays in organising base camp and fixing ropes will reduce the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/after-deaths-a-weather-window-on-manaslu">summit window</a> leading to a repeat of dangerous overcrowding on the peak. "The icefall team has not even made it to Camp 2 yet,” adds Lhakpa Sherpa. “I can already see traffic jams on Everest making headlines in the global media once again.” The Everest Pollution Committee is contracted by the operator’s association to fix the route up the Khumbu Icefall to Camp 2 for most expeditions. &nbsp; Some 11 climbers and guides lost their lives while summiting Everest in 2019, with many of the deaths attributed to long delays in the summit ridge. The Expedition Operator’s Association Nepal met with Hom Prasad Luitel of the Department of Tourism, after the local government banned helicopters to base camp warning that this would affect the industry adversely. The Department of Tourism has since written separate letters to the rural municipality and district administration office to find a compromise. “Concerns about employment are valid, but the timing of these demands just at the start of e climbing season has led to tension between locals and tourism operators,” admitted Bigyan Koirala at the Department of Tourism, "The local government must come up come up with a solution immediately. We cannot afford to prolong this problem." Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/letters-from-everest-base-camp-1-vfqcer0e">Letters from Everest Base Camp 1</a>

Chopper vs Chauri below Everest

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cfc9c7e80680e0c964ajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"/><figcaption>Mt Machapuchre, 6,993m from the southwest, with Mardi Peak on the foreground. Photo: YUBARAJ SHRESTHA / NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption></figure>The tourism-dependent municipality below Mt Machapuchre (6,993m) in Nepal wants a decades-old ban on mountaineering expeditions on the iconic Himalayan peak lifted.The imposing peak towers over the sub-tropical Pokhara Valley in central Nepal, but mountaineers have been forbidden from climbing it after <a href="https://explorersweb.com/mountains-climbed-just-once-or-not-at-all/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://explorersweb.com/mountains-climbed-just-once-or-not-at-all/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1666524499951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2RdCF8_v1BnZQRPkpx_K7G">an unsuccessful attempt in 1957</a>, and despite an unverified ascent in 1982.Although lower than the Annapurnas to which it is joined by a long ridge, Mt Machapuchre dominates the Pokhara skyline because it is only 25km away.Its name translates as ‘Fish Tail’ because of the distinctive double summit, and the peak has an uncanny resemblance to the Matterhorn in Switzerland, which is 2,500m lower.Nepal allows mountaineering expeditions on 414 Himalayan peaks, but climbing Machapuchre was banned in 1962 ostensibly to preserve the sanctity of the mountain.Two members of a 1957 expedition led by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-himalayan-odyssey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-himalayan-odyssey/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1666524499951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1rp5tcnlIEP9w7pODT8hxr">British Gurkha Lt Col Jimmy Roberts</a> had to turn back from 50m below the summit due to poor weather and technical climbing on the last stretch. Roberts later became the Defence Attache at the British Embassy in Kathmandu, and is said to have convinced the royal government at the time to keep the mountain out of bounds.Although some later accused Roberts of having done so out of pique so no one else could climb Machapuchre, the Nepal government apparently also wanted to <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9297#.Y1PC3i8RqLc" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id%3D9297%23.Y1PC3i8RqLc&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1666524499951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3kJBXkQT3oH-cga6R6qnVc">keep the mountain ‘virgin’</a> since some regarded it as sacred. Roberts went on to become <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hiking-with-jimmy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hiking-with-jimmy/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1666524499951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0oWXNt2_ZmCHOg9gdI-3t3">a pioneer of trekking tourism</a> in Nepal, and lived in Pokhara till his death in 1997.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723cff9c7e80680e0c964bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="764"><figcaption>Jimmy Roberts in Pokhara in 1995 with Machapuchre and Annapurna in the backdrop.</figcaption></figure>The maverick New Zealander mountaineer <a href="https://honeyguideapps.com/blog/machhapuchhre-a-mountaineering-mecca-or-just-a-proud-monument" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://honeyguideapps.com/blog/machhapuchhre-a-mountaineering-mecca-or-just-a-proud-monument&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1666524499951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1qK98Pgm4g3QJ4TzYSA_Wg">Bill Denz</a> is said to have secretly climbed the mountain in 1982 and did not tell anyone about it. We will never know if he did, because after Machapuchre, he was killed in an avalanche on Makalu.The arguments for lifting the ban on Machapuchre has been gathering strength in recent years. Some have questioned why other sacred mountains in Nepal are allowed to be climbed, and not Machapuchre. When the ban was announced in 1962, it was said the mountain was revered by the local Gurung communities living below the mountain.But even experts of Gurung society and culture are not in agreement about whether the peak is considered holy or not. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/remembering-harka-gurung/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/remembering-harka-gurung/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1666524499951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1-I20HZWwP2j7N4V7Vur6c">Geographer Harka Gurung</a> maintained that there was no evidence that the local people considered the mountain sacred.But at an interaction organised by Machapuchre Municipality last month, the vice-chancellor of the Nepal Academy and cultural historian Jagman Gurung said that expeditions should not be allowed on Machapuchre because the mountain held special religious and cultural significance for the Gurung people.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d029c7e80680e0c964cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption>Machapuchre from the north Base Camp. Poto: BEN TUBBY / WIKIMEDIA</figcaption></figure>In fact, few in Nepal know that the Gurungs living on the southeastern slopes of Machapuchre have their own name for the mountain: ‘Katasunkli’ which means ‘snowy fish mouth’. Herders from the villages of Lwang, Lahchok, Ghachok, Ghale Khakra and Chyadlung used to take their sheep up to high pasture on the eastern spur of the mountain in the monsoon.Streams from glaciers below Machapuchre, Annapurna II and Annapurna III form a lake called Tin Shir, which is the headwater of the Seti River and is a pilgrimage site for Hindus on Janai Purnima full moon day in July. Pilgrimages were discontinued after devotees were killed by the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Anatom-of-a-Himalayan-tsunami,1330" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Anatom-of-a-Himalayan-tsunami,1330&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1666524499951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw05q0lr_WRvkBVOolVo6inz">avalanche-flood on the Seti in 2014.</a>The Municipality’s government elected in 2017 had passed a village council resolution demanding that the ban on climbing the mountain be lifted. The new municipal government elected in May is also in favour of opening the mountain.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-tamu-trek-trail/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-tamu-trek-trail/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1666524499951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1iqB59mNcbcsw0b61pYfpb">Gurungs were originally animist</a>, later Buddhist and some have assimilated Hindu practices. Gurung herders revere the mountain gods, and extend special prayers and offerings for protection from the elements before embarking on their annual migration up to the high mountain meadows. And the dangers are many: lightning strikes, hailstorms, landslides, rockfalls, floods and wildfires.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d059c7e80680e0c964djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="641"><figcaption>Machapuchre from the east. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Nepali cultural beliefs also consider the Himalaya the abode of Lord Shiva and his consort, Parbati, and that such sacred places should not be defiled. According to the Hindu communities living in the lower valleys of Kaski and Parbat, the twin peaks of Machapuchre represent the sage brothers Nara and Narayana who themselves are incarnations of Vishnu, the preserver god.Those opposed to Machapuchre being opened for mountaineering also cite the fragile environment of the Seti and Mardi river valleys that drain the mountain on both sides. The southern slopes of the Annapurnas get up to 3,600mm of rain every year, most of it falling in the three monsoon months — making the terrain unstable and prone to landslides and floods.Global climate change is making the mountains even more fragile, and a sudden influx of expeditions could disrupt the environment further. Opening up the mountain could bring the kind of crowds seen on <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-is-it-about-ama-dablam/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/what-is-it-about-ama-dablam/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1666524499951000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2EHPq5Ud0rENE8_ZSwt5J6">Mt Ama Dablam</a>, where there are more than 600 mountaineers and guides trying to summit this autumn season.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111414114/63723d089c7e80680e0c964ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="960" height="640"><figcaption>Machapuchre from the directly below its imposing south face. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>The other argument against opening Machapuchre is that of the 414 peaks on which expeditions are allowed, Nepal government permits were issued last year for only  88 mountains. In Gandaki Province, there were expeditions on only one-third of the peaks on which climbing is allowed. When there are not enough expeditions on other peaks, we may need to rethink opening up Machapuchre.Even if no one is allowed to climb the mountain, the local municipality got a team from the Nepal Tourism Board Pokhara and Nepal Mountaineering Association to recce a new ‘Great Machapuchre Trail’ for an 11-day roundtrip trek from Pokhara via Ghachok, MBC, Rani Khakra, and Karuwa.It is clear that a decision to open Machapuchre for climbers should only be undertaken after detailed study and evaluation of its feasibility, historical, cultural and environmental aspects. Deciding solely on the business standpoint will be a mistake.Juddha Bahadur Gurung is a tourism expert, and this article was translated from the Kartik 2079 edition of Himal Khabar.

To open Machapuchre for mountaineering, or not?

Using a brief break in the monsoon this weekend, climbers are making another push to climb Manaslu even as they try to overcome deaths and injuries on the mountain. More than 400 mountaineers aim to reach the summit of the world’s eighth highest mountain – by far the most climbers on any Himalayan peak in Nepal this autumn. The expeditions have had to overcome news of deadly avalanches and the death of the world’s most famous extreme skiers. American ski mountaineer Hilaree Nelson went missing just below Manaslu’s true summit after she and her partner, Jim Morrison, attempted to ski down the 8,613m peak. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/peak-climbing-season-in-nepal/">Peak climbing season in Nepal</a> On Wednesday her body was recovered by a helicopter rescue team at an altitude of 6,500m on the south face of Manaslu after two days of searching. She appears to have fallen from near the summit after her skis set off a small avalanche and a cornice collapse. Nelson was 49. A day later, a snow avalanche near Camp 4 killed a Nepali guide and injured 13 climbers and guides. Wounded and stranded climbers were rescued by helicopter on Tuesday. Nelson, who lived with her two children in Telluride, Colorado, was one of the most prolific ski mountaineers in recent history. According to Morrison’s Instagram post, Nelson was swept off her feet in a small avalanche and, ‘carried down the south side of the mountain over 5,000m’. Morrison then skied on down to base camp for help, but poor weather conditions delayed the start of a rescue mission until Tuesday morning. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/637239799c7e80680e0c73e2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1252" height="496">432 of the 502 climbing permits issued by the Nepal government this year are for Manaslu.</div> These deaths and injuries are a stark reminder of the extreme dangers associated with climbing the world’s highest and deadliest peaks. With fixed ropes and experienced teams from Nepal fixing these to the summit, many tend to look at summiting an eight-thousander as something quite normal. This is reinforced by climbing seasons like this summer on K2, the world’s second highest mountain in Pakistan. There were more than 300 climbers, mainly Pakistanis and Nepali, and their clients on the Abruzzi spur, and only one fatality. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/journey-to-the-mountain-of-the-spirit/" target="_blank">Manaslu</a> this autumn has seen heavy snowfall from post-monsoon storms, increasing the danger of avalanches on a mountain that is already notorious for objective danger. A new post-monsoon low pressure system is expected to hit Nepal next week, and expeditions are expected to make their summit pushes over the weekend. According to North Face, Nelson’s sponsor, Hilaree distinguished herself by completing dozens of first ski descents through more than 40 expeditions to 16 different countries. In 2012, Nelson became the first woman to summit two eight-thousand-meter peaks within 24 hours before returning to Lhotse in 2018 to become the first person to ski from its summit. Hilaree’s career shattered expectations and has inspired a generation of female athletes as they <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/why-we-climb-mountains/" target="_blank">aspire to climb</a>, trek, and ski the deadliest routes in the world. Through her daring expeditions, Nelson paved the way for women in the adventure sports space. In a North Face video, she reminded viewers that women, “can throw down just as hard as men”. Her friend and professional climber, Emily Harrington, thanked Hilaree for, “showing us that we could be everything- follow our passions as well as raise a family.” <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/6372397c9c7e80680e0c73e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1080" height="1350">Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson. Photo: JIM W MORRISON/INSTAGRAM</div> Conditions on Manaslu this year were dangerous because of a lot of new snow piled on top of the precarious overhangs on the summit ridge. Summiteers from early September have said the slope is unstable and may not be suitable for the hundreds of climbers hoping to reach the top in the coming weeks. On Manaslu right now, Purnima Shrestha, the Nepali climber who became the fastest woman to summit all seven of Nepal’s 8,000-meter peaks in May of 2022, plans to reach Manaslu’s true summit without supplemental oxygen. While grieving for her fellow climbers and reminded of the unforgiving nature of Manaslu, she and her team will go up anyway. Norwegian climber Kristin Harila recently reached Manaslu’s true summit last week as she attempted to break Nims Purja’s speed record on the 14 eight-thousand-meter peaks. She expressed deep sadness after hearing that Hilaree had gone missing, and is now focused on gaining permission from Chinese authorities to climb Xixapangma. But while waiting for that she has moved across to climb Cho Oyu from the Nepali side. Besides Harila, 13 climbers have made it to the true top of Manaslu this month, including a Nepali rope fixing team from <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/on-screen-mountains/" target="_blank">Nims Purja</a>’s Elite Exped that got to the top on 9 September. For a mountain already known for its propensity for avalanches, the climbers still on Manaslu will have to hunker down for more snowstorms next week. The narrow weather windows in the next few days will be critical as they follow Nelson’s footsteps to the mountain’s true summit.

After deaths, a weather window on Manaslu

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/6372396a9c7e80680e0c73ddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Wind-swept Mount Everest. Photo: NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVES</figcaption></figure>Sherpa: Stories of Life and Death from the Forgotten Guardians of Everest begins in Spring 2019. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/peak-climbing-season-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nepal’s mountaineering</a> has just rebounded from the deadly avalanches on Everest in 2014 and 2015, and a year before the pandemic hits.High on Mt Everest, internationally certified mountain guide Tendi Sherpa and his 60-year-old American client leave their tent in Camp 4 and climb into the ‘death zone’.Only 800m remain, but for a guide, the worry is not so much about the summit as it is about returning to Camp 4 safely. Tendi’s story is but one among the many that are woven together in Sherpa, a new book by authors Ankit Babu Adhikari and Pradeep Bashyal.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/6372396d9c7e80680e0c73dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1536"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>At the moment Tendi is among 800 climbers on Manaslu, and took the video of a massive serac collapse near Base Camp on Sunday. Another avalanche near Camp 4 on the mountains killed one Nepali and wounded 10 others, and another American skier is missing near the summit – underscoring just how dangerous mountain climbing can be.For the Sherpa, it is doubly dangerous since they have to put themselves in harm’s way (on the Khumbu Icefall, in the death zone) for longer periods than their clients.The book attempts to go behind the climbs to portray the lives, dreams and destinies of the people who have made their surname and ethnicity a word for ‘support crew’ in the English language dictionary.Even as climbing in recent years has been over-commercialised, adding to the environmental impact and danger, climate crisis is changing the very nature of climbing.The two Nepali journalist authors of the book ask at one point: “Can climbing Everest ever be ‘a picnic’ for anyone?”Every year, hundreds of Sherpa guides accompany their Patagonia-clad clients to the base of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/journey-to-the-mountain-of-the-spirit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mountains in Nepal</a>, Pakistan, India and even the Alps and North America. They fix ropes to summits, put ladders across crevasses, guide them up ice faces, pitch tents and even cook – all with a smile.It is often easy to end up exoticising and giving a sense of otherness to the Sherpa climbers, painting them as superhuman sidekicks, relegating them to the footnotes of another’s attempts. Paired with the spectacular description of landscapes, the meditative, riveting or tragic first-hand accounts of the many Sherpa climbers and their families ensure that the book avoids this pitfall.Sherpas now increasingly climb not just because it is a job but because they enjoy the adventure. And they are financing their climbs by taking clients along. Increasingly, the portering work is now increasingly done by Nepal’s other ethnic groups. The guide who died on <a href="https://explorersweb.com/manaslus-can-of-worms-did-anyone-at-all-reach-the-true-summit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Manaslu</a> on Monday was a Rai.Rather than asking the vague ‘why people climb’ questions, the authors cast their nets relatively wide over the history of mountaineering in the Himalaya, covering also a larger geographical area, from Khumbu to Darjeeling to the United States.They trace their aspiration and motivation alongside the changing attitudes towards the mountains, trade and tourism. An entire chapter is dedicated to  women climbers. Legends and superstitions mix with the tales of ambition and endurance. The Sherpa's ‘romance with the mountains and the act of climbing,’ the authors realise, ‘is attached to their love stories back home.’Sherpa: Stories of Life and Death from the Forgotten Guardians of Everestby Ankit Babu Adhikari and Pradeep BashyalCassell, 2022321 pages    Rs699<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/637239709c7e80680e0c73dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="2113">

Ashish Dhakal

Stories of Nepal’s summiteers

&nbsp; A record number of climbers are attempting Nepal’s Himalayan peaks this autumn, and the renewed interest is due to the &nbsp;backlog of expeditions cancelled during the pandemic, as well as <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/on-screen-mountains/">two Netflix films</a>. Many first-time mountaineers and trekkers appear to have been drawn to climb in Nepal after watching the globally popular Netflix documentary <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QH5hBOoz08&amp;feature=emb_logo&amp;themeRefresh=1">14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible</a>, which follows <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nims-purja-does-it/">Nims Purja</a>’s ascent of the world’s highest 8,000m peaks. Also popular was the French language animation, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7014378/">Le sommet des dieux</a>, about a fictional Japanese climber on Everest searching for Mallory. Purja climbed 14 eight-thousanders in Nepal, Pakistan and China in 2019 within a span of 6 months and 6 days, smashing the previous record by a South Korean climber of more than 7 years. The ex-British Gurkha commando’s climb of Manaslu has been questioned because he supposedly only reached a fore-peak, although Purja did return to stand on the true summit last autumn. Most climbers have stopped a few metres short of the main peak because of its dangerous knife-edge ridge (see box, below). Purja is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NimsPurja">back on Manaslu</a> this season and hurt himself while trying to take off on his paraglider on Monday. He was flown by helicopter to hospital in Kathmandu for x-rays and has returned to the mountain. Manaslu, at 8,163m, is by far the most popular mountain this season in the Nepal Himalaya, with over 400 climbing permits issued. There are another 400 Nepali high-altitude guides from over 15 expeditions on the mountain. Most expeditions helicopter to Samagaon and trek up to Base Camp located on a broad moraine at 5,850m. This has raised concern that the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/journey-to-the-mountain-of-the-spirit/">lodges along the Budi Gandaki trail</a>, that were hit by the pandemic collapse of tourism, have not been able to benefit from the revival of trekking and mountaineering. The reason for Manaslu’s popularity is that the route to the top is not technical, except for the last bit to the true summit and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2012/09/23/tragedy-in-manaslu/">avalanche risk between Camp 2 and 3</a>. It is therefore the preferred ‘acclimatisation peak’ for those preparing to climb Mt Everest. Cho Oyu (8,201m) used to be the other eight-thousander popular for acclimatisation, but its easier northern approach from the China side has been closed. Despite persistent late monsoon snowstorms, a 7-member advance team of Nepali guides from Purja’s Elite Exped fixed ropes all the way to the true summit on 15 September. Other expeditions are acclimatising and waiting for better weather, even though the forecast for the coming week is not ideal. Some climbers have expressed worries that there may be a traffic jam just like on Everest if there is only a brief weather window for the summit push. Things could get precarious on the narrow summit ridge if too many climbers arrive there at the same time. Also on Manaslu is Norwegian climber Kristin Harila, who is set to break Purja’s speed record on the 14 summits. But after Manaslu, she needs to get permission from the Chinese authorities to climb Xixapangma (8,027m), as well as for Cho Oyu, which she can also climb from the more difficult south side in Nepal if the Chinese permit is not forthcoming. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238cb9c7e80680e0c73a6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="792" height="558">Photo of a climber on the true summit of Manaslu devoid of snow in the spring of 2012 looking southeast, with Himalchuli in the background. Photo: Guy Cotter</div> If Harila is unable to beat Purja’s feat, it will not be because of the lack of skill or stamina, but because of geopolitics. The China side of the Himalaya has been closed to most climbing since the Covid-19 pandemic began. A Hungarian climber also plans to ski down from the summit of Manaslu. Then there is the Japanese climber Toshiyuki Yamada who is taking the ‘fast track’ to the top. The Canada-based climber will be climbing with minimum equipment and without support of porters, although he will be relying on the fixed line that have been already laid to the summit. Compared to the spring season rush on Mt Everest, in autumn there is just one expedition on the world's highest peak who plans to summit without oxygen and high altitude support. The Polish mountaineer Andrzej Bargiel then plans to ski down to Base Camp — a feat that has been done only once before. In spring, Bargiel climbed K2 in similar style and skied down the world’s second highest mountain in Pakistan. Nepal’s Department of Tourism has allowed 472 foreign mountaineers to climb various peaks in Nepal this autumn — most of them for Manaslu. One third of them are female. The most popular peak this season after Manaslu is Dhaulagiri, although there are also expeditions on lesser-known peaks like Himlung, Gang Chenpo, and Jannu. For now, all eyes are on long-term monsoon forecasts for late September. The Nepal government has collected Rs 55 million just in climbing fees this autumn, but expeditions spend much more on porters, food, logistics and helicopter charters. The Department of Tourism’s focus seems to be on revenue, and the royalty collected on each mountain is meticulously recorded and fed to the press. However, the government has been ridiculed in mountaineering circles for refusing to certify the Mt Everest climb during spring 2022 by 19-year-old Mexican climber Juan Alvarez for playing a keyboard on the summit without permission. It also cancelled the certificate for Russian climber Katya Lipka for unfurling a Ukrainian flag on the summit, and another for paragliding without a permit. Manaslu’s true top The <a href="https://explorersweb.com/manaslus-can-of-worms-did-anyone-at-all-reach-the-true-summit/">big story in mountaineering</a> in the past two years has been about how many of the climbers who summited Manaslu since the first ascent by the Japanese in 1956 actually climbed the true top of the world’s eighth highest mountain at 8,163m. Manaslu has a 150m summit ridge that stretches from northwest to southeast with several corniced sub-summits along the way. The farthest peak is the highest, but only by a few vertical metres — and there is a dangerous and difficult traverse to get to it. The fact is that most mountaineers who claimed to have climbed Manaslu <a href="http://adventureconsultantsblog.com/claiming-false-summits/">never got to the real summit</a>. Few even knew that there was a higher peak behind until Nepali guide Mingma Gyalje Sherpa (Minima G) and his daring traverse of a vertical ice wall in 2021 was recorded in the now famous drone image by Australian adventurer <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jackson.groves/?hl=en">Jackson Groves</a>. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238cf9c7e80680e0c73a8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1156" height="476">Summit topography of Manaslu by Tobias Panel.</div> Records at Himalayan Database show that of the 281 mountaineers who climbed Manaslu in 2021, only 19 got to the true summit. The site puts a double asterisk behind names of climbers who cannot prove they got to the real summit. The German mountaineering chronicler <a href="https://www.facebook.com/eberhard.jurgalski">Eberhard Jurgalski</a> created a stir in alpinist circles by publishing his <a href="https://www.8000ers.com/cms/index.php">‘shrink list’</a> after closely analysing the summit photographs of the 52 climbers who claimed to have summited the world’s 14 eight-thousanders. He verified only three of them and rejected even climbs by <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-next-for-reinhold-messner/">Reinhold Messner</a>. Most of <a href="https://www.8000ers.com/cms/en/download.html?func=fileinfo&amp;id=142">Jurgalski’s disqualifications</a> were of the ascents of Manaslu, although Messner was credited with getting to the true summit of that particular mountain. Ice conditions on the top can vary considerably from season-to-season, with the ridge covered by new snow in autumn, but the true summit is sometimes devoid of snow in the spring. Still, most of the over 2,100 climbers who have reached the top since 1956 have done so in spring — raising questions about whether most of them really got to the true summit. <div class="embed-block"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131144/637238d19c7e80680e0c73a9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1230" height="545">432 of the 502 climbing permits issued by the Nepal government this year are for Manaslu.</div> Conditions at the Manaslu summit this year are said to be bad, with a lot of new snow piled on top of the precarious overhangs on the summit ridge. The slope below the fore summit and the traverse to the main peak is called the ‘<a href="https://explorersweb.com/manaslu-crowds-come-for-the-chance-for-a-true-summit-but-how-many-will-actually-get-there/">Rolwaling</a> Traverse’ because that is where Mingma G is from. Last week’s summiteers have said the slope is unstable and may not be suitable for the hundreds of climbers hoping to reach the top in the coming weeks. Elite Exped plans a one-way track along the ridge to the top, and descending to the Rolwaling Traverse to rejoin the route back down. This autumn there are quite a few mountaineers who have returned to Manaslu to ‘correct’ their climb, including <a href="https://www.ralfdujmovits.de/">Ralf Dujmovits</a> of Germany who thought he had been on the true summit in 2007.