Even as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>Day was marked in Nepal on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado, dozens of Nepalis who have<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/everest-summiteers-find-new-life-in-the-us"> climbed the world’s highest peak </a>multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Danuru Sherpa’s father was part of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-70-years-on?fbclid=IwAR34nxhAOehTjLeeuqKY391r1CVxCy1fustpbQbSP1T5WMqQq102tJ1e3Ho">1953 expedition</a> to Mt Everest that put <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay </a>on the summit. He later climbed Kangchenjunga, Ama Dablam and Annapurna with Hillary’s son, Peter. Danuru grew up in this climbing family in Phortse with seven other siblings, and as a teenager became a high altitude porter and guide.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250605100648_8c3f79c19f9a83b24e8193709c41dbcc7825ed1c8d89b10947effe65e880d5b1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250605100648_8c3f79c19f9a83b24e8193709c41dbcc7825ed1c8d89b10947effe65e880d5b1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1054" loading="lazy" alt="Sherpaland, Co. USA NT"><figcaption>ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH: Danuru Sherpa, 46, was only 18 when he climbed Mt Everest for the first time in 1998. Since then he has summitted 16 times.</figcaption></figure>  He was only 18 when he climbed Everest for the first time in 1998. Since then he has sumitted 16 times. In 2006 Spring, he got to the top twice in the same season. “<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/without-sherpas-there-is-no-mountaineering">Mountaineering</a> made me famous, but it was seasonal work. It did not bring enough money to support my family,” says Danuru, 46, who has two daughters and a son. He came to the US in 2013, and is now a chef at Sherpa House in Boulder. But <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/why-we-climb-mountains">climbing is a passion</a>, and on the side he has climbed Mt Denali in Alaska, and guides climbing groups in the Rockies. He says, “I want to do<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Overflying,288"> Everest again</a> till I am 60, but Nepal should take better care of mountaineers like us. Climbing is dangerous and the insurance is not enough.”  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250605100648_26b4f6883ce3362c6f0c312d35422a57384c04aeb673f578d3ddb660761747fc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250605100648_26b4f6883ce3362c6f0c312d35422a57384c04aeb673f578d3ddb660761747fc" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Sherpaland, Co. USA NT"><figcaption>Danuru's brother Panuru Sherpa on the top of Mt Everest in 2002 with a client. He has also climbed the world's highest mountain 16 times.</figcaption></figure>  Danuru’s elder brother Panuru also climbed Everest for the first time in 1993, and in 2021 made his 16th summit. He has since emigrated to America, guiding climbers in Alaska, and goes on skiing expeditions in his free time. He also works at Sherpa House. There are 100 Sherpas in Colorado, and 25 of them are multiple Everest summiteers. There are 27 just from Phortse in the state, and six have climbed Everest 34 times between them. Tashi Sherpa has climbed Everest 17 times, and is a Uber driver in Denver. On the side, he trains climbers in Colorado’s mountains. Jangbu Sherpa is also a 10-time Everest summiteer who works as a chef at Everest House.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250605100652_cf775e235a4068330d35f304b255f5874c852a045b913784f327dc924f03334a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250605100652_cf775e235a4068330d35f304b255f5874c852a045b913784f327dc924f03334a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1759" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Sherpaland, Co. USA NT"><figcaption>Both brothers work as chefs at Sherpa House Colorado in the town of Golden.</figcaption></figure>  Also in Colorado is Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita, the first Nepali woman to become a UIAA certified mountaineering instructor, and one of the first Nepali women to reach the summit of K2. Nima Doma Sherpa trained herself to be a mountaineer and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/everest-summiteers-find-new-life-in-the-us"> climbed Everest in memory of her husband</a> who was killed in the Khumbu Icefall avalanche in 2014. “One of the reasons Sherpas are emigrating is because there is no support mechanism for families whose members are killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>,” says Nima Doma. “When a soldier dies, the state declares him a martyr and provides compensation, and pension to his family. When a support climber dies, his family is forgotten.” <h2>The House of Sherpa</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025060511064_6c6587ac90936e30737bf724d1a1941b969a7d97ce1e6d653d7e49f66cc1248c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2025060511064_6c6587ac90936e30737bf724d1a1941b969a7d97ce1e6d653d7e49f66cc1248c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1002" loading="lazy" alt="The House of Sherpa NT"></figure>  Lhakpa Sherpa was born 50 years ago in the tiny village of Syangma. As a boy he remembers going to Namche Bazar, making a perilous crossing of the foaming Dudh Kosi. Namche was like a city compared to Syangma. He lived with his parents and two other siblings who had to walk the roundtrip of six hours six days a week to school. There was a wooden log over huge boulders on which they balanced themselves precariously to cross the river. When floods washed away the log, they couldn’t go to school for weeks. During summer holidays, Lhakpa and his siblings joined their parents to take yaks to high pasture. The family cooked and ate potatoes and buckwheat they planted on their terraced farm. Lhakpa became the first boy in Syangma to graduate from high school, and then went to college in Kathmandu, working in restaurants and guiding trekking groups to earn money. Tourism was booming in Nepal in the 1990s, and he dropped out of college to guide groups. Lhakpa had watched planes landing in Syangboche and Lukla, and had always wanted to be a pilot. He went to the United States and joined flying school, while running his company, Sherpa Landscaping. The business took off, and there was no time anymore to complete pilot training. Winters were less busy, so in 2009 he decided to open a restaurant in Golden, near Denver. Not just any restaurant, but one that represented Nepal and his Sherpa culture. He visited Nepal every year and brought back traditional items to decorate his Sherpa House Restaurant and Culture Centre.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025060511068_e0b00341968e548b76e53567e0cd7b727bd816f5586496b765ba53b0e3fd1144.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="2025060511068_e0b00341968e548b76e53567e0cd7b727bd816f5586496b765ba53b0e3fd1144" data-rendition-name="original" width="1460" height="1666" loading="lazy" alt="The House of Sherpa NT"></figure>  It became an instant hit, even more successful than his landscape company. What was supposed to be a side gig quickly became his main business. At an intersection in picturesque Golden, with the Rockies forming a backdrop to the west, Sherpa House is immediately recognisable from afar. On one side is a monastery, a gift shop at the other, and the restaurant in the middle. The interior décor of intricately carved displays also has an antique shortwave radio and old tape recorder, giving the space a feeling of 1980s Khumbu. The restaurant has 600 customers every day and the queue gets long in the evenings. Most diners are Americans, with a sprinkling of people of Nepali or Indian origin. The chefs and two dozen restaurant workers are constantly busy on the momo assembly line. In 2013, Lhakpa and partners opened the Sherpa Brewery in Chitwan, and the beer imported from Nepal is popular here. “Business is not just about profit,” says Lhakpa. “It is also a service, that is why maybe a restaurant is called a service industry.” With a part of the profits from the venture Lhakpa has started the charity Hike for Help that has helped rebuild his old school in Khumbu that was damaged in the earthquake, added a dorm and built health posts. He has upgraded the trail from Syangma to Namche where he used to walk back and forth as a boy. There is now a suspension bridge where there used to be a log across the boulders of the Dudh Kosi. Says Lhakpa: “I don’t calculate what percentage of the profit should go to charity. I give when it is needed, as much as needed.” <h2>Dreaming big in America</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250605100656_cf82b53399685be51021b1ca6e5d960a8f6adf67679ec78b1750648393542786.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250605100656_cf82b53399685be51021b1ca6e5d960a8f6adf67679ec78b1750648393542786" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Dreaming big in America NT"></figure>  When Pemba Sherpa flew out of Kathmandu airport in 1999, he was 19. He had $200 cash in his pocket, a suitcase, a sleeping bag, and a dream. An American dream. Born in 1971 in Syangma of Khumbu in a family with five siblings, he watched planes take off and land at Lukla airfield on the other side of the river, while grazing the family’s 25 yaks. Every day he walked three hours to Chaurikharka to school, and three hours back. He dropped out at Grade 4 and started portering. His first job paid him Rs60 hauling a load of 30kg on his back up the trail — the first time he saw money. On his first visit to Kathmandu, he was amazed by the tall buildings, the crowds and cars. He guided trekkers, and learnt a smattering of English. One of his trekking clients was an American, who sponsored his first trip to the US. Adjusting to life and surviving in America was initially as difficult as hauling trekking gear to Everest Base Camp. He washed cars, worked as a gardener, and did dishes. He did not know anyone in Colorado, was often homesick, and drooled remembering his mother’s cooking. This was not the dream he had about America, and he thought of heading back to Nepal. But he hardened his resolve, joined English language classes, memorised words all night, sticking them to the walls of his room. He got himself a college degree, and was hired by a Colorado-based trekking company. He struck out on his own to set up a travel company, taking American clients to Nepal, Tanzania, Bhutan, Pakistan and other places on treks. “I remember there was one Thai International flight from Bangkok to Kathmandu in which 90% of the passengers were my clients,” recalls Pemba. But then the Maoist conflict killed Nepal’s tourism industry, the Kathmandu office closed and many lost their jobs. The collapse of tourism opened up other avenues for Pemba, who then invested in real estate just at the right time to make millions. He now has 12 properties in Boulder alone, including one that houses his Sherpa Adventure and Restaurant that employs 40 fellow-Nepalis. He got himself a commercial pilot’s license in 2009. But his dream of starting an airline in Nepal was thwarted by unstable politics back home. He bought himself a 4-seater Piper Arrow and flies around the United States in it. The success of Starbucks inspired him to make a foray into, not coffee, but tea. He studied the market and launched the Sherpa Chai brand. It took off, and its seven flavours sell in 3,000 stores across the US. It had a $2.7 million turnover last year, and Pemba is aiming to hit $50 million.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250605100656_9d00aa28b2a7e9e6631fca57134534059d23a7d2531f269a01885302886e16a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20250605100656_9d00aa28b2a7e9e6631fca57134534059d23a7d2531f269a01885302886e16a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1484" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Dreaming big in America NT"></figure>  The company imports $30,000 worth of Nepali tea every month from gardens in Phidim, though it is more expensive than other teas. But wherever he flies, Pemba’s heart is still in Syangmo. He has helped build suspension bridges, upgrade trekking trails, repair schools after the 2015 earthquake, and even set up a small hydroelectric plant to light up Syangmo at night. His memoir Bridging Worlds: A Sherpa’s Story has won awards. Pemba Sherpa has not given up on Nepal, and says his life is proof that no matter where a person is born, success is not possible without struggle and hard work. He adds, “Nepal has huge potential, we just have to improve governance and rise above our obsessions with ethnicity and caste.”  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025060511060_39ad7e520066ce50f79650c32e12164c82888696212b2cc60684d0176513c79e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025060511060_39ad7e520066ce50f79650c32e12164c82888696212b2cc60684d0176513c79e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Dreaming big in America NT"></figure>

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Sherpaland, CO, USA

While Nepal marked <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mt-everest-pvt-ltd">Mt Everest</a> Day on 29 May, on the other side of the planet in the US state of Colorado dozens of Nepalis who have climbed the world’s highest peak multiple times were busy working as chefs and Uber drivers. Among them is Nima Doma Sherpa, who climbed Mt Everest in 2019 after her husband Tshering Wangchu was among 16 crushed by an avalanche on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/on-thin-ice-in-the-khumbu">the Khumbu Icefall</a> five years earlier. A large serac broke off the West Shoulder of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-everest-industry">Mt Everest </a>and fell directly on a group of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/more-porters-sick-on-everest-trail">porters and guides</a> making their way up the Icefall at 5,800m. Their bodies were flown by helicopter to Khumjung where Tshering Wangchu was born. He was excited about climbing Mt Everest for the first time.&nbsp; In Khumjung, Nima Doma felt like her own life had also ended. This was the kind of news Sherpa wives, mothers and sisters dreaded every <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/peak-climbing-season-2025-s4abrxny">mountaineering season</a>. She stayed home for more than two years grieving, but ultimately gathered up all her emotional strength to take care of her 6-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. Nima had grown up in Khumjung hearing <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/stories-of-nepal-s-summiteers">tales of adventure on the mountains </a>from their father, Ang Chubi Sherpa who had climbed Everest in 1993. He used to bring her and her sisters and brother European chocolates after every expedition, and used to tell them that the chocolate bars grew on the mountains. “It was only after we got older did we realise that he told us that chocolates grew in the mountains so we would not worry about him putting himself in harm's way,” Nima Doma recalled with a faraway look at her home in Boulder this week. Nima went to the school that <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/commemorating-edmund-hillary-in-nepal,4145">Edmund Hillary</a> opened in Khumjung till Grade 8, and then dropped out to help in the kitchen and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">tend yaks</a>. She was married off to Tshering Wangchu, who was also a high altitude guide. When Tshering went on expeditions, Nima also started working as a porter from Namche to Base Camp. It was perhaps her father’s tales of mountains of chocolates that had always attracted her to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/knowing-our-mountains-43v4iyvo">the peaks</a>. After her husband was killed ten years ago this month, being a widow with children was not easy for Nima Doma. But she was not alone: there were at least 200 single mothers in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/khumbu-since-1950-jaww4qn0">the Khumbu</a>, and 20 of them just in Khumjung whose husbands had been killed in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/tragic-start-to-himalayan-spring-nepal,3695">mountaineering accidents</a>. Some were not even 20 years old, and had children growing up without fathers. But there were also women in the 50s whose husbands had been killed in the 1980s. Nima found sponsors for her children’s education, and moved to Kathmandu. In the capital, Sherpa widows used to meet to help each other. Some of them had joined the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) training for rock and ice climbing. “I decided that it was no use sitting home and crying anymore, after meeting other single mothers I felt less alone,” remembers Nima, who joined the Juniper Foundation and enrolled in an NMA training camp in Manang. There she climbed Chulu East (6,584m) and met Furadiki Sherpa, whose rope-fixing husband had also been <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/on-mt-everest-s-70th-records-and-fatalities">killed on Everest</a> in 2013. They set themselves the goal of climbing Everest one day, and started a fund-raising drive.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250530090544_621be0724b9182c8e3594b2c562a71ec32ac01d985a71d0cf31646de9d51e15a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2678" height="1274" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  “We decided we had to overcome society’s stigma of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/widows-personal-happiness-comes-last-in-face-of-social-financial-hardships,1855">widowhood</a> and prove that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/remembering-junko-tabei">women could also climb mountains</a>,” Nima said, adding that she was inspired by Nepal’s first woman Everest summiteer Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, who died during her descent in 1993. Nima Doma and Furdiki climbed the technically-difficult Ama Dablam (6,812m) and then arrived at Everest Base Camp in April 2019 as part of their Two Widows Expedition with the motto, ‘So Can We’. While climbing up the Icefall Nima passed the spot where her husband had been killed. It was a jumble of constantly-shifting ice blocks bigger than houses. She closed her eyes and said a prayer. “I remember thinking, this is so difficult and dangerous. This is what my husband had to do to support our family,” Nima Doma said. “I was determined to fulfil my husband’s dream of climbing Chomolungma, and to prove to ourselves that we two women could do it.” It was 23 May 2019 when <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/world/two-sherpa-widows-scale-everest-and-smash-stigma-idUSKCN1SU0MV/" target="_blank">Nima and Furdiki stepped on the summit</a> and looked over into Tibet, and down at Tengboche Monastery to the south.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b.png" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250530090544_6b822582b5d88ba5e972db084f184690b40653c6efd9901b2dd082ffba2a263b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2700" height="1522" loading="lazy" alt="Everest summiteers find new life in the US"> </figure>  Nima Doma hugged Furdiki, took off her mask and wept. But for the first time in five years, it was not from grief but relief — relief for being free of all the sadness and sacrifices and for fulfilling her husband’s dream. They had found <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-after-death">life after death</a>. “I felt this immense joy to be on top of the world, it was indescribable,” Nima Doma said, “I have wept only twice in my life. Once when my husband died, and once there on top of Everest.” The tears had frozen on Nima Doma’s cheeks, as she and Furdiki headed back down the mountain.

Everest summiteers find new life in the US

Many events are planned this year for the 75th anniversary of the first ascent of Annapurna, and the 70th anniversary of the first successful expeditions on Kangchenjunga and Makalu. But there is much less fanfare about <a href="https://womeninexploration.org/timeline/junko-tabei/" target="_blank">Junko Tabei</a>, the first ever woman to climb Mt Everest on 16 May 1975 as part of a female Japanese expedition. I was a 14-year-old girl in a small town in western Japan 50 years back as news about Tabei’s climb made global headlines and became a source of great national pride.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250515090512_20f58c99a31e294753ba5e540a100ffccfad2b4b6b62e9ccfb36372732066d5f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250515090512_20f58c99a31e294753ba5e540a100ffccfad2b4b6b62e9ccfb36372732066d5f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1047" height="1336" loading="lazy" alt="Junko Tabei NT"><figcaption>LEADING WOMEN: Junko Tabei on the summit of Mt Everest on 16 May 1975</figcaption></figure>  Japanese expeditions had been showing remarkable organisational and mountaineering skills, along with sheer determination, on Himalayan peaks since the heroic first ascent of Manaslu (8,163 m) in 1956 by Toshio Imanishi. The Nepal Himalaya had become a symbol of Japan’s recovery from its defeat in World War II just 10 years previously. These were the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Top,425" target="_blank">heydays of siege style climbing</a> that carried national ambitions. Only a limited number of team members were given the chance to reach the summit, and traditionally male-dominated Japanese mountaineering expeditions did not offer its female members the opportunity to reach the top. But Japanese women mountaineers were carving a space for themselves. Eiko Miyazaki-Hisano led expeditions to Annapurna III (7,555 m) in 1970 and Everest in 1975. Tabei summited on both occasions, and on Everest it was with Ang Tsering Sherpa. There were those who tried to belittle Tabei’s feat. She made light of it to me ten years after her summit: "There are some people who say behind my back that I was carried up by a Sherpa, but they know very well it is impossible to negotiate that narrow summit ridge with someone on your back.” Tabei continued climbing, reaching the tops of the highest peaks on all seven continents, and a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Nepal-appoints-mountaineers-as-goodwill-ambassadors-to-revive-tourism,2311" target="_blank">source of inspiration for women climbers </a>from all over the world, including Nepalis.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250515090512_4550819e5e50affa4bdf6b8a2ecdb7517170f3c6ff8097caeec14ea00fed5c3b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250515090512_4550819e5e50affa4bdf6b8a2ecdb7517170f3c6ff8097caeec14ea00fed5c3b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1402" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Junko Tabei NT"><figcaption>Junko Tabei and Miki Upreti in Lukla in 1993. </figcaption></figure>  She inspired me too, and I also started climbing mountains in Japan and the Himalaya with her. I also got involved in the many charitable activities that she launched in Nepal. Tabei was modest and down-to-earth, a housewife and mother raising two children. She became a familiar face on television talk shows, and despite her celebrity persona was reluctant to dwell on her own feat, preferring instead to motivate others about the qualities needed to pursue one’s ambition in life. Tabei launched her own line of outdoor apparel. She also became the brand ambassador for a well-known food company. By this time it was impossible for Japan's mountaineering community to ignore her any longer. In the late 1980s and 1990s, as the global need for environmental protection began to be recognised, renowned mountaineers responded to a call by Sir Edmund Hillary to help mountain conservation. In Japan, Tabei set up the Himalayan Adventure Trust, Japan (HAT-J) dedicated to protecting Nepal’s fragile mountains. To address the problem of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/everest-garbage-caravan" target="_blank">garbage along the Everest Trail</a>, the group set up a waste management mechanism and an incinerator in Lukla.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250515090512_e09b7f54f79d9e49b8192fd7cb9158ba433b32df341e0dc7eb6cd6e5b40f34ff.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250515090512_e09b7f54f79d9e49b8192fd7cb9158ba433b32df341e0dc7eb6cd6e5b40f34ff" data-rendition-name="original" width="2146" height="1454" loading="lazy" alt="Junko Tabei NT"><figcaption>Junko Tabei's Himalayan Adventure Trust, Japan (HAT-J) set up a waste management mechanism and an incinerator in Lukla.</figcaption></figure>  These initiatives, including one to promote apple farming in Khumbu, had mixed success, mainly because of the language barrier of the Japanese volunteers. The local community was also not yet ready to establish a constructive relationship with outsiders. Tabei’s good intentions were perhaps not enough, and it still pains me that I ended up taking a critical stance toward HAT-J's activities in Nepal at the time. Juno Tabei focused not only on her own mountaineering, but also on encouraging children and young people to connect with nature. From 1992 to 2008, Hat-J organised 15 exchange trekking trips for Asian youth from various countries, including Japan and Nepal. After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Tabei who was born in Tohoku-Fukushima took a group of high school students affected by the disaster to climb Japan's highest peak, Mt Fuji (3,776m). These activities to promote the spirit of adventure in youth, were continued by her son, Shinya Tabei, and supporters. Junko Tabei supported everyone around her with kindness and sincerity, and she gave me, both materially and emotionally, when I decided to move to Nepal despite the opposition of my family and people around me.  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250515090512_c575bbc332f2959f808fa3b092252555ad238f900e1c487e7b1d9e94b874b7d5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250515090512_c575bbc332f2959f808fa3b092252555ad238f900e1c487e7b1d9e94b874b7d5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1078" loading="lazy" alt="Junko Tabei NT"><figcaption>Junko Tabei at Patan Darbar Square in 2008</figcaption></figure>  In 2016, when I was diagnosed as needing shoulder surgery she offered me financial assistance. It turned out to be a misdiagnosis, and no surgery was required, so I declined her help. Junko Tabei died soon after. Only her husband, two children, and one close friend knew that she was in the final stages of cancer. She had offered to help me even in her own terminal condition. That she kept such a secret makes me think that she wanted to close her life as a simple wife and mother, and make a graceful exit. Junko Tabei rose from obscurity in rural Japan to be a global icon of courage and adventure — especially for women who have followed in her footsteps. For many of us who had the privilege of knowing her, Tabei was a model of humility and living life lightly. Fifty years after summiting Mt Everest, Junko Tabei still inspires us to reach the summit of our own lives. Her example will live on long after we are all gone. Miki Upreti is a native of Japan who has lived in Nepal since 1990. She is a former mountaineer, trail-runner, development worker, and now a cyclist and writer.

Remembering Junko Tabei

Nepal’s cricket team first beat powerhouse West Indies in two out of three matches in September, the first time it won a match and then a series against a test-playing nation.&nbsp; Then the Rhinos played six qualifiers in Oman for the 2026 T20 World Cup which is being held in India and Sri Lanka from 7 February to 8 March next year. The national team qualified comfortably with two games to spare, and won all six matches anyway. In the three months before the World Cup, cricketers will play the second season of the Nepal Premier League from 17 November to 13 December.&nbsp; After a hugely successful first season, steady upgrades have been made. The flood-lit Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground has been fitted with 15,000 seats, even though this takes away from the festival-like atmosphere of fans on their feet on the grassy slope.&nbsp; Last season, matches began at noon and three in the afternoon. Late-evening matches in winter under flood lights will increase attendance and viewership.&nbsp; There is also now technology that will display how far a six was hit and how fast a ball was bowled. Foreign players who will play in the league include Chris Lynn, D’arcy Short, Ravi Bopara, and Sohail Tanvir, all good ex-international players that people have heard of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251101031128_9db0830fb65d0743e3d36cc4b4473e61d750789028a130f5dff8a619307b0215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251101031128_9db0830fb65d0743e3d36cc4b4473e61d750789028a130f5dff8a619307b0215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1365" height="1803" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal cricket"> <figcaption>Aasif Sheikh drives through the covers on his way to 69 off 41 vs Samoa.</figcaption> </figure>  But the most important point of the Nepal Premier League will be to prepare and experiment for the World Cup, which starts less than two months after the NPL ends. Team Nepal will be extra eager to play well, given that the matches are happening in South Asia and Nepali fans can make the trip.&nbsp; Head coach Stuart Law will be watching each NPL match keenly, to gain more insight into how to best use his current starters.&nbsp; As each of the eight teams are only allowed a maximum of four foreign players in their starting eleven, Law and Nepali fans will also be scouting new talent who will be hungry to emerge and prove themselves to earn a place in the World Cup Squad.&nbsp; ALL-ROUNDERS One of the most unusual features of the current Nepali squad is how many all-rounders there are. Kushal Bhurtel, Rohit Paudel, Kushal Malla, Gulshan Jha, and Dipendra Singh Airee are all regular starters, and they all bat and bowl. Opener Aasif Sheikh is also the wicketkeeper.&nbsp; Airee, of course, is also an excellent fielder. In the first five games of the qualifiers, he got a record five runouts with direct hits, and was on a roll with a run in every single game. This depth means that almost always seven players bowl for Nepal, and the wealth of options keeps the opponent batting order guessing, but it may create hesitancy within the team in tough situations against stronger teams.&nbsp; Countries at the top level of the sport tend to have more specialists. Perhaps Stuart Law might want to tell Bhurtel to really focus on his batting, or Airee to hone his bowling, which seems to be their strengths. The team would be better off with them performing one aspect consistently well than being hit or miss with both. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251101031128_c30fdbab65736ea728f2f94fa121d2169e4d3627194ce1fe9de26eebdb3fc5b3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251101031128_c30fdbab65736ea728f2f94fa121d2169e4d3627194ce1fe9de26eebdb3fc5b3" data-rendition-name="original" width="957" height="1269" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal cricket"> <figcaption>Lalit Rajbhansi with tricky left arm spin, 3/13 vs Samoa.</figcaption> </figure>  POWERPLAYS The Nepali team likes batting first. It chased only against Japan, but they struggle to put up really competitive scores of say, above 170 unless two batsmen do really well.&nbsp; In the second match against the West Indies, Aasif Sheikh’s 68 and Sundeep Jora’s 63 set up Nepal at 173/6. Against Samoa, Aasif Sheikh had 69 and Airee had 53, before Lokesh Bam’s fierce 39 off 12 featuring 4 sixes set up 211/4.&nbsp; Besides these games, Nepal tends to score up to 150 batting first. To the experienced teams that Nepal will face at the world cup, this is not at all an intimidating score. One reason is that Nepal just cannot seem to get going in the first six powerplay overs, when there are limited fielders on the boundaries.&nbsp; A solution to this might be to promote Gulshan Jha up the order. Although Jha has also been an excellent batter in the end overs, using him at three or four might help set up a more productive powerplay and bigger scores. He should try it out with the Karnali Yaks.&nbsp; Despite all the controversy that comes with Sandip Lamichhane, and his strange decision to sit out the West Indies series minutes before the first match started, his output with the ball is undeniable.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251101031128_453d54ce627367c537d459c38d260d8aca1d56949c49c8023de582f3e72bb678.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251101031128_453d54ce627367c537d459c38d260d8aca1d56949c49c8023de582f3e72bb678" data-rendition-name="original" width="1499" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal cricket"> <figcaption>Nepalis turn out to support the team vs Samoa at Al Ameret Stadium in Oman.</figcaption> </figure>  He took wickets in each of the six qualifiers, most notably five vital ones in the match against Qatar that Nepal won by five runs. Lamichhane also gives away very few runs, which cuts some of the more part-time bowlers some slack.&nbsp; Airee is also economical, and his 3/22 was vital in the one-run win against the UAE. Together with Lamichhane the duo constricted the opposition in the middle overs. Veteran Sompal Kami has not been as productive with the ball, and gave away a lot of runs in the series against the West Indies.&nbsp; This is a weakness, because Kami does not contribute with the bat much. While his experience is valuable to ground the young Nepali team, Stuart Law should look out for fast bowlers during the NPL to help balance out quality spinners.&nbsp; One of the most impressive and professional parts of Nepal’s winning streak has been the attention to detail. The players have been generally excellent in the field, giving away very few runs due to wides or no balls. They had three run outs against the UAE and two against Qatar and Japan and in the first game against the West Indies.&nbsp; The fielders seem much calmer and focused when executing difficult catches, a welcome change from past complacency. This attention to detail makes the difference in narrow games and keeps morale high.&nbsp; The Nepali team has performed well, but besides the narrowly-beaten UAE, all the matches were against teams ranked lower in the world T20 rankings. And the series against the West Indies was against a weakened team. In the world cup, Nepal will be facing much stronger teams and will lack the element of surprise it had in the 2024 World Cup.&nbsp; If Nepal wants to keep improving, it now has to be able to dominate teams like Kuwait and Oman. It also should set up more series with associate nations like Scotland, Ireland, Namibia and The Netherlands. This will help accurately gauge the team’s progress and expose its weaknesses.

Nepal’s prospects at World Cup 2026

With the holidays over and elections only four months away, Nepal’s interim government led by Prime Minister Sushila Karki is trying to get down to brass tacks. But it is not easy.
On Wednesday, Karki held the first three-way meeting between GenZ representatives, political parties and the government. Despite some acrimony, there was near unanimity about creating the environment for elections on 5 March. 
Only the UML is holding out, still not taking responsibility for the 8 September massacre, and calling for the reinstatement of Parliament. GenZ delegates poured their wrath on the unrepentant UML, but were themselves talking at cross purposes on the demand for a directly-elected executive. 
Karki was on the defensive, her exasperation spilling over: “How do we undo the damage done by corruption, exploitation, and discrimination over the last 35 years in a single month?” 
She is reported to have added, “There is a tendency to not allow this government to work, and then turn around to criticise it for not achieving anything. We are trying our best, and will fulfil our goal of elections no matter what.” 
The Wednesday meeting does seem to have turned the attention of old parties towards elections, and spurred the GenZ and others with political ambition to form parties.
With the deadline for party registration looming, several like-minded individuals and collectives are coalescing, or trying to. The Election Commission is already reviewing applications from more than a dozen new political parties. 
Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah has held talks with RSP members, but his popularity on social media is not matched by public visibility and accessibility. Intriguingly, Shah and his supporters on social media have been publicly asking for the resignation of Home Minister Om Aryal for not arresting members of the UML-NC government for the 8 September killings. Aryal used to be Mayor Shah’s legal adviser.
Sudan Gurung of GenZ, ex-RSP Sumana Shrestha, and Energy Minister Kulman Ghising are all shopping for existing or new political parties to join. 
The RSP with its alternative anti-corruption agenda would be the logical choice, but there is a question mark over the role of its head Rabi Lamichhane, who is back in jail on charges of embezzlement.
LARGER CABINET
This week, Karki expanded her Cabinet for the third time by inducting Sudha Sharma Gautam as Minister for Health and activist Bablu Gupta as the Minister for Youth and Sports. 
Recommended by GenZ members, Gupta, 28, is the youngest Minister in Karki’s team. But, as has become the norm with this electoral government, two other controversial nominations fell through. Khagendra Sunar was dropped as Minister for Labour because of several ongoing criminal charges, including for assault and inflammatory speech. And Ganapati Lal Shrestha for Minister of Land Management declined at the last moment after he was not given the Tourism and Culture portfolio as preferred. 
Critics say there is a lack of due diligence on the part of Karki’s advisers in selecting candidates. Last month, Sangeeta Mishra who was nominated for Health Minister was dropped after it turned out that she was under investigation at the CIAA. However, Kulman Ghising also had complaints filed at the anti-corruption body, but was still given three portfolios. 
Then the nomination of Tashi Lhazom was withdrawn after an online controversy over her citizenship. There was also outrage on social media about Mishra and Lhazom being singled out for their ethnicity and gender.
Internal leaks making her choices prematurely public has made Karki’s team overcautious about Cabinet expansion. It is also distracting her from her main goal — to hold credible elections by striking a balance between the political parties and GenZ groups.
After a preliminary hearing on 16 writ petitions against the House dissolution and appointment of new government, the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to issue an interim order.
“The formation of the government is unconstitutional, and a government formed unconstitutionally is not allowed to make any decisions, until the final hearing,” stated advocate Surendra Bhandari. 
The UML, still smarting from the September protests, is trying to put a spanner in the works of the election government. The GenZ, meanwhile, still do not have a consensus over fundamental demands prior to elections. Combined, these two factors portend a precarious future.

Future imperfect

A little more than one month into its six-month term, Nepal's interim government recalled ambassadors from 11 countries: China, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Russia, Spain, Germany, the UK, the US, and Japan.&nbsp;
Mostly appointed by previous governments, they have to return to Kathmandu by 6 November. The envoys who were retained, even if they were political appointees, tended to be women or from various ethnic minorities.
The recall has met with criticism back home. Prime Minister Sushila Karki is blamed for borrowing a page out of its predecessors’ playbook. Although it was a symbolically inclusive move in a diplomatic corps dominated by established groups, the government may have got its timing wrong.
On Sunday, however, the Supreme Court issued an interim order against government decision to recall the 11 ambassadors. The court questioned the neccesssity and justification of such a move, concerned that it could affect Nepal's relations with the host countries.&nbsp;
Karki has said <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/future-imperfect">her priority is to hold elections in March</a>, and by recalling Nepal’s emissaries from important capitals like Washington, London, Bonn, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur her government has cut channels of communication and support from development partners and with the international community.&nbsp;
Nepal’s anti-corruption GenZ protest and the devolution of the youth movement into <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/relocate-reallocate-recover">arson, looting, and violence</a> after the targeted killing of protestors in September put the nation in the international spotlight. And the interest was especially keen in neighbouring New Delhi and Beijing.&nbsp;
The Nepal unrest has sparked similar protests across the world from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-genzs-inspired-filipinos">the Philippines</a> to East Timor, Madagascar and Peru. But there is also worry in India where exposure of #nepokids on social media as well as corruption in high places could instigate copycat youth unrest.
And in China, there is still a lingering memory of the deadly protests in 1989 Tiananmen Square. But the Chinese also suspect that some in the GenZ movement have links to free-Tibet. &nbsp;
Foreign policy experts in Nepal reject conspiracy theories about foreign backing for the GenZ, characterising it as mostly triggered by home-grown outrage over chronic corruption of the governing elite.&nbsp;
Throughout its history Nepal has always had to balance the geo-strategic interests of its neighbours: the British in India and the Chinese Empire, and more recently independent India and Communist China.
When former PM K P Oli resigned, he had <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/when-xi-meets-modi-and-oli">just returned from a visit to Beijing</a> and was a week away from making an official visit to India. A new Nepali prime minister typically makes the first visit to India, but Oli broke that tradition last year by going to China to sign the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework agreement.
"Oli was China's trusted partner supporting <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/china-syndrome">Nepal’s participation in BRI</a> and SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization)," says geopolitical analyst Sanjay Upadhya. "Now, some in Beijing are apprehensive that there is external support for the youth protests that contributed to Oli’s sudden departure. It is perceived as a strategic setback for China."
Despite an ongoing dispute with India over a 364 sq km border territory, Nepal is heavily dependent economically on India with which it has an open border.&nbsp;
Rulers in Kathmandu have usually leaned over backwards to be closer to China to counterbalance India’s gravitational pull following a strategy of ‘equidistance’ between the two giant neighbours.&nbsp;
Growing American and Western disinterest in the region is making India and China more assertive towards smaller nations. Educator Dovan Rai says, “China is also becoming more aggressive and trying to show its presence in and around South Asia.”
She adds, “Nepal is an important neighbour for China, especially considering issues it regards as sensitive, like the Dalai Lama and Tibet.”
Indeed, the Chinese are said to be suspicious about the links that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-historic-youth-dissensus">GenZ movement</a> was infiltrated by elements linked with Free Tibet or with US-based interests.&nbsp;
What must have especially raised eyebrows at the Chinese Embassy in Kathmandu was that the Dalai Lama’s office in exile in India congratulated Sushila Karki — the first time in history it has sent such a greeting to a new prime minister of Nepal.&nbsp;
Although Nepal’s two neighbours do not see eye-to-eye, both agree and are worried about instability in Nepal, and if it might trigger a refugee crisis, empower extremist factions, or attract Western interference.&nbsp;
Nepal’s September protests were preceded and succeeded by similar movements in the region and around the world. In light of this global eruption of youth frustration, and desire to lead from the front, the hardline governments of Nepal’s two neighbours are undoubtedly wary of the possibility of similar unrest within their own borders.&nbsp;
‘India advocates democratic legitimacy, while China prioritises control and predictability. Recent upheavals demonstrate that neither democracy nor stability alone suffices for sustainable nationhood,’ Upadhya wrote in a recent blog.
With early elections scheduled for 5 March, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/one-month-later">the main challenge for Karki’s transition government</a> is to maintain dialogue and establish consensus between youth groups, political parties, and other agitating forces to participate in polls — all while ensuring there is no covert external influence.&nbsp;
Indeed, with <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepals-democracy-keeps-doubting-itself">Nepal’s democracy</a> at stake as well as new political forces with competing interests set to battle it out in a new political landscape, experts warn that there could be powers that will want to fish in troubled waters.&nbsp;
Explains Dovan Rai: “Along with soft power, foreign countries including our neighbours could intervene in the online information space to promote their interests in Nepal. Fake narratives and disinformation could be spread &nbsp;through digital platforms. We must be careful and vigilant about our digital space.”

Neighbourhood watch on Nepal

The autumn mountaineering season is not over yet, and already there have been 12 fatalities on Himalayan peaks in Nepal.
Of the 1,450 climbing permits issued, 436 were for Mt Ama Dablam (6,812m), 374 for Mt Manaslu (8,163m) and 186 for Himlung Himal (7,126m). There were deaths on all three mountains.
The death of two French climbers on Ama Dablam happened before unseasonal blizzards hit the mountains. But Cyclone Montha from the Bay of Bengal brought on high winds and up to 1m of snow in the peak trekking and mountaineering season.
This increased avalanche conditions, and made helicopter evacuation of stranded and injured climbers difficult. Lower down the mountains, more than 1,000 trekkers from Nepal and around the world were stuck in the Annapurnas, Manaslu circuit and the Khumbu.
However, there have also been allegations that it was not just the weather that delayed rescues. Multiple levels of bureaucracy and the need for flight permits to restricted areas like Manang and Manaslu critically delayed evacuation flights.
Italian climbers Farronato Stefano and Caputo Alessandro were found dead in their tent at Panbari Himal Camp I (6,887m) in the Manaslu area. They had been trapped by heavy snowfall since 28 October, and their bodies were found on 4 November by a team from the expedition organisers, Sherpa Alpine Trekking Service. The team was made up of high level mountain guides and expedition leader Valter Perlino.
The team had been climbing to Camp 3 but decided to descend to base camp because of thrombosis in Perlino’s left foot. The two climbers who would eventually get trapped decided to break at Camp I, a decision that would prove fatal after the projected six-day snowfall arrived two days early.
“They were sleeping in a tent and were buried under 2.5 metres of compacted snow. It happened during the night between Thursday and Friday. While they were sleeping, absurd,” said Perlino.
A deadly incident took place the morning of 3 November, when five foreigners and two Nepalis died in an avalanche on Yalung Ri at 5,630m in the Rolwaling. They were part of a larger group of 15 that were acclimatising for an attempt on the nearby Dolma Khang (6,332m).
Local authorities in Gauri Shankar Conservation Area say calls were immediately made to helicopter companies as well as various ministries in Kathmandu that have to issue permits to fly to the region bordering China.
But the permits for rescue flights to Rolwaling Valley were delayed by eight hours. Rescue flights in these areas require permission from the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Defence, the Home Ministry, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).
Experts say this should be exempted in times of emergency when time is of the essence. CAAN spokesperson Pratap Babu Tiwari claimed to not know of the avalanche on Yalung Ri and deflected questions to the permission department.&nbsp;
There was a similar tragedy on Himlung Himal in Manang as well. Australian Chin-Tark Chan, 49, was climbing with 8K Expeditions and fell ill on 27 October at about 6,800m, developing snow blindness and loss of mobility. The guides immediately called the US insurance company Global Rescue for authorisation of a longline rescue.
Global Rescue refused, saying a rescue at that height would violate Nepal’s aviation rules and put the pilot at unacceptable risk. They asked the guides to transport Chan to Camp 3 at 6,400m to a permitted altitude. Seeing it was a life-or-death situation for its client, 8K called in an aerial rescue anyway, but the helicopter could not land due to bad weather. Chan died slightly below Camp 3 on 29 October.
Global Rescue said in a statement that it was ready to send in a helicopter after Chan had been transported to Camp 3, but several hours were lost for that attempt, and the weather did not get better in the next few days.
To underscore just how dangerous helicopter rescues in the Himalaya can be in bad weather, a chopper from Altitude Air skidded off the helipad at Lobuche below Mt Everest while trying to rescue trekkers in whiteout conditions.&nbsp;
CAAN announced a ban on flights during blizzards or dense fog. While rescue missions are often heroic and courageous, they should not be foolhardy if conditions are unsafe and the risk to pilots and rescuers too high. This autumn was a lesson for future expeditions and for the Nepal government.&nbsp;
The Italian duo on Panbari were caught out by snow that arrived two days ahead of schedule, but the group on Yalung Ri should have postponed their ascent after multiple warnings from the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology to avoid high altitudes.