Broad Peak (with the shadow of K2)

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa does not seem to get fed up with climbing eight-thousanders this summer. Five days after his summit success on K2, when under his guidance twelve climbers had reached the top of the 8,611-meter-high mountain in the Karakoram, the 31-year-old expedition leader of the Nepalese operator Dreamers Destination set off with a team for a late-in-season summit attempt on neighboring Broad Peak. According to the GPS tracker of his client John Snorri Sigurjónsson, the team today reached Camp 2 at about 6,200 meters. Last week, John had become the first Icelander on the summit of K 2, the second highest mountain on earth.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

The Untiring

“We rested well after our successful ascent on K2,” Mingma wrote on Facebook yesterday. “We are the only climbing team in (the) whole Baltoro Glacier (area) now.” It is not yet clear who else is ascending Broad Peak besides Mingma and Sigurjónsson. In case of success the expedition leader would have climbed five times to a height of more than 8000 meters this year. Before K 2, Mingma had scaled along with clients the eight-thousanders Dhaulagiri and Makalu in Nepal last spring. At the beginning of the summer, he had reached with a team in blowing snow the summit ridge of Nanga Parbat not being sure if he had really found the highest point.

Update 3 August: Mingma G. Sherpa and nine other climbers pitched up their Camp 3 on Broad Peak at an altitude of about 7,000 meters. Scheduled summit push on Friday. Keep fingers crossed!

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa on the summit of K2

The base camp at K 2, the second highest mountain on earth, will turn empty in the coming days. Andrzej Bargiel and his Polish friends declared that their ski expedition was over after they had finished their summit attempt at the weekend because of too much avalanche danger. The Swedish Fredrik Sträng and his Pakistani companion also turned around. The commercial expedition operators Furtenbach Adventure and Himalayan Experience had previously thrown in the towel.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head of the operator Dreamers Destination, can return to Nepal highly satisfied. Under the guidance of the 31-year-old a team of twelve climbers had reached the 8,611-meter-high summit on Friday. These were the first summit successes on K2 since 2014, when Mingma had also been one of the successful climbers there and had climbed up without breathing mask. In spring 2017, the extremely high performing Sherpa had already scaled along with clients the eight-thousanders Dhaulagiri and Makalu. This summer he had reached with a team the summit ridge of Nanga Parbat without knowing if they had really found the highest point. After his success on K2, I have sent Mingma some questions. Here are his answers:

Mingma, first of all congrats to you and your team. Great performance! Some expedition leaders turned around due to the avalanche risk which they valued as being too high. What made you feel confident that it could work?

A key part of our success was our good weather report. The weather remained very windy when we were in Camp 2 and 3. I was sure that all the fresh snow would be blown away by the wind what made us feel that there won’t be any avalanche. The best thing about our team was unity. My team listened to whatever I said and worked perfectly together, so we were successful.

Hard work on the ascent

How were the conditions on the summit day?

I think, the summit day of K2 is the hardest one among all 8000m peaks. The route to the summit is more on ice. These icy parts are covered by very thick snow which increases the risk of avalanche. We had to be very careful while breaking the trail. I found this year was more ice and it was really difficult to get to the summit ridge. However, the threat of avalanche was less high since most of the days were windy and snow was well frozen.

I assume there was a lot of trail-breaking to do because of the great amount of fresh snow. Who did this hard job?

Some carried rope, some belayed and some broke the trail. This was team work. We had to fix more ropes on those snow covered ice passages.

Was there anyone among the twelve summiters who was climbing without bottled oxygen?

Sorry, this time I used oxygen, otherwise it would not have been possible to reach the summit. But Nima Nuru Sherpa from Thame in Nepal and Fazal from Pakistan made it without bottled oxygen.

Successful team

You had a very strong Sherpa team at your side – with in total about 50 Everest summit successes under their belts. Was this the key to K2?

On the one part yes, but on the other part no. Our Sherpa team was strong and well experienced but Everest and K2 are located in different countries so climbing culture is different. Working on K2 is more difficult than on Everest because of far less teams on K2 and unpredictable weather conditions.

In my last blog post I called you the “8000er Climber of the Season” because of your achievements this year. Is their any time you get tired? What’s your secret of success?

Thanks for your compliment. I am only getting tired of sleeping in tent everyday. But I do like climbing by myself so I am not getting tired. And this is the reason I am successful.

K 2, seen from Base Camp

It was a tough piece of work. “Finally we are at the summit of K2,” Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head of the Nepalese expedition operator Dreamers Destination, wrote on Facebook. Besides him, eleven other climbers had reached the highest point at 8,611 meters, including six Sherpas, Mingma said. Obviously it took them about 16 hours to climb from the last high camp on the K2 Shoulder at about 7,650 meters up to the summit – no wonder considering the large amount of fresh snow, which had previously caused some teams to abandon their attempts due to the avalanche danger.

O’Brien’s fifth 8000er, Zhang’s 13th

Vanessa O’Brien

Among the lucky ones who reached the summit of the second highest mountain on earth was the American-British climber Vanessa O’Brien. For the 52-year-old, K2 was her fifth eight-thousander after Mount Everest (in 2010), Shishapangma, Cho Oyu (both in 2011) and Manaslu (in 2014). In the last two years, O’Brien had returned from K2 empty-handed. The Chinese Zhang Liang also reached the summit today. According to Mingma, the 53-year-old has now scaled 13 eight-thousanders. Since today, John Snorri Sigurjónsson is allowed to call himself the “First Icelander on K2”. The 44-year-old had already summited the eight-thousander Lhotse last May, also as the first climber of his country.

Sherpa power

Mingma had gathered a very strong and experienced Sherpa team around him. Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, Tsering Pemba Sherpa, Nima Tshering Sherpa, Lhakpa Nuru Sherpa, Nima Nuru Sherpa and Ang Tsering Sherpa have all climbed Everest, most of them even several times, in addition other eight-thousanders too. So much Sherpa power was also necessary to break the trail up to the summit of K2. Yesterday John Snorri Sigurjónsson had reported on fresh snow which was up to one meter deep.

Bravo, Mingma!

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

If there was to award the “Eight-thousander Climber of the Season”, this honor would have to be paid to Mingma Gyalje Sherpa. Last spring, the 31-year-old had already led clients to the summits of the eight-thousanders Dhaulagiri and Makalu in Nepal. At the beginning of the summer, Mingma reached along with his team the summit ridge of Nanga Parbat, but was not sure if they had really found the highest point. Despite frostbite on a toe, which Mingma had suffered during this climb, he now led his team to the summit of K2, which he had climbed for the first time in 2014 – without bottled oxygen. Hats off to Mingma’s performance! However, a climb is only really successful if all members are back in Base Camp safe and sound. This is even more true on the dangerous mountain K2. So, keep your fingers crossed!

Update 29 July: All climbers are back in Base Camp, Mingma reports on Facebook.

K 2, the “King of the Eight-thousanders”

Will K2, after all, stretch out its hand for reconciliation? Despite the difficult weather and snow conditions on the second highest mountain on earth, today more than a dozen climbers have reached the highest camp on the K 2 Shoulder. “He just arrived at Camp 4,” Lina Moey, partner of the Icelander John Snorri Sigurjonsson, wrote on Facebook. “He is very tired, after almost twelve hours of climbing. This was a very long day and the snow reached up to his waist at some points. Fourteen people are planing to summit the peak, 9 of them are Sherpa. They had to dig 1.5 meter down to be able to put the tent down.” On 16 May, the 44-year-old Sigurjonsson had summited the 8516-meter-high Lhotse in Nepal. He was the first Icelander on the fourth highest mountain on earth. Also on the summit of K2, he would be the first climber of his country. John’s GPS tracker showed an altitude of 7,650 meters.

Furtenbach team returns home, Bargiel still in Base Camp

The British-American mountaineer Vanessa O’Brien also reached this height. “Camp 4”, the 52-year-old tweeted concisely, with a link to her GPS tracker. Like Sigurjonsson, O’Brien also belongs to the team of the Nepalese operator Dreamers Destination. Vanessa tries to climb K2 for the third year in a row. If she reaches the summit, it would be her fifth eight-thousander. Today the team of the Austrian expedition operator Furtenbach Adventures descended. “Sadly weather on K2 played it’s own game again,” the team said. “Avalanche danger became dramatically high very quick so team decided to stop and descend to Base Camp. We do not want to send our Sherpas up in that danger.” The team members arrived safe and sound at the foot of the mountain and want to go home tomorrow. “We are still sitting in the Base Camp waiting for weather to improve,” wrote Andrzej Bargiel today on Facebook. The 29-year-old Pole wants to ski down K2 for the first time from the summit without interruption to Base Camp. However, Andrzej and his team are running out of time.

Cardiach and Co. reached last high camp

Broad Peak

On the neighboring eight-thousander Broad Peak, the Spaniard Oscar Cardiach and his companions reached Camp 3 at 7,200 meters and are planning to climb up to the 8051-meter-high summit on Thursday, if the conditions allow an ascent. Cardiach’s team includes Tunc Findik, who has already summited ten eight-thousanders, making him the most successful high altitude climber of Turkey, Muhammad Ali “Sadpara”, who was among the winter first ascenders of Nanga Parbat in 2016, and Yosuf, a Balti HAP (High Altitude Porter). Broad Peak is the last of the 14 eight-thousanders which is still missing in the collection of the 64-year-old Catalan Cardiach. Oscar has climbed all 13 eight-thousanders so far without bottled oxygen.

K 2 Base Camp

Waiting can wear down. For more than one and a half weeks, the freak weather in the Karakoram prevented major activities on K2, the second highest mountain on earth. A week ago, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa watched from Base Camp a big avalanche, which swept down over the normal route via the Abruzzi spur at about 7,000 meters. The 31-year-old head of the Nepalese expedition operator Dreamers Destination had to give up his plan to check what damage had been caused due to bad weather. Since then, he has been waiting for a summit change at the foot of the mountain, along with his clients and Climbing Sherpas. After all, the first team members left BC today heading for Camp 1. Before, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa answered my questions.

Mingma, how is the mood in K 2 Base Camp while waiting for a good weather window? 

We are already here in BC for more than 10 days without doing anything. This year, the weather is more difficult to predict and changing as per my forecaster says. And these things really keep our mood bad every time. But we are very hopeful that we will make K2 this time, so we are happy waiting for our right time to come. Fingers crossed for July 27 or 28.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

What are the conditions like on the mountain compared with your summit success in 2014?

Obviously we had really good weather in 2014 compared to this year. Also in 2014 was K2 Diamond Jubilee, so there were lots of teams trying K2 and it was easier in opening route with more manpower. This year is not like that. This time only few small teams and we are also divided on the Cesen and the Abruzzi route.

More than that, weather on K2 this year is really hard. I found more snow on K2 this year compared to 2014 and 2016 when I led the team here. Because of more snow, we are protected from rock fall but we have the threat of avalanche again. Our weather reports showed wind above 50 Kph everyday above 8000m, so I feel the snow conditions during our summit push will be good. 

Are you still determined to climb via the Abruzzi Route despite last week’s big avalanche?   

Yes, we have to climb via the Abruzzi route. We have deposited everything there. But the thing is that we also have to make a new fix line and need to take extra equipment.

How do you value the chances to reach the highest point this summer?

Our K2 team is one of the strongest teams on K2 ever, so I am very positive in reaching the summit.

K 2 Base Camp

With this monarch is not to be joked. K 2, the “king of the eight-thousanders”, is moody and therefore dangerous. “This morning at 8:12 am, we saw (a) big avalanche coming from (the) Abruzzi route,” Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head of the Nepalese expedition operator Dreamers Destination, writes on Facebook. The Abruzzi route, following the path of the Italian first ascenders in 1954, leads via the Southeast Ridge of the mountain (look at the picture below, route F). “We feel all (that) Camp 3 (at about 7,300 m) is swept away again. I am sure we have all our deposit near Camp 4 because our Sherpa team made it on (a) ice cliff, but it is likely sure that all the fixed ropes are washed away.” Tomorrow his Sherpa team will go up again to assess the situation.

Strong wind in the summit area

Russell Brice

According to Mingma, the weather forecast for the coming days is anything but rosy. “It shows snow at 8,000 m every evening and very high wind at (the) summit which delays our summit plan. (We are) Waiting for good weather to come.” It is the same with the other teams in the Base Camp at the foot of K 2, with an altitude of 8,611 meters the second highest mountain on earth. For many, time is slowly running out. Russell Brice, head of the New Zealand expedition operator Himalayan Experience, points out that his team has to leave the Base Camp on 4 August at the latest to catch the booked home flights. “We all know our backs are against the wall,” writes Brice. “But everyone is prepared to work hard, carry loads, dig tent platforms and the like and not just leave it for the Sherpas and HAP (Pakistani high altitude porters) to do.”

Sleepless nights

Routes on the Pakistani south side of K 2

Russell also points to the strong wind to be expected in the upper part of the mountain, which is unlikely to allow fixing ropes up to the highest camp at about 8,000 meters before 20 July. His team is climbing the Cesen route (on the picture route E), via the Southsoutheast Ridge. Brice is not quite euphoric about the situation. “So let’s see what happens in the coming days and what adventures lie ahead,” writes the 65-year-old experienced expedition manager who’s up to every Himalayan and Karakoram trick. “But I am sure this is going to involve many sleepless nights.” The king of the eight-thousanders is rarely granting summit audiences.

K 2 Base Camp

Trouble’s brewing in the base camps on K 2 and the neighboring eight-thousander Broad Peak. “I got surprised to see climbers here without ropes.”, writes Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head of the Nepalese expedition operator Dreamers Destination from the base camp at the foot of K 2, the second highest mountain on earth. Only on the normal route via the Abruzzi spur, three teams are climbing without ropes, says the 31-year-old Nepalese: “If this is how climbers come on K 2, then we can expect (the events of the) year 2008 again on K 2.” At that time eleven climbers from seven nations had died in a true mass summit push on the 8,611-meter-high mountain.

Mingma has agreed with the Austrian expedition organizer Lukas Furtenbach that Dreamers Destination will fix the ropes on the Abruzzi route on K 2 while Furtenbach Adventures will do the same on the normal route on the 8,051-meter-high Broad Peak and later make mutual use of the ropes. Also Furtenbach is hopping mad that other teams neither participate in the work to secure the route nor in the costs.

“Unfair and fraud”

Broad Peak

“I think, it is, to say the least, absolutely unacceptable to arrive unprepared after the big commercial teams, to use their fixed ropes and to be not fair enough to contribute,” Lukas writes to me. “Most of these teams/climbers should have to leave without fixed ropes, because they are not able to climb the mountain in Alpine style. This is parasitism. It is unfair and fraud.” His Pakistani liaison officer spoke to the officers of the other teams about the problem, but without success, writes Lukas. The 39-year-old threatens to publicly name those teams if they refuse until last to make their contribution and nevertheless use the fixed ropes. Also the self-proclaimed “professional climbers” who want to distance themselves from the clients of the commercial expeditions are in Furtenbach’s bad books: “Two Americans say they will climb with their 40-meter rope in Alpine style and won’t pay anything. In the same breath they explain that they will use our ropes when necessary.”

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa on Nanga Parbat

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa is not sure. He can not say with 100 percent certainty that he and his team really reached the 8,125-meter-high summit of Nanga Parbat on 11 June, the 31-year-old Nepalese today writes on Facebook, thus qualifying previous reports on the first summit success of the summer season on the eight-thousanders in Pakistan. He had relied on the local knowledge of a Pakistani climber who had summited the ninth highest mountain on earth in 2005 and with whom he had been on Gasherbrum I and II in 2016, writes Mingma. But the Pakistani had first led the team into a different gully than originally planned. This made the ascent harder and longer, says the Sherpa. When they finally reached the top of a ridge, the Pakistani told them this was the summit. “But that place didn’t look like the summit which I had figured out to be snow and two snow bar(rier)s,“ Mingma writes.

Frostbite on his toe

Unbidden souvenir

That is why they climbed two more possible summit points, but these also did not convince him completely. A third place, which could be considered as the true summit, was out of reach because his clients’ bottled oxygen ran out. At this time, according to Mingma, the mountaineers had already been en route for 20 hours, and it was getting dark. They descended. 43 hours after their departure, they reached Camp 3 again. Mingma paid the long ascent and descent with frostbite on his toe. “It’s my gift from Nanga Parbat.”

In doubt another attempt

“I am still in a dilemma about our summit,” concedes the head of the expedition operator Dreamers Destination. He wants to climb the 14 eight-thousanders and present summit pictures, which undoubtedly confirm that he has been on top, says Mingma adding that he would rather go back to Nanga Parbat than being part of a controversy about his performance. This attitude honors Mingma – in times when other climbers declare fore-summits for true summits without flinching. Maybe in the end it turns out that the Sherpa really reached the highest point of Nanga Parbat along with his team and has thus climbed his eleventh eight-thousander. The “summit pictures” are now being examined.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

He deserves more and more the nickname “The early starter”. While most of the others are still busy setting up their base camps in the Karakoram, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head of the Nepalese expedition operator, Dreamers Destination, already last Sunday led a team to the 8125-meter-high summit of Nanga Parbat. The success on the ninth highest mountain on earth was the first of this summer season on the eight-thousanders in Pakistan. Also in the past spring season in Nepal and Tibet, Mingma had achieved the first 8000er summit success: On 30 April, the 31-year-old reached along with his team the summit of the 8167-meter-high Dhaulagiri. Not even two weeks later he stood with Tashi Sherpa and a client from China on the 8485-meter-high main summit of Makalu – also on this peak, Mingma was the first this spring.

Soon number twelve?

Summit of Nanga Parbat in evening light

Nanga Parbat was Mingma’s eleventh eight thousander. Except for Mount Everest – which he has summited five times so far – he has climbed them all without breathing mask. “I would also like to climb Everest without oxygen at least once,” the Sherpa told me recently. At first, however, he is ready to climb his eight-thousander number twelve. Coming from Nanga Parbat, Mingma set out with a team from Dreamers Destination to Broad Peak and K 2. His goal: He wants to climb also these two eight-thousanders this summer. The 8051-meter-high Broad Peak is still missing in Mingma’s collection. In 2014 he had already scaled the 8611-meter-high K 2, the second highest mountain on earth.

Making climbers from Nepal visible

Mingma on top of Makalu last May

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa belongs to a new generation of Sherpa entrepreneurs: young, well trained, reliable and successful. The 31-year-old has a mountain guide certificate of the world association UIAGM, his company Dreamers Destination enjoys a very good reputation in the climbing scene. In addition, Mingma is an excellent climber. In fall 2015 he made headlines by first climbing a difficult route via the West Face of the 6,685-meter-high Chobutse solo. Nepalese mountaineers are not appreciated as they actually deserve, says Mingma: “They are the reason for successful expeditions on 7000ers and 8000ers. But they remain invisible. I want to make them visible.” The Sherpa is still single: “I want to make my beautiful climbing memories first. Once I have family, I won’t be able to do that.”

Dhaulagiri

The first summit success this spring on an eight-thousander is reported from Dhaulagiri, the seventh-highest mountain on earth. “We made the summit of Mt Dhaulagiri on Sunday”, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, head of the expedition operator Dreamers Destination, wrote on Facebook, “on the same day, one of the best soloist died, very sad to hear this news today. RIP Ueli (Steck).” According to Mingma, he reached the highest point on 8,167 meters along with two clients and two other Sherpas. For the 31-year-old Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, Dhaulagiri was the ninth eight-thousander he has summited so far.

“Ignorance of the government”

Mount Everest

Meanwhile, several hundred Sherpas gathered in the Base Camp at the feet of Mount Everest to protest against the goverment of Nepal, reports the newspaper “Himalayan Times”.  The Sherpas dunned the government for their Everest summit certificates, which have been withheld since spring 2016. “The government’s ignorance is highly deplorable and intolerable,” the Sherpas stated in a letter which was sent to the Ministry of Tourism. The Director General of the Ministry, Dinesh Bhattarai, said the process to amend the controversial rule would be expedited. In the future, Climbing Sherpas should also be recognized as expedition members and receive summit certificates.

Second-class climbers?

Last year the Ministry had refused for the first time to issue certificates to Climbing Sherpas who had summited Everest or other mountains in Nepal higher than 6500 meters – referring to the “Mountaineering Expedition Regulation” which took effect in 2002. It says that “every member of a successful expedition team” is entitled to get a summit certificate. Within the meaning of the law Climbing Sherpas were no expedition members, the government argued at that time. A slap in the face of the Sherpas.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

“Nepalese climbers have been the shadow for foreign climbers”, says Mingma Gyalje Sherpa. “It is obvious that foreign climbers pay a lot to them for this work and I do respect it but still I feel that Nepalese climbers are not given the credit they rightfully own.” The 31-year-old is the head of the expedition operator “Dreamers Destination” and belongs to a new generation of Sherpa entrepreneurs: young, well trained, reliable and successful. Mingma is also an excellent climber. He has so far scaled eight eight-thousanders, in fall 2015 he made headlines by first climbing a difficult route via the West Face of the 6,685-meter-high Chobutse solo. One of his dreams is to climb Everest without bottled oxygen after five ascents with breathing mask. These days, he is leading a commercial expedition on Dhaugaliri. For a portrait of Mingma that was just published by the German magazine “Allmountain”, I did an interview with him of which I don’t want to deprive you.

Mingma, in the past years some western operators withdraw from Everest complaining about a price war with local operators in Nepal. Is this battle going on?

Mingma on his solo first ascent on Chobutse

I do believe there are only few countable operators in Nepal whose services are as good as those of western companies at present but the majority of them are still having the same kind of services like before. The best thing about western operators is that they are more practical and emphasize on safety and security which Nepalese operators still lack. Only few Nepalese companies use UIAGM (International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations) certified guides and get accurate weather report. Almost all of them hire local guides and never get proper weather report. Actually it is not a price war but it still concerns on price. It is the client who makes the decision at the end. Western Companies publish their detailed prices on their websites, Nepalese operators never do it. That means they can handle any kind of expedition at any price.

Your company Dreamers Destination has raised the price for an Everest expedition – to 50.000 USD for a “luxurious service”? Do you want to dissociate from Nepalese “discount” operators?

Definitely, I don’t want to be counted among Nepalese discount operators because expeditions deals with life of climber and I don’t want to take chance on it. Why do we charge more from our clients? It is because we should be capable of providing them all kind of services which secure the life of climbers and Sherpas. We don’t want to give reason like “Oh, our client didn’t pay enough, so we couldn’t buy good equipment and weather report, so there was accident on mountain”.

I am UIAGM certified mountain guide. Our training taught us to focus on safety and security. You can only provide safety and security when you have well tested and technical equipment, well trained staffs, very accurate weather reports. It is not necessary to have UIAGM certified guide for each climbing members but it is better to have at least one in a team. Now I am trying to provide all these things on my expeditions, so I had to raise the price. Not only my company, but there are few other Nepalese operators like Ascent Himalayas and Tag Nepal who do it this way.  

There have been reports about Nepalese low price expedition operators employing little experienced high altitude workers at the expense of safety. Do you agree?

Yes, I do agree. If they charge less then obviously, they can afford staff accordingly and this is the most tangible reason of accidents in the Himalayas. 

Do you think it’s necessary to have rules and standards in mountain business to fight “black sheeps”?

It is impossible to have rules and standards in mountain business. I think operators and climbers should realize it by themselves.

What are the advantages of local expedition operators compared with operators from abroad?

It is only the minimized cost. Though operators from abroad need local companies to operate any expedition in Nepal, practically their management is still far better. I shouldn’t say these things, but it is the reality.

Mingma on K 2 in 2014

Do you think that there is an upcoming time with only Nepalese operators managing expeditions on Everest and other 8000ers?

I would say the chance is 50/50. There are climbers who believe on western operators and others who believe on Nepalese operators. It depends on client’s satisfaction. 

Every company wants to make profit. Is it difficult to find the balance between commercial interests on the one side and care for security on the other side? How much profit is allowed?

Everyone does business to earn profit, and tourism is one of the best business fields to earn good profit at low investment. But I think, expedition is little different again. If all goes well, it is good and profitable. However, if any accident occurs on the mountain and anyone dies, it is one of the worst things that can happen. You lose your friend, your property, you get ignorance and sometimes threats from the victim’s family, you have to pay huge money to them, you ruin your reputation in business, so it’s not good at all. Therefore, I think the profit margin depends on the difficulty of the mountain. 

Some critics say commercial climbing kills adventure. Does it?

There used to be more adventure. But though it is commercialized, there is still adventure.

North side of Everest in the last daylight

“It was a good season,” Nishma Khadgi writes to me. She is responsible for marketing at Asian Trekking, the leading expedition operator in Nepal. “Things are largely normalized and morale of climbers and sherpas are positive which make us optimistic for the future seasons.” According to the Nepalese Tourism Ministry, this spring 456 climbers reached the summit of Mount Everest from the south side of the mountain, 199 were climbers from abroad. The official figures from the north side are still not available.

Nepalese Mingma Gyalje Sherpa and Swiss Kari Kobler are two other expedition leaders who have responded to my request to tell me their personal record of this spring’s Everest season. Mingma was on the south side, Kari on the north side. Both are now staying in Pakistan, where they lead expeditions to K 2, the second highest mountain on Earth. And they have another thing in common: Both expedition leaders scaled themselves Mount Everest in May.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa: “No traffic jams”

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa is the head of Dreamers Destination, an operator for expedition and trekking, based in Kathmandu. The 30-year-old has climbed seven eight-thousanders and made headlines with his solo ascent in the West Face of the 6685-meter-high Chobutse in fall 2015. This is his record of Everest spring season:

“This year Everest was great. I made my 5th time on summit, and I think this year was the easiest summit. It snowed a lot in the beginning that covered all the rock and ice. The most popular rock spots like the Yellow band, Rock Band, Juniper Spur, Triangular Face and Lhotse face were covered by snow which made it very easy to walk and climb.

The Sherpa team fixed the rope at an early date. Previously more summit bids used to be after 15 May, but this year many teams summited before that date. That decreased the traffic jam. In addition, there was no giant rock on Hillary Step as it was covered by snow. So it was comparatively easier and there was no jam at all.

As the government of Nepal extended the permits of 2015 for 2016 and 2017, it didn’t affect the number of climbers on 8000m mountains. I had a team of eight members, four on Everest and four on Lhotse, with 1:1 respective Sherpa. Obviously it was not good luck on Lhotse with no summit at all. Three of my clients made successful Everest summit on 20 May, and there were very few people on that day. The teams chose different summit dates starting from 13 to 22 May. Thanks to fixing the route early, this ran very smoothly.” 

Kobler: “All on the same day, horror!”

Kari Kobler (l.) with his team

Kari Kobler stood on top of Mount Everest for the sixth time. Along with the 61-year-old head of the expedition operator Kobler & Partner, six of his Sherpas and two clients reached the highest point on 8850 meters, including German Stefan Sieveking (born 1946), “presumably the oldest German on the summit of Mount Everest”, as Kari writes. The Swiss has encouraged me to help myself with a cutout of his summary at the K&P website. Here it is:

“After the installation of the fixed ropes from 10 until 13 May had not worked, Sumdjock (of the Tibet Himalaya Expedition Company that employed the rope-fixing team), suddenly informed everyone, that the weather on 19 May would be perfect for going to the summit. Suddenly the mood became very hectic in the Base Camp and ABC (Advanced Base Camp)! The Chinese, Russians, Japanese and Indians all wanted to summit on the same day; the horror, the horror! Several cases of frostbite, snow blindness and other minor ailments resulted from reckless behavior. However, this year there have not been any serious injuries and no casualties on the north side of Mount Everest!

We held off on our summit push. It was not an easy decision. Yet, experience taught me, that sometimes being a little patient is the best thing to do. The waiting was worth it, because 23 May was the best summit on Everest in 2016. The ascent was just perfect. It had snowed the previous night, which meant that the rock ledges, which have to be traversed and which are somewhat difficult, were perfectly covered in snow. I had the privilege to make a new trail to the summit which of course made me very happy. On the summit I stood alone with Pemba and so I could truly enjoy the simply astounding view.”

Dangerous Khumbu Icefall

The upcoming spring season on Everest casts its shadows before. Ten “Icefall doctors” were sent to the Base Camp on the Nepalese side of the highest mountain on earth to prepare the route for the commercial expeditions. In the past two years, there had been no summit successes from the south (I deliberately ignore the “success” of Chinese climber Wang Jing and her Sherpa-Team in 2014 who had been flown to Camp 2 by helicopter). In 2014, the spring season had prematurely ended after an ice avalanche in Khumbu Icefall had killed 16 Nepalese climbers. In 2015, the 25 April earthquake had triggered a huge avalanche from Pumori that had hit Everest Base Camp and killed 19 people.

On Monday, the Nepalese cabinet – at last! – gave green light for the extension of the 2015 climbing permits by two years. “It is a welcome move from the government that we hope will help bring back the climbers to the mountains”, said Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association. But it might be too late for many of the about 800 climbers who got a 2015 permit, including 357 Everest aspirants, to return already this spring.

I asked Mingma Gyalje Sherpa about the upcoming season. The 29-year-old, who has already climbed seven eight-thousanders and recently made headlines by solo climbing the difficult West Face of 6685-meter-high Chobutse for the first time, is head of the Kathmandu based expedition and trekking operator Dreamers Destination.

Mingma, the spring season is around the corner. What do you expect, especially on Mount Everest?

I think, there will be as many teams as before but the size of the teams will be smaller. I am happy that Everest will be less crowded this year. It’s going to be safer and there will be more fun for climbers this year. It is good that there will be less traffic jams at the Hillary Step, on the Lhotse face and in the Khumbu Icefall.

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

Your company “Dreamers Destination” has an expedition from the Nepalese side of Everest on offer that will be led by you. Did you notice a lower demand due to the incidents in 2014 and 2015?

Obviously, 2014 and 2015 incidents have some impact on Everest but those were by nature. I don’t think it affected that much. We had a good number of clients in autumn and had good business. We have good numbers of climbers for Everest and Lhotse in spring too.

The blockade (in the border region to Nepal) became a more powerful reason to lower tourist demand for Nepal. Most of my foreign friends are worried just because of the blockade which continued over 5 months. They don’t want to waste their money and time visiting Nepal in such a situation. However, the blockade is over and situation here is getting better, so we can expect good numbers of tourists in the autumn season but not already in spring.

How is the mood within the Sherpa community? Depressed, optimistic, somewhere in between?

Due to the incidents in 2014 and 2015, few Sherpa climbers stopped their profession because of pressure they got by their families. But more are hopeful to receive good numbers of tourists and to work for them.

South side of Mount Everest

As so often, there have been uncertainties due to the hesitancy of the Nepalese Government. The final decision on the prolongation of the 2015 permits has come late, but the proposed new climbing rules on Everest are still missing. Does the Government’s slowness cause problems for you as an expedition operator?

Yes, it definitely does. We are just a couple of weeks before the start of spring season, and until yesterday there was no final decision about permit extension. Now it is there. It’s a good decision in favor of climbers and survival of tourism business in Nepal. Regarding new climbing rules, we don’t expect them in the near future.

Some western operators have decided to withdraw from Everest arguing that local operators in Nepal offer dumping prices they cannot compete with. What do you think about this?

It is true that competition with Nepalese operators is not easy in terms of price. There are only few notable Nepalese companies which provide better service than western operators, but there are more Nepalese companies which just focus on cheaper price and cheaper service, just to attract more and more tourists. And these companies lead to more accidents. They won’t have a long lasting future. But I feel, western companies are more reliable and responsible in terms of providing service and promises. They work for their goodwill and future.

Everest Base Camp

The competition is not only with western companies but it’s among Nepalese operators too. I guess we are among those who provide good service and we try not to let down our clients’ expectation. Even for us, it is very difficult to compete with other cheaper operators. Like the old proverb “where there is a will there is a way”, cheap operators get clients fit for them, we get clients fit for us and western companies get clients fit for them. What I feel is that more climbers trust western operators than Nepalese operators, but again in the end price matters. But there are more and more tourists who think of their safety rather than the price.

These western operators also accuse Nepalese competitors to engage local staff from poor areas in Nepal paying them only poor wages. What truth is there to it?

It’s fifty-fifty. Yes, there are many companies which provide poor wages but it depends more on the staff and their qualification. I have friends who are UIAGM (International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations) certified guides. They charge 15,000 US Dollar for Everest expeditions, which is much more in comparison with western guides. In the meantime, there are local guides who charge 85,000 Nepali Rupees (around 800 USD).

So it depends on the clients: The more they pay to Nepalese or western operators, the more likely they will get good and experienced Sherpa. The less they pay, the more likely they will get unprofessional staff and that will put them into trouble.

About two months ago, you told me that 2016 would decide the future of mountain tourism in Nepal. How do you feel about this today?

2016 is a very difficult year for Nepal. For sure, there will be very less tourists in Nepal this spring season. I am more hopeful for autumn season. If autumn season will also bring less numbers of tourists, then there won’t be a good future in tourism business in Nepal for many years.

The route Mingma wanted to take on Chobutse

The next Sherpa coup in the Himalayas, again in Rolwaling Valley. After Nima Tenji Sherpa, Tashi Sherpa and Dawa Gyalje Sherpa – as reported – had first climbed three six-thousanders within three days at the beginning of October, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa now succeeded in doing an amazing solo ascent. The 29-year-old stated that he reached the 6685-meter-high summit of Chobutse (also called Tsoboje) climbing alone and for the first time through the West Face. He had two cold bivouacs in the wall causing frostbite at his leg. Chobutse was first climbed by the Germans Wolfgang Weinzierl, Peter Vogler, Gustav and Klaus Harder in spring 1972, via the Northeast Ridge. Several attempts to climb through the West Face had failed.

On top of seven eight-thousanders

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa

Mingma Gyalje Sherpa grew up in Rolwaling. He is the head of the Kathmandu-based expedition operator Dreamer’s Destination and one of the strongest climbers in Nepal. The list of his mountain achievements is long. He stood on top of Mount Everest four times, twice each from the Tibetan north (in 2007 and 2010) and the Nepalese south side (in 2011 and 2012). Mingma has climbed six other eight-thousanders so far: Manaslu (three times), Lhotse, Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga, K2 and Annapurna. In addition he opened new challenging routes on the six-thousanders Cheki-Go and Bamongo.

Passion for climbing

Even before he set off, the 29-year-old called his solo climb on Chobutse “the most important for my entire life”. Never before a Nepalese climber had done a solo ascent, Mingma wrote: “Sherpa are well known for their hard job in the Himalayas. The trend is changing. There are many young Nepalese climbers who have been doing so many climbing for themselves.” Recently, Swiss top climber Ueli Steck also enthused about the strong young Sherpa climbers: “It’s nice to see how a ‘new’ generation of Sherpas is growing up, who are really interested in climbing and not just in business. I think that’s awesome!” I think so too.

P.S.: Ueli Steck has meanwhile returned from Nepal to Switzerland – after a failed attempt on the South Face of Nuptse. “Winds were too strong. There was a lot of drifting snow at 7,000 meters. It was hopeless”, Ueli writes to me.

Temba Tsheri Sherpa

Temba Tsheri reached the summit of Mount Everest when he was 16 years and 14 days old. The Nepalese schoolboy from Rolwaling Valley had joined a French team that climbed from the Tibetan north side to the top of Everest. Then, in 2001, he was the youngest climber ever who had scaled the highest mountain on earth. (Nine years later he was followed by 13-year-old American Jordan Romero.) In spring 2000, Temba had tried to climb Everest from the south side. Just below the summit he had had to return, because he had lost too much time because of a traffic jam at the Hillary Step. He had lost five fingers due to frostbite.

Later Temba Tsheri Sherpa studied at the University of Wuhan in China and started his own business, organizing expeditions. When the devastating earthquake struck Nepal on 25 April, he was the managing director of “Dreamers Destination”, an operator based in Kathmandu that had a large expedition group on Everest. The huge avalanche from Pumori, that was triggered by the earthquake and hit Everest Base Camp, killed three of Temba’s foreign clients and two Nepali staff members. I asked the 30-year-old Sherpa about the situation in his homeland after the earthquake.

Temba, what is your personal balance of the earthquake disaster – or in other words: What have you lost?

I am facing this kind of disaster for the first time in my life. I never thought of it. We lost two houses, one in the village Tashinam-Gauri Shankar where I was born, one in Jagat, where my parents were running a small guesthouse for trekkers. Secondly I lost my business, my friends and clients in Everest Base Camp. I lost all the gear and equipment for which we had worked for five years.

Base Camp after the avalanche from Pumori

What does that mean for your future and for the future of your operator “Dreamers Destination”?

I am a little worried trekkers and travelers might be scared that Nepal is not safe to go. But I am sure that everything will get better. We still have many things that tourists can enjoy. Now our small country is more famous, and people know more about Nepal after this disaster. So I am sure that more people are interested to come. But I am not working with “Dreamers Destination” any more, for personal reasons.

You are living in Kathmandu but you come from Rolwaling Valley and you have contacts to people all over the country. What is the situation like, a month after the devastating earthquake?

People are still scared, they are living outside in tents. Every day we feel tremors, buildings are still collapsing, people are dying. Roads are blocked. There is no proper aid to my family members who are in village. They will be running out of food soon. They are really worried because monsoon is very near.

Destroyed house in Sangachok

Does the aid get to the places where it is needed most? If not, why?

Frankly speaking, I didn’t spend much time with the aid theme because I was too busy with the Everest issue. I had to take care of injured persons, I had to handle this matter, I am still working on it. But I heard many things about the aid, that people are not getting proper aid where it is needed. I know there are many INGOs (International Non-Governmental Organizations) and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) who want to help. But they are only able to help where they can take vehicles to reach the places and to transport the aid supplies. Some people are taking advantages: They collect money and aid, then they distribute it to their families.

Last year the season on Everest ended after an avalanche that killed 16 Nepalese climbers. This year it was finished prematurely due to the quake and the following avalanche that hit the Base Camp and killed 19 people. No climbing, that means no income for so many families. How is the mood in the Sherpa community?

In this situation they are more worried about the earthquake, because they are homeless now.

Two disasters in two consecutive years, what’s about the future of climbing Everest from the Nepalese side?

I think there will be no negative effect for climbing. People still like to climb and will continue doing it because everybody knows that climbing is risky and might cost lives. Every year people are dying,  maybe last year and this year more compared to other times. But every year people are dying in avalanches.

The new Nepalese Tourism Minister (Kripa Sur Sherpa was appointed last Friday) is – like you – a Sherpa. What do you expect him to do?

I hope that he will fight for Sherpa climbers. Sherpa people have been climbing for ages. They are risking their lives and others take the profit,while we are only known as porters, which is wrong. They lost their lives, and nobody takes care of their families and kids. I want the government to provide them proper homes and education for the kids.