Mingma on his ascent on Chobutse

No trace of euphoria. On Wednesday last week, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa reached – as reported in my blog – the 6,685-meter-high summit of Chobutse in Rolwaling Valley in Nepal, solo climbing and for the first time via the West Face – a milestone in the history of Sherpa climbing. But instead of being cheerful the 29-year-old is simply happy that he survived his solo ascent.

Mingma, you have already been on top of Mount Everest, K 2 and five other eight-thousanders. How challenging was your solo ascent on Chobutse?

I have climbed Everest with bottled oxygen and the other six 8,000-meter- peaks without the use of oxygen. When I climbed these high mountains, I did it with partners and on routes with fixed ropes. But a solo ascent means climbing alone in free style, there isn’t any fixed rope or climbing partner to save you if you make a mistake. A mistake means the end of your life. So it is itself challenging. It took me three years to decide to go for a solo climb. Finally, I made it this year. Climbing Chobutse was my worst decision and mistake. I almost lost my life. After my summit success, I spent two nights and days without food, water or tent. I spent two threatening nights and a day at the same place in a whiteout waiting for the weather to clear up. My only satisfaction is that I made it to the summit, though it was the hardest climb of my life.

Chobutse

You and your Sherpa friends completed two amazing climbing projects within a month: a trilogy of first ascents by a pure Sherpa team and your first solo ascent of a Nepalese climber. What is the message that you want to send to the climbing world?

Firstly: After the earthquake, Nepal is suffering from an economic crisis and tourism is the main source of our income. Fewer tourists means we suffer. So our main goal was to spread the news that Nepal is still safe to trek and climb. Only writing on social media and websites was not enough because fewer people would believe it. So we thought it was a good idea to prove it by action. We made our plan in the first week of September and started and completed our projects in October.
Secondly, we wanted to raise interest for climbing among Nepalese youngsters. Usually Nepalese climbers have been working for foreign climbers but now it is changing. We do climb for ourselves too. We can say changing profession into hobby.
Thirdly, we all are from Rolwaling Valley in Nepal. Rolwaling is a very remote area without electricity, transportation, proper school or health post. The population of that area used to be more than 300 people but only about 50 are living there now. If the situation remains the same, the valley will get emptied within ten years. Because of life difficulty, the local people migrate to the capital city. So our concern is to make Rolwaling Valley more popular. We have spots there for ice and rock climbing. So many mountains remain to be climbed but still this valley is backward. If it gets popular, more tourists like to visit it. And more tourists mean more job opportunities. We hope our people may return back to our place.

Do you feel that many Western climbers have a false impression about what Sherpas are and should they change their attitude?

There is no doubt that Western climbers have a good impression of Sherpa. Otherwise, they won’t hire Sherpa for their safe and secure climbing. The demand for Nepalese Sherpa is increasing. Now Western climbers invite Nepalese Sherpa to climb with them in the Alps, Pakistan etc. 

You are also head of an expedition operator. Is it difficult for you to separate between business and your own climbing goals?

I run an expedition company, Dreamers’ Destination. But I usually go to mountains leading expeditions. My people believe on me and climbing with me, so I have to go on mountains. I make my goals considering my business and I have my staff to look after the company, so I have no difficulty.

What are you planning next?

Actually, I was looking to go for the first winter ascent on Nanga Parbat. But after my solo ascent, my parents refused to let me go for it. So I will lead an expedition to Kangchenjunga in April and May 2016. I already climbed it in 2013, so a few friends of mine want me to lead an expedition again in 2016. Then I will go to Nanga Parbat and Gasherbrum in June and July as a part of my remaining 8,000-meter-peaks. 

Is there any current or former climber who is an example for you?

I am big fan of my own cousin Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa who was a guide of Scott Fischer’s Everest expedition in spring 1996. (Lopsang tried to rescue Fischer from the South Summit but could not move him any more.) He climbed Everest four times, three times without bottled oxygen. He was very popular at that time. If he was still alive (He died in an avalanche on Everest in September 1996.), I am sure he would hold many records on Everest. People are still talking about him and his deeds during that time.

Nobukazu Kuriki

It would have been a real bang. And probably the headline was already prepared: “Historical Everest climb with only one complete finger”. But this headline will be put away in a drawer until further notice. Nobukazu Kuriki has abandoned his first summit attempt on Everest. “I tried hard taking all my energy, but it took too much time to move in the deep snow”, the 33-year-old Japanese tweeted. “I realised if I kept going, I wouldn’t be able to come back alive.” It is still unclear how high exactly he climbed. According to his GPS signal messenger, he did not reach the South Col. Kuriki had made his “last Camp”, as he wrote, at about 7,700 meters, at about the level of the Geneva Spur, 200 meters below the South Col. From there, it would have been a real marathon stage up to the 8,850-meter-high summit – in particular because the Japanese was climbing solo above Camp 2, not using bottled oxygen, and the route was neither prepared nor secured with fixed ropes.

Solo above 6,400 meters 

South side of Everest

Strictly speaking, it would not have been an Everest solo climb anyway because Kuriki had climbed on the route through the Khumbu Icefall that had been prepared by the “Icefall Doctors”, and he had been accompanied up to an altitude of 6,400 meters. But when at all is a climber truly alone on Everest, especially on the normal route? So Kuriki’s attempt was really quite close to a solo climb. The only pure one in Everest climbing history, that was successfully finished without breathing mask, was made by Reinhold Messner. The South Tyrolean scaled the highest mountain on earth in August 1980, in the midst of monsoon, thus outside of the climbing season, solo and on a new route from the north side. 

Only one complete finger

Kuriki after his Everest attempt in fall 2012

It was already Kuriki’s fifth attempt to climb Mount Everest in fall. In October 2012, the Japanese had made headlines worldwide when he had tried to reach the summit via the rarely tried West Ridge. The then 30-year-old said that he had to turn back at about 8,000 meters because of a storm. On his descent, Kuriki sent an emergency call. Sherpas climbed up to him, and the Japanese was flown by rescue helicopter from Camp 2 at 6,400 meters to a hospital in Kathmandu. Kuriki suffered severe frostbite. Nine fingers had to be amputated; only stumps were left – and only one complete finger.

One more try?

Will Kuriki dare another attempt? He would have enough time for it. But the question arises, whether he is able to recover sufficiently for a second attempt and to build up the necessary tension and concentration for a new start. The last Everest ascent in fall without bottled oxygen took place 22 years ago. On 9 October 1993, the Frenchman Hubert Giot succeeded. The first climber ever who reached the summit of Everest in the post-monsoon-period without breathing mask was a German: Hans Engl on 14 October 1978.

Update 28 September: Kuriki reportedly wants to try it again. “He is staying at base camp for a few days but will try again for the summit starting 1 October”, Tikaram Gurung, managing director of Bochi-Bochi Trek, which is handling Kuriki’s expedition told AFP. “He is in good physical condition and experienced no major problems on the climb.”