the explorers journal the climate change issue - The Explorers Club

get others to the top to try and support my family.
This time Lhakpa and I did it not only for our
families but for all the Nepali people,” Apa said
from his current home in Salt Lake City, UT, where
Lhakpa also lives. “I am very proud of our team,
the history we made, and the awareness we have
brought to the Sherpa people.”
Free of the constraints and obligations to get
clients to the top, the SuperSherpas basically
raced from Camp 2 to the summit, passing other
climbers hunkered down in tents trying to acclimatize
to the elevation. The SuperSherpas team
started its final push for the summit on May 14,
spending the night at Camp 2 (21,300 feet), and
then climbed to Camp 4—a gain of more than
4,200 feet—in nine hours. After a four-hour rest at
Camp 4, they took off at 10 P.M. and summitted
at approximately 8:45 A.M. on May 16. The team
climbed more than 7,700 vertical feet in less than
24 hours—and at the highest altitude in the world.
“This trip was not as hard as others when we
had to help others so much,” Lhakpa said. “Our
Sherpa team was so strong and we didn’t have
to turn around for anything. I am so very proud of
how we worked as a team.”
“If there is anything good that comes from our
summit…our goal would be to create a more
peaceful world,” Apa and Lhakpa radioed the
SuperSherpas basecamp shortly after reaching
the summit. “Our second goal would be to
continue in Sir Edmund Hillary’s footsteps and
contribute to education and improving health care
in the Khumbu region, and for all Nepali people
in the remote regions.” To raise awareness of the
PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF SUPERSHERPAS LLC
role of Sherpas and the need for a better education
system in their home country, a documentary
is being made about the expedition—filmed entirely
by Sherpas, of course.
Apa and Lhakpa never made it out of grade
school in Nepal. They both became porters for
Everest expeditions at an early age to support
their families. The men eventually proved themselves
worthy of becoming part of climbing teams
and started leading people to the top. Even as
the most accomplished climber on Everest, Apa
still made less than 20 percent of the money
Western guides pull in for taking clients to the top.
Because they spend more time on the mountain
helping prepare camps for the climbers, Sherpas
are also exposed to the dangers of Everest more
frequently than Western climbers.
Apa and Lhakpa decided it was time to draw
attention to the Sherpa people and the fact that
they have been involved in some way on every
expedition attempt since people started trying to
conquer Everest in the 1920s. The men are also
hoping that their success will help raise money for
more and better education for all Nepali children,
and create a better pay scale for Sherpas involved
in expeditions.
Because they live at high elevations their entire
lives, Sherpas do not need to go through the
lengthy process of acclimating their bodies to the
grueling demands of extreme heights. Amazingly,
research on the Sherpas’ ability to cope with high
elevations has not been done. Researchers from
the Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Utah asked
Apa and Lhakpa to undergo a barrage of tests
before leaving Salt Lake City for Kathmandu, and
again during the climb. Results from the medical
and nutritional research are still being analyzed,
but it is clear that there is something unique about
the Sherpas that allows them to excel at elevation
where others break down.
Making it to the top is always a thrilling, but all
climbers know an expedition is only a success if
they make it back home. Apa and Lhakpa were
almost back to basecamp, about halfway through
the Khumbu Icefall, when they were asked to head
back up the mountain to help retrieve the body of
a climber who had been killed in an avalanche.
Although they had never met the Korean man who
perished, Apa and Lhakpa honored his family by
helping to bring his body back down the mountain.
This required going through the icefall at the
time of highest risk, late in the day after warming
from the intense sun. Many climbers, including
Apa, believe the icefall is the most dangerous part
of the Everest climb.
The record-holders finally made it back to
basecamp, albeit on a sad note, but they still
found energy enough to celebrate with the basecamp
team. They started by calling their families.
Missing his wife and three children in Utah, Apa
was in a hurry to get back to the United States,
so the team wasted little time packing up camp.
“We were the last to arrive and the first to leave,”
Lhakpa said about the mere 22-days the team
spent at basecamp, surely another record for
Everest expeditions. “Everybody was jealous that
we had managed to make the climb so quick.”
Lhakpa was also excited to get home, but he
had a present to pick up for his wife Fuli. The team
headed to Kathmandu, where they were treated
like royalty and swarmed by the media and wellwishers.
When things finally settled down for
the heroes, they headed for the U.S. Embassy in
Kathmandu, hoping to get final permission to take
Lhakpa’s three children—ages 10 to 16—to North
America. It took some work, but permission was
granted and the team plus three returned to Utah
on May 30. “I feel like we have accomplished so
many goals, but it is most important that the children
are here now with their mother,” said Lhakpa.
“Education is so important and now they can go to
schools here and be with us.”
Although they both hint that their time on
Everest is over, Apa and Lhakpa both say it is
too soon after their latest expedition to decide
if they will return to attempt another climb. “One
never knows. We will have to see what happens
in the future. The mountain will always be there,”
they said.
information
For more information on the SuperSherpas Expedition visit
www.supersherpas.com. For a detailed day-by-day account
of the expedition with pictures, video, and notes from Mount
Everest basecamp visit: www.sherpas.sltrib.com.
biography
Brett Prettyman has been an outdoors writer and editor for
The Salt Lake Tribune since 1990.
18 the explorers journal