Everest after Covid

EVEREST DESPUES DE COVID – The article in spanish language

In 2014 I had the opportunity to visit Nepal, for my expedition to Cho Oyu, and I can say that it is a really fascinating country in all aspects; its mountains, jungles, temples, culture and of course its people, especially Jangbu Sherpa.

Today I want to tell you a little about this extraordinary mountaineer, tireless guide, friend and father.

Before starting with the story of his life, I will tell you, Sherpas are not as many people believe, only mountain porters, they are natives of the mountains of Nepal. However, due to their great importance as guides and helpers in expeditions in the Himalayas, the distinction of «Sherpa» became popular and is now said to any guide or helper on trips and expeditions in the Himalayas, even if they are not specifically of that ethnic group.

Jangbu is 40 years old and has been a climber since he was very young; his father was also a mountain guide, a work tradition that he started at an early age to support his family (at the age of 12). He has climbed 4 times the Cho Oyu (8,201m), the Shishapangma (8,013m), Baruntse (7,129m), Ama Dablam (6,812m), Manaslu (8,163m), and many others, and of course the Everest, with which this year he reached his 17th summit.

When he was 14 years old, during the October season, his father told him that he was going on an expedition, Jangbu asked him if he could go with him and received a negative answer because he was still too young to climb; He insisted on asking him to take him as an assistant Sherpa guide, finally his father agreed, so they went together on an expedition to the Amadablam. One of the nights in camp 1, his father sent him to sleep and the next day when he woke up they had already climbed to the summit and returned, that was something that excited him, and he thought that if he continued with his father one day he could climb like him.

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Before being a guide, he began as a trekking porter (companions who only carry tents and luggage for tourists). In this modality, which can take between 12 and 13 days, he set up camps and prepared tea and food; being that there were no, as now, hotels or tea houses.

At the age of 16 he has the opportunity to climb Island Peak, however, at that time he had no training so the expedition turned out to be very difficult, becoming the turning point in his career, «I wanted Be a Mountain Guide «, so he decided to prepare more and learn, so he moved to Kathmandu. In 2003 finished his preparation and that same year he had the opportunity to summit Everest for the first time.

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In this year -2021- the spring season has been an extremely difficult time for activities concerning the Himalayas. Despite the Covid 19 pandemic, in Nepal a total of 408 permits have been granted to ascend Everest and another 334 for climbers who went on an expedition to other mountains, but due to the spread of the virus, all climbers were evacuated from Dhaulagiri (the last to descend from the BC was the renowned 82-year-old mountaineer Carlos Soria); more than 50 people are said to have evacuated on Everest (although there is no official figure).

 

Jangbu was leading an expedition to summit Everest with the Prince of Bahrain´s team – a country that encompasses more than 30 islands in the Persian Gulf-. The project started on April 3, and after two weeks Jangbu began to have a cough, chest pain, and headache; On April 20, he was evacuated from the Base Camp by helicopter to Kathmandu and transferred by ambulance from the airport to the Era hospital, where he was evaluated and confirmed positive for the Coronavirus, remaining hospitalized. 6 days later they performed the test with a negative result.

After 6 days of isolation at his home, on May 2nd he left for Lukla and a day later flew by helicopter to Everest Base Camp. From May 4 to 6 he rested and finally on May 7th he began the ascent to Camp 2 to begin the summit attack. On May 9th ascended to camp 3, on May 10th reached camp 4 and finally on May 11th, at 6.05am he reached his 17th summit on the highest mountain in the world.

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After this great achievement, Jangbu returned home to his family from where he sent a message to everyone, mainly to the Covid19 patients:

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«It is very important to have the courage to fight against Covid-19, strengthen your spirit. I learned that if a person wants to achieve something with all his heart, nothing can stop him. So, I would like to ask all Covid-19 patients to never give up. If I can defeat it, you can too. And to all the people who are healthy, please do not take chances, wear mask and stay at home, the coronavirus is not a joke. «

In 2006, Jangbu Sherpa set a world record by standing on top of Everest, without clothes, for 4 minutes 40 seconds. In addition to actively supporting the «Food4Everyone´s Children» foundation.

I thank Jangbu, his friendship and his time to share this experience.

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