Vol. 25 No. 273 (2021)

Nepalese at the top of K2: from porters to heroes
Ten Nepalese, including nine of the Sherpa ethnic group, shocked the mountaineering world by reaching the last frontier in the Himalayas: the summit of the K2 in winter. In a sport that many times does not give a second chance, where a mistake is paid with life, they are the best in the world, similar to the Kenyan long distance runners, the All Blacks in rugby or the sprinters of Jamaica. They participated throughout the last century in practically all the expeditions that crowned (or not) the fourteen peaks of more than eight thousand meters of the planet. A Nepalese Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, together with New Zealander Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Everest in 1953.
In recent years the Sherpas are rewriting history, turning the highest mountains of the world into a theme park, where inexperienced and adrenaline-hungry tourists experience the unique thrill of stepping on top of the planet for a good amount of money, which scandalizes the purists of this sport and at the same time puts one of the least traveled areas on the planet at risk of environmental collapse.
They have always been seconds, porters, guides, carrying tons of equipment for others to achieve glory. Pushing together, this time they were the protagonists who accomplished their dreams, the pride of Nepal and the international admiration: Nirmal Purja, Gelje Sherpa, Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Pem Chhiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, Dawa Tenzin Sherpa, Kili Pemba Sherpa and Sona Sherpa.
Tulio Guterman, Director - February 2021