Friendship Bridge, border line Tibet-Nepal
I could see Kanchenchunga, which borders Nepal with India, as a distance hump in what seemed the limits of human vision. A casual observer could easily miss it as the third highest mountain in the world from my vantage point on the summit of Mt Everest. Knowing where to look for Himalayan giants is a bonus that comes with experience and the snowy flat summit of Cho Oyu could never be mistaken for anything else. I stood there admiring how wonderful our planet is, contemplating the documentaries and news reports on global climate change, imagining where my family was and what they were doing, and marveling at the sheer number of climbers, both Sherpas and international visitors, on the mountain this year.
This year marked my ninth summit on Mt Everest; a journey I have been privileged to make every year since 1999. The rigors of Everest are second only to the first great adventure of my life when I decided to escape my communist homeland of Romania in 1985 by swimming across the Danube River to Yugoslavia, Italy, and eventually the United States. I had the good fortune to meet my wife Lapka in 2000 and we have made five summits together as well as two children.
Our second child was born this year, so Lapka was unable to travel with me from the US, but her sister Ming Kipa became my unexpected climbing partner. I was also fortunate enough this year to share my climbing experience with a group of talented Sherpas from Rolwaling Trek and their group of Japanese climbers. In the past few years I have witnessed striking contrasts between Sherpa guides who are ultimately the paid guardians, life support, and motivators on the mountain and us, the climbers, who pay to create our own climbing adventures in the protected web of the Sherpas. The ambition of the climber, especially novices, must be tempered by the Sherpa to ensure a successful climb and the members of the Japanese group with whom I encountered was about as determined as I have ever seen.
This year marked my ninth summit on Mt Everest; a journey I have been privileged to make every year since 1999. The rigors of Everest are second only to the first great adventure of my life when I decided to escape my communist homeland of Romania in 1985 by swimming across the Danube River to Yugoslavia, Italy, and eventually the United States. I had the good fortune to meet my wife Lapka in 2000 and we have made five summits together as well as two children.
Our second child was born this year, so Lapka was unable to travel with me from the US, but her sister Ming Kipa became my unexpected climbing partner. I was also fortunate enough this year to share my climbing experience with a group of talented Sherpas from Rolwaling Trek and their group of Japanese climbers. In the past few years I have witnessed striking contrasts between Sherpa guides who are ultimately the paid guardians, life support, and motivators on the mountain and us, the climbers, who pay to create our own climbing adventures in the protected web of the Sherpas. The ambition of the climber, especially novices, must be tempered by the Sherpa to ensure a successful climb and the members of the Japanese group with whom I encountered was about as determined as I have ever seen.
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