By I am Tenzing Jangbu Sherpa, a proud grandson of Ang Rita Sherpa (Snow Leopard of Nepal). Originally, I come from Solukhumbu Yilajung, however, I currently reside in Sunnyvale, California.
This year (in 2022 A.D) I came to Nepal for a purpose. I had a mission to climb Mt. Everest to honor my late legendary grandpa Ang Rita Sherpa.
To brief those who don’t know him, he is a world record setter for climbing Mt. Everest without oxygen cylinder for 10 times. This achievement gave him the title ‘The Snow Leopard’ (हिम चितुवा)
Unfortunately on September 21, 2020 at the age of 72, my grandpa passed away. It has only been a year and a half since we lost him. So as being a grandson, I dedicated to climb the Everest to keep his legacy alive forever. For that, I named my Everest expedition ‘Ang Rita Sherpa Memorial Everest Expedition’.
Luckily on May 12, 2022, I, along with my uncle Phurba Sherpa, successfully climbed Everest. Honoring my grandpa and waving his poster high up above at the top of world was the best moment of my life. I promise, you cannot put any price for that achievement. I hope I made him proud by doing this as a tribute. I believe he is happy and watching over me for the things I am doing for him.
Before the Everest Peak
Mt. Everest made my grandpa known for what he is today. I am also happy that Mt. Everest (Chomolungma) allowed me on her lap safely too.
But climbing Mount Everest was not as easy as going for a day hiking. Before trying for Everest, I climbed other smaller peaks to experience and acclimatize what is feels like a real expedition to mountains. Before ascending for Everest, I climbed Yalung Ri, located in Dolakha Rolwaling. It had an elevation of 5,600m. My pre-training and consistant hard work helped me climb those peaks smoothly.
Finally Towards Mt. Everest
Finally, I was ready to climb Everest. I was lucky enough to have a favorable weather this year. I got myself a professional guide; Phurba Tenjing Sherpa. He had an experience of what it’s like to climb Mt. Everest. If he wasn’t there, I would have had a great struggle on the journey.
Before walking on the trails towards the Everest, I got all my permits and gears needed. Me, being a US citizen despite being a Nepali had to pay additional permit fee to the government. In between, I also tried getting governmental recognition for the journey, but all the doors for any kind of help and support was closed.
For a teenager who works for his living, the expenses were pretty high. But despite the high expenses, my purpose was bigger to me. This helped me pushed my way up the mountains.
I, along with Phurba, set off our journey to the top of the world. He made sure everything was good on the way. We reached the base camp on May 1, 2022. We stayed at our base camp for couple of days.
Then on May 4, 2022 we climbed up to camp 2. The next day we touched camp 3 and returned back to base camp. This was all part of our acclimatization process. After resting couple days at base camp again the route opened on May 8th. That’s when we decided to go for the summit push.
We wasted no time and climbed and climbed until we summited Everest on May 12, 2022 at around 9:30 A.M. My purpose completed that day. This could have been the biggest tribute I could offer for my grandpa.
Talking about my experience to Sagarmatha, it was super good. We got lucky. There wasn’t any accident or avalanches. The first rotation was little challenging as I had never been at that high elevation. I didn’t know proper information about acclimating process. Once I went to camp 3 and back to base camp my body felt much stronger. Special thanks to my Sherpa guide for helping me score the big achievement.
Everything went how I had imagined. My yearlong training was worth doing. I felt like both my physical and mental abilities coped with my expedition.
Now, that I have successfully climbed Mt. Everest, I am planning to work on projects to tell stories of Sherpas to the bigger world and bring lots of climbers and enthusiasts to climb the Everest. I want to do everything I can to keep my grandpa’s legacy rising.
Tips if you’re planning for Everest Expedition:
-Prepared physically, mentally and financially before thinking about climbing the Everest
-Be prepared for all the good/bad consequences at the journey. The weather might turn bad within seconds.
-Get yourself a good guide and study well about the topography and land before getting the permit.
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