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Apa Sherpa on 1,700 kilometers of the Great Himalaya Trail in 120 days In the winter of 2009, Apa Sherpa, the world record holder of climbing Mt. Everest the most number of times, Dawa Steven Sherpa, a two-time Everest summiteer and a tireless climate activist, and I embarked on what we called European Expedition that entailed visiting ten prominent cities in Europe to raise awareness on and to seek global support to fight climate change in the Himalaya. This was just before the all-important Copenhagen conference on Climate Change. What we experienced on that trip would change our lives forever. At a very short notice, the President of Austria, Heinz Fischer, not only agreed to meet us, but also made us feel at home at his Presidential Palace by pouring coffee for all three of us. He clearly was fascinated by the Himalaya, and was keen to learn the impacts of climate change on Nepal’s pristine mountain ecology. Two days later, with almost no notice, we were allowed to speak at the European Parliament at Brussels on the impacts of climate change in the Himalaya. When I introduced Apa Sherpa at the Parliament as someone who had climbed Mount Everest 19 times (since then he has climbed two more times), there was an instant pin-drop silence in the gathering followed by a long applause and a standing ovation. That is the power of the Himalaya. That is the charm of our hero Apa Sherpa, known in the wider world as Super Sherpa. We must apply this to our advantage. |
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