tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64161374762361936032024-03-14T06:11:08.378-06:00deseretnews.com: The Sherpa Experience» <A HREF="http://deseretnews.com">Deseret Morning News</A> » <b>e-mail staff writer <A HREF="MAILTO:sspeckman@desnews.com?subject=sherpas&cc=jbasinger@desnews.com">Stephen Speckman</A></b>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-34553035260692940642007-05-31T15:39:00.000-06:002007-05-31T15:43:00.502-06:00Benefit for Sherpas<pre style="font-family: georgia;"> They scaled Mount Everest<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1180647538_0"></span> last month as part of the SuperSherpas<br />Expedition and now Apa Sherpa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa are trying to<br />raise money to help the Sherpa community in Nepal<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1180647538_1"></span>.<br /><br />The "Go to New Heights" benefit is set for June 20, 6 p.m., at the<br />Fort Douglas Commander's House on the University of Utah <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1180647538_2"></span>campus.<br /><br />Tickets are $100 per person, with proceeds going toward<br />publication of the book, "The SuperSherpas: Our Story." Funds from<br />the sale of that book will benefit educational programs back in Nepal<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1180647538_3"></span>.<br /><br /> The event includes dinner and an auction of items used during the<br />all-Sherpa team's summit of the world's tallest mountain.<br /><br />For tickets, call 801-585-9786<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1180647538_4"></span> or go to<br /><a target="_blank" href="http://www.lib.utah.edu/supersherpas"><span id="lw_1180647538_5">www.lib.utah.edu/supersherpas</span></a>.</pre>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-60087487212007818632007-05-31T11:06:00.000-06:002007-05-31T11:16:22.339-06:00More photos ...All of the following photos come to you courtesy of SuperSherpas LLC.<br /><br />Enjoy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXg_5vYTP6A2UJlEZHE-nd2m3JhqQd6pWrR-dZxicj-_4Bp_hZZ3vH92Zl1Q8tVEDF6kZs6r2QrIJPjF1IyWLUjs9vGiqA6EVnBT9oFf_zZLyeAHKMaRuOAkOCCmZlcMYuyCYd7o7J85q/s1600-h/After_summit_celebration.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZXg_5vYTP6A2UJlEZHE-nd2m3JhqQd6pWrR-dZxicj-_4Bp_hZZ3vH92Zl1Q8tVEDF6kZs6r2QrIJPjF1IyWLUjs9vGiqA6EVnBT9oFf_zZLyeAHKMaRuOAkOCCmZlcMYuyCYd7o7J85q/s200/After_summit_celebration.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070773208845581218" border="0" /></a>Apa (left) and Lhakpa celebrate after their summit.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPie6Z66byZV4a9arpFYzRrliWMiq9mY2Vwq2c98UR4BiYXNxWDzxVDLQSietfWDUJgUzDjY_Im4_DxQjgT0aLyWuU-ix6v0XZs-LrreHE2Oj9XNd51rfiRKR3nik5RaPgj-yjelGLYmoJ/s1600-h/Apa_giving_thumbs_up_after_summ"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPie6Z66byZV4a9arpFYzRrliWMiq9mY2Vwq2c98UR4BiYXNxWDzxVDLQSietfWDUJgUzDjY_Im4_DxQjgT0aLyWuU-ix6v0XZs-LrreHE2Oj9XNd51rfiRKR3nik5RaPgj-yjelGLYmoJ/s200/Apa_giving_thumbs_up_after_summ" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070773217435515826" border="0" /></a>Apa relaxes in a tent, giving thumbs up after summit.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifWR9sHoSFMJ1qcyRMSYYRB2whyphenhyphenE3vBMuLv6ALu_vFtEcBnMWC-WstU3x0kihKo5c5SjN4_6em7r7dZ0Mm0pQOboawfphJX5866gPu1ih0LVvPcTN98jrBhRijHzWSRInwvMaEUj4r3LDY/s1600-h/SUMMIT_DAY_5_16_2007_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifWR9sHoSFMJ1qcyRMSYYRB2whyphenhyphenE3vBMuLv6ALu_vFtEcBnMWC-WstU3x0kihKo5c5SjN4_6em7r7dZ0Mm0pQOboawfphJX5866gPu1ih0LVvPcTN98jrBhRijHzWSRInwvMaEUj4r3LDY/s200/SUMMIT_DAY_5_16_2007_.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070773230320417730" border="0" /></a>The team pauses at the summit.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo9pBdz5OhKuOweujUgbMtuvPHaXdEjU27-Jd_oiy_zhhc9UV7wuUVtVd6KJr0367nJ_o47dmSM5JfYu6eVqg0lYY0WMH0BOlwefAMrzn2wHyzGmI5Ri9_VAw8NwYLft6u5ZDba7px_TE/s1600-h/SUMMIT_DAY_documentary.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvo9pBdz5OhKuOweujUgbMtuvPHaXdEjU27-Jd_oiy_zhhc9UV7wuUVtVd6KJr0367nJ_o47dmSM5JfYu6eVqg0lYY0WMH0BOlwefAMrzn2wHyzGmI5Ri9_VAw8NwYLft6u5ZDba7px_TE/s200/SUMMIT_DAY_documentary.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070773234615385042" border="0" /></a>Team member takes video for a documentary about the expedition.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02KKt5NXjJgIXqmk5oaMIXP11RSPypeR63DxXL9_7vm-Js-tDvDfdPFCSqwgGsZa99U_QTivgh9-PjIWMRz5r7AA6ThEOqqwz7J95gk7ziF8VeBQojiVXYKJJtpbN2sFlnVxDE2Vivmx5/s1600-h/SUMMIT_DAY_Pemba_Ringee_sick.jp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02KKt5NXjJgIXqmk5oaMIXP11RSPypeR63DxXL9_7vm-Js-tDvDfdPFCSqwgGsZa99U_QTivgh9-PjIWMRz5r7AA6ThEOqqwz7J95gk7ziF8VeBQojiVXYKJJtpbN2sFlnVxDE2Vivmx5/s200/SUMMIT_DAY_Pemba_Ringee_sick.jp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070773243205319650" border="0" /></a>A sample of the steep, tricky terrain climbers face on Everest.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDOoFLVOVgvGFAVB74TlWDi3ZO22wr55oXIQrAICEqw9DkZwrs_votKdNw3lYLKbbhuAaxLLRmumefllurj-HqvcGA0q_X6zHSfoPKs6irGOgdpGeChrqezhWweQlvTA4H7aTinAYYwlS/s1600-h/Apa_in_Western_Cwm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoDOoFLVOVgvGFAVB74TlWDi3ZO22wr55oXIQrAICEqw9DkZwrs_votKdNw3lYLKbbhuAaxLLRmumefllurj-HqvcGA0q_X6zHSfoPKs6irGOgdpGeChrqezhWweQlvTA4H7aTinAYYwlS/s200/Apa_in_Western_Cwm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070772744989113234" border="0" /></a>Apa, looking relaxed above the clouds.Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-5711374642418968442007-05-30T16:00:00.000-06:002007-05-30T16:17:32.700-06:00Welcome home<pre style="font-family: georgia;" face="georgia">By, Stephen Speckman<br /><br />While Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa climbed the world's tallest peak earlier<br />this month, his wife Fulli was back at home in Draper climbing her<br />own mountain, one made up of the time and distance that had separated<br />her for so long from her husband and three children in Nepal.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-9ZTuH5GQvPht3kX_tjN5ylTu1Roj06l5pd7S8DrWwB20GLOO0scIhhezruNNLdI-uUgABaFs1dKCE8WUfRNMXQhtMBwmiZ_BjIHnAjZp3SeHCIBUpb06hH4xZmAMktBZaEtuVItY7wI/s1600-h/_K5C1712.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW-9ZTuH5GQvPht3kX_tjN5ylTu1Roj06l5pd7S8DrWwB20GLOO0scIhhezruNNLdI-uUgABaFs1dKCE8WUfRNMXQhtMBwmiZ_BjIHnAjZp3SeHCIBUpb06hH4xZmAMktBZaEtuVItY7wI/s200/_K5C1712.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070478975445800178" border="0" /></a>(Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa gets a warm welcome home - photo by,<br />Laura Seitz, Deseret Morning News)<br /><br />It had been six months since she had seen her children, Ang Dawa,<br />Nima and Tashi - they were at a boarding school in Katmandu until<br />their parents were able to successfully navigate immigration laws to<br />secure the proper visas. And after two months without Lhakpa, Fulli<br />was at the Salt Lake City International Airport on Wednesday to<br />embrace her entire family.<br /><br />"I'm so sad," she said about the wait. "Now, I'm happy."<br /><br />Lhakpa said it was hard getting his children out of Nepal and to<br />their new home in Utah. He thanked Utahns Jerry Mika and Roger Kehr<br />for their help with all of the red tape.<br /><br />"I'm so very happy," Lhakpa said. "Everyone is together."<br /><br />Lhakpa and fellow Draper resident Apa Sherpa made history May 16<br />in Nepal when they led an all-Sherpa team of climbers, dubbed the<br />SuperSherpas Expedition, to the summit of Mount Everest.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHaa0MmejUMOAMxI8xGLxtfoyw23HCcrYYe6WKFMk0X2SQoGzJHV62KM_kExgnoBKp-bIX4d6h_cY6Fl_SdRD7X_mb_VLqo1-H48yd7ehoGtfRoKToKfJGR-YIB_hBE-66NjqeoV9zE05o/s1600-h/_K5C1807.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHaa0MmejUMOAMxI8xGLxtfoyw23HCcrYYe6WKFMk0X2SQoGzJHV62KM_kExgnoBKp-bIX4d6h_cY6Fl_SdRD7X_mb_VLqo1-H48yd7ehoGtfRoKToKfJGR-YIB_hBE-66NjqeoV9zE05o/s200/_K5C1807.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070478752107500770" border="0" /></a>(Apa Sherpa greets well wishers at Salt Lake City International<br />Airport -- photo by, Laura Seitz, Deseret Morning News)<br /><br /><br />For Apa's 17th Everest summit (a world record), he and Lhakpa also<br />helped recover the bodies of two Korean climbers. Base-camp manager<br />Jerry Mika said this season has been a particularly deadly one on<br />Everest, which claimed the lives of three people close to members of<br />the SuperSherpas team.<br /><br />Normally, foreign travelers pay huge sums of money to outfitters<br />for a go at reaching the mountain's 29,035-foot peak. Members of<br />Nepal's isolated Sherpa community, living in the high Himalayas, are<br />typically hired by the outfitters as porters.<br /><br />Sherpas, who often share the same last name although they are not<br />directly related, carry heavy loads so that the foreign climbers can<br />stay light, increasing the chance that they will reach the summit.<br />The Sherpas endure the same extreme weather conditions as their<br />clients. And Sherpas, like Lhakpa and Apa, set ropes for climbers,<br />keep them out of danger and even rescue Westerners who get in trouble<br />on the mountain.<br /><br />But after the high-paying customers reach the peak, all the glory<br />in the media goes to them, while Sherpas comparatively get little<br />recognition.<br /><br />"They don't mention anything about Sherpas," Apa Sherpa said. "I<br />don't know why."<br /><br />The pay for Sherpas, considered the world's best high-altitude<br />climbers, is often only a small fraction of what climbers pay for the<br />Everest experience.<br /><br />So the twist for this expedition was that Mika and other Utahns -<br />Westerners - were the support crew for the Sherpas. The goal was to<br />raise awareness of Nepal's Sherpa community and the struggles they<br />face in getting health care for their families and an education for<br />their children.<br /><br />Just as sweet as summiting Everest, Apa and Lhakpa were able to<br />leave behind $2,500 each in donated money for education and medical<br />needs in their hometowns before heading back to Utah.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQZP_dpNtF4s4D03OYtItFsyF8pwwZf0YzSYezwaErCb5mzBdjDNkWK7fMZTo64BEvtTg6FYyhXsTRoEQU6cPY3WfgO26EHV1mts-6fAvdcNCpDKEdAmhx9uhF2okfLFhVq3zH7i5TpnT/s1600-h/_K5C1692.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWQZP_dpNtF4s4D03OYtItFsyF8pwwZf0YzSYezwaErCb5mzBdjDNkWK7fMZTo64BEvtTg6FYyhXsTRoEQU6cPY3WfgO26EHV1mts-6fAvdcNCpDKEdAmhx9uhF2okfLFhVq3zH7i5TpnT/s200/_K5C1692.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070479130064622850" border="0" /></a>(The welcoming party for Utah members of the SuperSherpas Expedition<br />-- photo by, Laura Seitz, Deseret Morning News)<br /><br />At the Salt Lake City International Airport, Apa's wife Yangjin<br />and their three children, Tenzing, Pemba and Dawa, were relieved to<br />have Dad back home.<br /><br />"My heart feels good and happy," Yangjin said.<br /><br />Some in Apa and Lhakpa's families are still learning English. Most<br />of their children will be or are attending schools in Draper. Apa<br />works for an outdoor retailer, and since moving to Utah <span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1180562334_6"></span>Lhakpa has<br />been employed by Snowbird Ski & Summer Resort's coffee house Peak<br />Java.<br /><br />A book and documentary are in the works about the SuperSherpas<br />expedition. One goal of those two projects is for more people beyond<br />the climbing community to learn about Sherpas. Fund-raising efforts<br />will continue in order to help Sherpas back in Nepal<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1180562334_7"></span>.<br /><br />"It was about the Sherpas," said Rulon Bunker, who was part of the<br />support crew at base camp on Everest. "Our mission was to support the<br />Sherpas."<br /><br />Jerry Mika, who returned Wednesday with Apa and Lhakpa, was in<br />Katmandu when the two Sherpas were paraded through the streets as<br />heroes and cheered by Nepalese dignitaries and citizens.<br /><br />"Hopefully, Salt Lake City<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; cursor: pointer; height: 1em; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" id="lw_1180562334_8"></span> welcomes these Sherpas like Nepal<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1180562334_9"></span> did,"<br />Mika said.<br /><br />The moment in Katmandu is something that will stay a lifetime with<br />Apa Sherpa.<br /><br />"All the Nepalese people are very proud," he said.<br /><br />Apa is hopeful the book and documentary about the team will change<br />the way the world views Sherpas and what it knows about them.<br /><br />The medical community also will be learning more about Sherpas<br />based on research conducted during the expedition to figure out why<br />Sherpas perform so much better than anyone else under extreme<br />physical and mental stress at high altitudes.<br /><br />As for Fulli and Yangjin, having their husbands home means that<br />their prayers were answered - and that the revered Mount Everest<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; cursor: pointer; height: 1em; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" id="lw_1180562334_10"></span>,<br />known to Sherpas as Chomolungma, or "Goddess Mother of the Land," had<br />a hand in delivering these two fathers back to their families, safe<br />and alive.</pre>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-38001164027335377582007-05-29T15:43:00.000-06:002007-05-29T15:50:57.659-06:00Coming homeApa Sherpa, Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa and Jerry Mika, members of the SuperSherpas Expedition, will be arriving in Salt Lake City Wednesday morning. Lhakpa will be bringing his three children from Nepal back to his home in Utah. Apa and Lhakpa were part of the first all-Sherpa summit team earlier this month to reach the top of Mount Everest, the world's tallest peak.<br /><br /> Congratulations to the team - and, welcome home to Apa, Lhakpa and Jerry.Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-87975830068988239042007-05-21T16:56:00.000-06:002007-05-21T17:17:12.322-06:00Studying Sherpas(Note: Nu Skin Enterprises sent out a reminder today about the scientific research being done on the all-Sherpa team that recently reached the summit of Mount Everest - below is a summary of their press release.)<br /><br />A five-pound piece of equipment among the hundreds of pounds of gear used by the SuperSherpas Expedition may soon give the scientific world a glimpse into why a small group of climbers from Nepal can handle physical stress at high altitudes so much better than experienced mountaineers from all over the world.<br /><br />The so-called Pharmanex Biophotonic Scanner was used during the SuperSherpas recent successful summit of Mount Everest. The intent was to study cellular damage from "oxidative stress" experienced during high-altitude climbing by members of the all-Sherpa team, including two Sherpas who now live in Utah.<br /><br />On May 16 at around 9 a.m. in Nepal, a SuperSherpas summit team, led by Utahns Apa Sherpa and Lhakpa Sherpa, reached the summit of Everest. Along the way, a team of Utah researchers used the scanner as a non-invasive means of measuring antioxidant levels in the Sherpas.<br /><br />"By using the scanner on their expedition, the SuperSherpas team members and researchers may gain a greater understanding of how antioxidants work and what role they play in the unique physiology of Sherpas versus other high-altitude climbers," said Dr. Joe Chang, chief scientific officer of Nu Skin Enterprises.<br /><br />The scanner is described as a "cutting-edge testing tool that safely and non-invasively measures carotenoid levels in living tissue, providing an indication correlated with a person's overall antioxidant levels. Antioxidants help neutralize damage from free radicals within living tissue," according to the Nu Skin release.<br /><br />For more information about the scanner, visit the Web site, www.pharmanex.com.Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-67975503771569091452007-05-18T19:28:00.000-06:002007-05-18T20:18:25.325-06:00No walk in the park ...Base camp manager, Jerry Mika, sent along the photo below of the SuperSherpas summit team navigating Mount Everest. The team should be back in Utah within the next few weeks. For more on their adventures, see the blog entries below. Enjoy the photo.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVnaOrThS48i6UNPRoWRkSwoJjNBD9Rd26hZVSW-ggV-FF_fd3Dyl4ZaYRrsXyUFRsJqJHO88V18vwa3kGGQhA2tIlN8JfLhT0Ma3BDSchvy6Ifvalkzv1F9zT31ef7LQ9ujW3YgKFLeIJ/s1600-h/Apa__Lhakpa_Summit_day_Hill.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVnaOrThS48i6UNPRoWRkSwoJjNBD9Rd26hZVSW-ggV-FF_fd3Dyl4ZaYRrsXyUFRsJqJHO88V18vwa3kGGQhA2tIlN8JfLhT0Ma3BDSchvy6Ifvalkzv1F9zT31ef7LQ9ujW3YgKFLeIJ/s200/Apa__Lhakpa_Summit_day_Hill.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5066090334913074386" border="0" /></a>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-31654770039373386002007-05-17T16:42:00.000-06:002007-05-17T16:51:09.717-06:00At base camp, headed home soon<pre style="font-family:georgia;">(note: new photos have been posted to the entry below this one)<br /><br /><br />By, Stephen Speckman<br /><br />After reaching the summit this week of the world's tallest peak,<br />Utahns Apa Sherpa and Lhakpa Sherpa took part in what was a grim<br />reminder of how Mount Everest<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1179441739_0"></span> can claim lives in an instant.<br /><br />Summit team members of the SuperSherpas Expedition, led by Apa and<br />Lhakpa, reached the 29,035-foot peak at about 9 a.m. Wednesday in<br />Nepal. Around the same time, an avalanche hit near base camp, where<br />a SuperSherpas celebration included banging on pots.<br /><br />"It seemed like the gods were chiming in their own way," Roger<br />Kehr said about the avalanche.<br /><br />There was no direct hit on the camp and everyone there came away<br />uninjured as the SuperSherpas and other teams celebrated the world's<br />first all-Sherpa team ascent of Everest. The climb also marked Apa's<br />17th successful summit, a number that no one in history has matched.<br /><br />But the so-called gods had a different message for members of a<br />team of Korean climbers, who lost two people to the mountain this<br />week. Oh Hee-joon, 37, and Lee Hyun-jo, 34, both died, either in a<br />separate avalanche as reported by Apa or, according to two Web sites<br />devoted to Everest news, in a fall while attempting to summit.<br /><br />Every year foreigners and Sherpas die on Everest and some of the<br />bodies are never found. If they're found, like the two Korean<br />climbers, Herculean efforts are made to get them off the mountain.<br /><br />Apa and Lhakpa were on their way to base camp when they came upon<br />what was most likely a recovery effort. They helped to lower the two<br />climbers down the infamous Icefall, an obstacle that is in constant<br />motion. It's an area, located not far from base camp, where climbers<br />remain as quiet as possible out of fear a loud noise will cause a<br />chunk of the icy formation to shift or break off.<br /><br />"I lost three friends last year on that ice fall," said Kehr, who<br />was with the SuperSherpas team until he became ill and had to return<br />to Utah<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1179441739_2"></span>.<br /><br />The bodies of the two Koreans were cared for, apparently without<br />incident, and as of Thursday afternoon in Utah (Nepal<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1179441739_3"></span><span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1179441739_4"></span> is 12 hours<br />ahead of Utah<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1179441739_5"></span>) the entire SuperSherpas team was back at base camp,<br />tired, recovering from stomach problems in two cases, but safe and<br />alive.<br /><br />"This all started with a dream that somehow we, the team, could<br />change the way the world looked at the Sherpa and Nepali people,"<br />Kehr said. "We're sort of pinching ourselves. People will finally get<br />to understand that the word Sherpa refers to an incredible group of<br />human beings and not just a bunch of porters. It's got all the pieces<br />of a great story."<br /><br />It's estimated that the SuperSherpas team will reach Katmandu<br />around May 19 for a "hero's welcome" there. Within the next few weeks<br />Apa and Lhakpa, along with his three children currently still living<br />in Nepal<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1179441739_6"></span>, should be back in Utah<span style="border-bottom: 1px dashed rgb(0, 102, 204); cursor: pointer; height: 1em;" id="lw_1179441739_7"></span>.</pre>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-50489067184557644742007-05-17T10:53:00.000-06:002007-05-17T15:44:34.118-06:00Summit, then grim taskEnjoy the new photos, courtesy of SuperSherpas LLC.<br /><br /> The descent to base camp for Apa, Lhakpa and others on the SuperSherpas Expedition summit team has been delayed in order for them to help bring down the bodies of two Korean climbers.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxGAwNbug09LkezZXX0GJsedXLedeSPghmTuQbDmLYaXIxsxrVsOFxYCTyXmbcwPsu7IA-Q4I4gLYh3WQP3AfRS46A3VZOuP-VZLG7_atOVOmBJDHABMdHprf69sTjp5CvGURhTxK2lUj/s1600-h/apa_on_summit_nr17.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAxGAwNbug09LkezZXX0GJsedXLedeSPghmTuQbDmLYaXIxsxrVsOFxYCTyXmbcwPsu7IA-Q4I4gLYh3WQP3AfRS46A3VZOuP-VZLG7_atOVOmBJDHABMdHprf69sTjp5CvGURhTxK2lUj/s200/apa_on_summit_nr17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065601151022961842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /> Team spokeswoman in Utah, Katie Eldridge, said the climbers were killed when an avalanche swept through their camp below the summit - they were in their tent at the time.<br /><br /> The Web sites, www.everestnews.com and www.mounteverest.net, both have information about the climbers. Their names are listed as Oh Hee-joon, 37, and Lee Hyun-jo, 34, both members of the Park Jong-Seok expedition, according to one Web site. Both sites say the men fell to their death.<br /><br /> The most dangerous and difficult part of bringing down their bodies is getting them over a large ice fall, an obstacle in constant motion that poses one of the biggest risks on Everest near base camp. The ice fall is located between 17,500 feet and 19,500 feet in altitude.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wt9cnZzi0Dq5-jPH8fTdWxzxC2vmALhDusCR3DWx7nk-vndAkvcVYKEO3cByEDHxBIUbcUCxeVVmo36RrfBgj5G2iM8kucKKZ9k3CiCYWbatcpTpMqWfVMkcsfjKWzmpG7D2-KCqm2cO/s1600-h/SUMMIT_5_16_2007_02_150KB.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-wt9cnZzi0Dq5-jPH8fTdWxzxC2vmALhDusCR3DWx7nk-vndAkvcVYKEO3cByEDHxBIUbcUCxeVVmo36RrfBgj5G2iM8kucKKZ9k3CiCYWbatcpTpMqWfVMkcsfjKWzmpG7D2-KCqm2cO/s200/SUMMIT_5_16_2007_02_150KB.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065601146727994530" border="0" /></a><br /> The SuperSherpas all-Sherpa summit team reached the top of the 29,035-foot peak at about 9 a.m. Wednesday in Nepal. Below are a few photos of some of the Sherpas on top of the world.<br /><br /> Sherpas in the photos include Utahns Apa and Lhakpa, as well as Pasang and Mingma.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-NiHLK-RoVS2FaSjs5wWsc1OiN4rrY1oO6s6sIVjmM5ivx2elgTOYBE3dqk5xGoLoyjimIpm9xwBxRgAC8Iueqs1ziZRmPGjAut-O3yJQSHSHWwH-I0OBQ94sMhEdH40p6wGBgdyHMC3/s1600-h/lhakpa_passang_mingma(2).jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF-NiHLK-RoVS2FaSjs5wWsc1OiN4rrY1oO6s6sIVjmM5ivx2elgTOYBE3dqk5xGoLoyjimIpm9xwBxRgAC8Iueqs1ziZRmPGjAut-O3yJQSHSHWwH-I0OBQ94sMhEdH40p6wGBgdyHMC3/s200/lhakpa_passang_mingma(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065601155317929154" border="0" /></a>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-74675463786715628622007-05-16T10:45:00.000-06:002007-05-16T11:04:58.841-06:00The history makersOn May 16, at 8:44 a.m. in Nepal, two Sherpas who live in Utah and five more Sherpas who were the support crew, reached the summit of Mount Everest. It's the first all-Sherpa team to climb to the top of the world.<br /><br /> Below are the men from the summit team who were part of the SuperSherpas Expedition.<br /><br />From Utah:<br /><br />Apa Sherpa, 47 - 17 summits<br />Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, 39 - 13 summits<br /><br />Support crew:<br /><br />Pemba Rinjin, 36 - 6 summits<br />A Rita Sherpa, 44 - 9 summits<br />Ang Passang Sherpa, 39 - 8 summits<br />Passang Gyaljen Sherpa, 20 - 1st summit<br />Ang Chhiring Sherpa, 25 - 1st summit<br /><br /> The men endured high winds and bitter cold to place Nepal's flag atop what Sherpas call Chomolungma, also known as Everest. They climbed over 7,000 feet in less than 24 hours, according to SuperSherpas Expedition spokeswoman Katie Eldridge.<br /><br /> Quoted collectively, Apa and Lhakpa said, "We want to continue in Sir Edmund Hillary's footsteps and contribute to education and improving health care in the Khumbu region and for all Nepali people in the remote regions."<br /><br /> A book and a documentary about the SuperSherpas experience are planned for the future.<br /><br />(Note: the above names were sent by Prabodh Sagar Dhakal - spellings of names may differ from previous blog entries and newspaper articles.)Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-27601428209480116252007-05-15T16:11:00.000-06:002007-05-16T09:32:19.937-06:00All-Sherpa team reaches Everest summit<pre style="font-family: georgia;">By, Stephen Speckman<br /><br />The Sherpas did it.<br /><br />A group of Sherpas, including two who now live in Utah, reached<br />the top of the world Tuesday night, when it was Wednesday morning<br />in Nepal, according to www.everestnews.com.<br /><br />Utahns Apa Sherpa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa were part of the<br />seven-Sherpa summit team that set out for the top of the 29,035-foot peak,<br />located in a time zone that is 12 hours ahead of Utah.<br /><br />"With great excitement in his voice, Apa (Sherpa) called base camp on his<br />radio and said, 'We are on the summit. We are all on the summit,'" Roger<br />Kehr said in an e-mail. Kehr has been in constant contact with the group<br />from his home in Utah.<br /><br />Kehr said all but one of the seven made it to the summit (Dawa Sherpa<br />had to return to Camp 4) and that all were "safe and sound," ready to take<br />the "necessary" photos just before 9 a.m. Wednesday and then make a<br />"hasty" departure.<br /><br />The SuperSherpas Expedition became one of the first two teams this<br />year to summit from the mountain's more technically difficult south side.<br /><br />This time, however, these Sherpas weren't porters working for<br />pennies on the dollar.<br /><br />They weren't carrying heavy loads of food and supplies in the bitter<br />cold and wind for foreigners who typically pay an outfitter tens of<br />thousands of dollars for a trek up Everest.<br /><br />On the world stage, they were just a bunch of Sherpas, that is,<br />before they became the first ever all-Sherpa team to summit Everest.<br /><br />But how will the successful summit of the SuperSherpas Expedition<br />be received by an international media that critics say has in the<br />past has glorified foreign climbers while leaving Sherpas essentially<br />in the shadows of their own back yard?<br /><br />"They still do not command even a fraction of the attention that<br />foreigners still attract," Kehr said in an interview earlier Tuesday.<br />He was part of the SuperSherpas team in Nepal until he became<br />ill and had to return to Utah.<br /><br />"It's our fervent hope that they become Hollywood stars," Kehr<br />said in an interview. "That way the can get paid. Right now they<br />don't' have enough money to pay for their children's education."<br /><br />In a 2001 interview posted on the Web site, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.k2news.com/"><span id="lw_1179277091_5">www.k2news.com</span></a>, Apa<br />Sherpa said he considers his work on Everest, which includes a record<br />17 summits, as only a job, one he hopes his children won't have to<br />do. He said back then that Sherpas are stronger climbers than<br />Westerners and that Sherpas should be paid on the same level as<br />Western porters and guides on Everest.<br /><br />The trek for the SuperSherpas Expedition - and the danger -<br />isn't over yet.<br /><br />The hardest part, the descent, is still ahead for the Sherpas. And<br />a majority of the people who die on Everest every year perish during<br />the descent.<br /><br />"Going down is harder than going up in many areas," Kehr said.<br /><br />Physically, climbers are weak if they haven't been conserving<br />enough energy during the ascent. And mental exhaustion can lead to<br />mental mistakes, Kehr added. He also offered words of reassurance.<br /><br />"You've got the strongest team in history," he said. And the group<br />has about 50 summits of Everest between them. "They're brilliant<br />climbers.<br /><br />Other Sherpas on the summit team are believed to have been Ang<br />Passang, Arita, Pemba, Dawa and Passang Gaylzan Lhakpa.<br /><br />In their community of over 100,000 people nestled high in the<br />Himalayas of Nepal, Sherpa is a shared last name. Typical first names<br />are derived from the day of the week on which Sherpas are born -<br />Ngi'ma for Sunday, Dawa for Monday and so on. Utahn Lhakpa Gelu<br />Sherpa, for example, was born on a Wednesday.<br /><br />Yet, for all they have accomplished - or rather for as much as they<br />have helped others become famous - most people around the world know<br />little about Sherpas, who within the last 500 years left Tibet for<br />Nepal.<br /><br />With the SuperSherpas Expedition, doctors in Utah's medical<br />community hope to collect enough data - through blood samples taken<br />and observations made during the climb - in order to find out why<br />Sherpas are so much stronger on Everest than virtually everyone else<br />around the world.<br /><br />"We really don't know exactly what we're going to find," said<br />Geoffrey Tabin, who helped assemble a team to study the Sherpas<br />before, during and after the Everest climb.<br /><br />Tabin has known Apa Sherpa since 1988, when the two were together<br />on an Everest expedition. Tabin said Apa was strong enough, but<br />lacked the experience back then to summit.<br /><br />"He got nervous," Tabin said about Apa.<br /><br />But the following year Apa Sherpa would summit and he hasn't stopped<br />reaching the peak since, holding the record for the most successful<br />attempts.<br /><br />What Tabin and others hope to learn from two of the world's<br />strongest climbers - Apa and Lhakpa - is how their bodies utilize<br />oxygen during physical stress at high altitudes and whether there is<br />anything in their DNA to suggest they have a head start on climbing<br />from the moment they're born.<br /><br />"(The study) has a lot of implications in terms of what we can do to<br />control certain parameters with people who have congestive heart<br />failure and pulmonary disease," Tabin said. The research collected<br />from Apa and Lhakpa, he added, "... may be something that will be of<br />great benefit to patients in the intensive care unit in a very short<br />time."<br /><br />(Note: We will try to update this site throughout Wednesday and the<br />rest of the week as the team makes the treacherous trek back down<br />the mountain.)<br /><br /></pre>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-60345159662975859422007-05-15T16:05:00.000-06:002007-05-15T16:10:09.417-06:00Getting close ...As of Tuesday afternoon, Apa Sherpa had phoned into Jerry Mika at Base Camp to say that he was near the "balcony" and was nearing the summit from the south side of Mount Everest, according to SuperSherpas Expedition spokeswoman Katie Eldridge. At about 1:30 p.m. (Mountain time) the team of seven or eight Sherpas, led by Utahns Apa Sherpa and Lhakpa Sherpa, were approximately four hours into their big summit push from Camp 4. It's estimated they may reach the summit, if the weather holds, between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., Utah time. If that happens, the all-Sherpa team will be the first team to summit from Everest's south side this year.<br /><br />Stay tuned ...Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-69198388094663283802007-05-15T09:16:00.000-06:002007-05-15T09:18:05.657-06:00Good time climbing ...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVwuDbidz3Tzi4IzHmA99GUwCjpykR9uQ3AzZH51CKvdTcNe8VacpF9RZmS93i8BJFSqE_WXEzHjzog3wfd9walgsQgGp1EML4OEsEC_n6F_KJDF-W-_WB4RAlvcFgdh_kDeVHzFmuP5r/s1600-h/Apa_and_Lhakpa_in_ice_fall_001"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVwuDbidz3Tzi4IzHmA99GUwCjpykR9uQ3AzZH51CKvdTcNe8VacpF9RZmS93i8BJFSqE_WXEzHjzog3wfd9walgsQgGp1EML4OEsEC_n6F_KJDF-W-_WB4RAlvcFgdh_kDeVHzFmuP5r/s200/Apa_and_Lhakpa_in_ice_fall_001" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064806998656007074" border="0" /></a><br /> Apa Sherpa (front) and Lhakpa Sherpa make climbing an ice fall on Mount Everest look easy.Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-566212971203345992007-05-14T13:35:00.000-06:002007-05-14T14:06:57.375-06:00The Big Push ...The SuperSherpas Expedition's "big push" for the summit of Mount Everest was supposed to have begun on May 13. However, we're still awaiting word on where the 8-person Sherpa summit team is at on the climb. We will publish new information and photos to this site as they become available.<br /><br /> In the meantime, Katie Eldridge, the media contact in Utah for the group, was able to forward a few comments from Utahns Apa Sherpa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, who between them have 28 summits of the world's tallest mountain. A documentary is being made of the team's dangerous climb. On everyone's mind is how on April 26, Dawa Sherpa, a porter with a different team, died while working on the mountain.<br /><br /> Apa -- "This expedition is very important to the Nepali and Sherpa people because no one knows about us and what we do. This documentary is going to be good for our people -- it will help with health and education of our children.<br /><br /> "The Sherpa who died on the mountain (sic) this is a very big mountain and it can happen to anyone. But what I am thinking is how can we help the family. There needs to be an insurance fund for the families, like in America if they die on the job, then their family is taken care of. This is a job just like any other, but with a higher risk."<br /><br /> Lhakpa -- "I am hoping this expedition will be a success and may provide for the health and education of the next generation -- that they will have a choice and that people will realize we need to be responsible if someone dies (sic) and insurance would help these families whose fathers have passed away working on the mountain. It is very sad to lose friends."<br /><br /> Here are a few more quotes from Sherpas in the group:<br /><br /> Arita Sherpa (Apa's brother) -- "My brother and Lhakpa are doing this with way high causes (sic) for our country and our community. I am so very proud to be on this team."<br /><br /> Pemba Ringee (Lhakpa's cousin) -- "Apa and Lhakpa's success will help our country. That's whay I am climbing -- and I have lots of hope."<br /><br /> Dawa Sherpa (same name as the Sherpa who perished April 26) -- "This SuperSherpa team is with lots of promise to our country and people. Indeed, it feels great when you are working with the people who have success larger than life."<br /><br /> The all-Sherpa team is being led by Apa Sherpa, who holds the record (16) for the most summits of Everest. Dr. Scott McIntosh is also making the summit climb while collecting data on why porters and climbers from the Sherpa community in Nepal are so much more adept at tackling high-altitude climbing than people from elsewhere in the world.<br /><br /> This year it's estimated there are 800 people trying to summit Everest, which along with quickly changing weather patterns could push back the SuperSherpas' estimated summit date of between May 14 and May 17. Again, we will update this site with new information about the climb as it becomes available.Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-73915170664204255972007-05-02T17:13:00.000-06:002007-05-03T16:34:58.418-06:00Leaving base camp<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaGu7oFv4brZBETQgOL_82uJPmd0x5R3iNjXJsAabMqMXbGH2LwWbI2Nmbtx0r2RpsK1dLNailzW2PtwmgAtMCfuF0XyiC91iWB1Qe34RvWjALZaRM8yQNQl2DNw15yJI7kbGmOH1eeQ-/s1600-h/5_2_meeting_apa__Jerry_and_Lhak"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgaGu7oFv4brZBETQgOL_82uJPmd0x5R3iNjXJsAabMqMXbGH2LwWbI2Nmbtx0r2RpsK1dLNailzW2PtwmgAtMCfuF0XyiC91iWB1Qe34RvWjALZaRM8yQNQl2DNw15yJI7kbGmOH1eeQ-/s200/5_2_meeting_apa__Jerry_and_Lhak" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5060110383198354306" border="0" /></a><br />Two Utah Sherpas who are revisiting their old friend Mt. Everest have left base camp this week and embarked on the long, grueling trek for the summit.<br /><br />Both men are part of a unique all-Sherpa team that is on its way across the Khumbu Icefall, not far above base camp, at the head of the Khumbu Glacier, according to Katie Eldridge, a spokeswoman for the expedition. The climbers must use ropes and metal ladders to cross the icefall, which is regarded as one of the most treacherous stages of the South Col route to the summit.<br /><br />Large crevasses can open up with little warning, and climbers have fallen. Big blocks of ice sometimes tumble down the glacier and have crushed climbers in the past.<br />The two Utah Sherpas are intimate with the dangers they face when trying to summit the world's highest peak. Apa Sherpa has reached the top of the world a record 16 times. Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa holds the record for the fastest ascent.<br /><br />Both Utah men, who come from part of a relatively small Sherpa community in Nepal (and therefore share the same last name), are keenly aware that people, many of them Sherpas who Apa and Lhapka sometimes know, die every year on Everest.<br /><br />Just last week, on April 26, Dawa Sherpa, 40, died between camps 2 and 3 on the mountain. There are conflicting reports on exactly how he died.<br /><br />On the Web site www.mounteverest.net, Dawa is called a "high-altitude worker" from Solokhumbu. He was part of a 10-member commercial team led by an Austrian climber.<br />Even less information is known about Dawa in a report on the Web site www.everestnews.com. A quote on the site reads, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Sherpa family." Dawa's death came just a few days before the Utah Sherpas arrived at base camp of the 29,035-foot peak.<br /><br />What is upsetting to Utah mountaineer Roger Kehr is that there isn't more information published in the media about Dawa's family, including who he leaves behind.<br /><br />"He's labeled the first death (of the climbing season on Everest), and that's the end of the story," Kehr said Tuesday in an interview.<br /><br />After the interview, however, Kehr's wife was able to find out that Dawa was married with four children, the oldest being 10. His other job was in construction.<br /><br />Kehr was, along with Utahn Jerry Mika, a co-manager of the base camp for Apa and Lhakpa's team. However, Kehr was unable to correct some irregular vital signs and was recently forced to return to Utah.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPe8Hjp8XJPQ4QB_w43xs0hyphenhyphen2yUUsvMSgp-rJIPinhNGA-Fy5o5q5Q-7qFGzMz308NYHdDs4hUZEUgwJiUjhGZAbsn3CVpHhbc0s702GzeVhFFYmjenv7735Udg1ynB7GCXJDsPy-anDq8/s1600-h/dnews_Super_Sherpas_Sherpa.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPe8Hjp8XJPQ4QB_w43xs0hyphenhyphen2yUUsvMSgp-rJIPinhNGA-Fy5o5q5Q-7qFGzMz308NYHdDs4hUZEUgwJiUjhGZAbsn3CVpHhbc0s702GzeVhFFYmjenv7735Udg1ynB7GCXJDsPy-anDq8/s200/dnews_Super_Sherpas_Sherpa.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5060382666945051538" border="0" /></a><br />The team actually left Utah at the end of March, but it can take several days just to reach Everest's base camp in the Himalayas, and then more time is needed for most climbers to acclimatize at altitude, which for Everest's base camp is at 18,370 feet. As of Tuesday afternoon (they are 12 hours ahead of Utah in Nepal), Mika was still on the mountain.<br /><br />The historic SuperSherpas Expedition is being filmed for a documentary on Sherpas, the unheralded heros of climbs that typically glorify rich clients of companies that hire Sherpas to carry heavy loads, paying them about $8 a day. Kehr said Sherpas receive very little, if any, recognition when the media reports on a Westerner who summits.<br /><br />"People treat them like mules," Kehr said. "But how many mules can save your life?" They also set up tents for everyone, cook the food and "keep you from doing something stupid" on the mountain, Kehr added.<br /><br />With the SuperSherpas Expedition, however, "it's payback time," Kehr said. This time, Westerners are the support team for Apa and Lhakpa. The documentary about the climb, he added, will focus on the Sherpas, their lives, the community they come from and the challenges they face there. The Sherpas hope the documentary will raise money for education and other services in Nepal and increase awareness about Sherpa culture.<br /><br />So far this climbing season, two men from Kazakhstan, with help from Sherpas, have reached the summit of Everest. "Five Sherpas, who probably fixed ropes for them, summited, too — but you don't hear any of their names," Kehr said.<br /><br />Exactly when — or if — the Super Sherpas team will make it to the summit is uncertain. As with any expedition on Everest, a lot will depend on what weather conditions are like in the coming days and weeks for Apa and Lhakpa's team.<br /><br />by, Stephen Speckman, sspeckman@desnews.comDeseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-41370675646286551752007-04-30T13:51:00.000-06:002007-05-03T14:39:47.528-06:00Climbing season's underway ...As the Super Sherpas prepare for their summit ascent, the 2007 climbing season has already seen its first death and its first successful summit attempt.<br /><br />The 2007 season opened with tragedy, as a Sherpa died on the mountain April 26, when a block of ice apparently fell on his head, according to a report on <a href="http://www.everestnews.com/">www.everestnews.com</a>. The report did not identify the Sherpa.<br /><br />On a happier note, two climbers apparently reached the summit today. Vassily Pivtsov and Maxud Zumaev reported their successful attempt.<br />According to <a href="http://www.mounteverest.net">www.mounteverest.net</a>, there are about 53 expeditions attempting to reach Everest's summit this year.Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-15741795156027657722007-04-25T14:39:00.000-06:002007-05-03T14:41:30.337-06:00Climbing legend Sir Edmund Hillary in hospital - AP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CD4UAkQf8Qd70iOc7TOBrQYbrVwSyx0hyphenhyphen2CJuglUu_PxO8iFxvqt42jdVBpwyNQ0l_2WdNO6reie8NrrDTKnHnUpXG2hfsneadePe5n2dOOx2WlNR2HLzWoc_Ozfn5oiuNxhIeexnyoA/s1600-h/WEL801_New_Zealand_Hillary_.jpg+"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CD4UAkQf8Qd70iOc7TOBrQYbrVwSyx0hyphenhyphen2CJuglUu_PxO8iFxvqt42jdVBpwyNQ0l_2WdNO6reie8NrrDTKnHnUpXG2hfsneadePe5n2dOOx2WlNR2HLzWoc_Ozfn5oiuNxhIeexnyoA/s200/WEL801_New_Zealand_Hillary_.jpg+" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5057474080732461938" border="0" /></a><br />By The Associated Press<br /><br />WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Mountaineering legend Sir Edmund Hillary, best known for the being the first man to scale Mount Everest, is in a New Zealand hospital.<br /><br /> His wife, Lady June Hillary, said in a statement Tuesday that Hillary was admitted to a hospital after the couple returned from a visit to Nepal's capital, Katmandu, on Sunday, where they had met with Sherpas who now reside in Utah and who hope to make an all-Sherpa attempt on Everest next month.<br /><br /> She said that she was "happy" with her husband's progress, and that he is "in a comfortable position and improves daily."<br /><br /> Hillary, 87, who climbed the world's tallest peak in 1953, is believed to have fallen during the weekend, the New Zealand Herald's Web site said.<br /><br /> It has not been disclosed where the fall occurred, but it was unlikely to have been during any outdoor pursuit. Hillary has been walking with the aid of a cane for several years.<br /> She made no comment on her husband's condition.<br /> He has suffered from altitude sickness in past years.<br /> Other members of the famed climber's family, as well as the<br />hospital, have declined comment.<br /><br /> Hillary had just visited the Himalayas, when he and Elizabeth Hawley - unofficial chronicler of expeditions in the world's highest mountain range for 40 years - met members of the 2007 "SuperSherpas Expedition" in Nepal's capital, Katmandu.<br /><br /> The Super Sherpas Expedition, led by residents of Utah, hopes to make a historic all-Sherpa attempt on the summit of Everest next month to bring attention to the Sherpa people, who have been a part of every successful attempt on Everest. Many feel their role is under-appreciated.<br /><br /> Hillary's climbing partner when they scaled the world's tallest peak was Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay.<br /><br /> Hillary met Super Sherpas team members including noted climbers Apa Sherpa and Lhakpa Sherpa, expedition manager Roger Kehr said last week.<br /><br /> "We were unbelievably surprised that Sir Edmund Hillary was there," Kehr said. "We were honored when he said that this may be his last trip to Nepal."<br /><br /> Since first reaching the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit of Everest, Hillary has donated millions of dollars to the Sherpas for building schools, hospitals, clinics, roads and bridges.<br /> He has also helped pay for restoring temples and improving water supplies in the impoverished country.<br /><br /> Earlier this year, he was guest of honor at the opening of new facilities at Scott Base in the Antarctic, after helping construct the original New Zealand base during a 1957 expedition.<br /> Hillary also was the first man to drive a vehicle - an adapted farm tractor - across the frozen continent to South Pole.<br /> He was knighted by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II for his Everest feat.Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-17671678901517138552007-04-23T11:28:00.000-06:002007-05-03T14:42:16.445-06:00The Trek to Base CampRoger Kehr, base camp co-manager, says things are going well as the team's nine-day hike to base camp is underway.<br /><br />"Everyone has prepared extremely well in Utah (for the altitude). We are sleeping extremely well at over 11,000 feet and all are climbing strongly. We say 'Hydrate or Die,' and we are hydrating."<br /><br />So far, there are no major snags. "We have been extremely fortunate - only one bag lost - nothing irreplaceable."<br /><blockquote><br /></blockquote>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-48100965806881382512007-04-19T12:27:00.000-06:002007-05-03T14:44:42.183-06:00Sherpas aim for new record - AP<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFALYbYZcinDFvl3gmNbp_pS_Tv2Lvyyn1ATfb0FcrxNhh-3Qqfjn5m36Qf2w2yVMW-g2OFJQtMSDZgts1HHqm2MRcF7PCxSZ4umgoVp4M65fVUcpOaqQJCpwm0tCIHyssnzNOz7WAyS2o/s1600-h/KAT101_Nepal_Everest_Nepal.jpg+"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFALYbYZcinDFvl3gmNbp_pS_Tv2Lvyyn1ATfb0FcrxNhh-3Qqfjn5m36Qf2w2yVMW-g2OFJQtMSDZgts1HHqm2MRcF7PCxSZ4umgoVp4M65fVUcpOaqQJCpwm0tCIHyssnzNOz7WAyS2o/s320/KAT101_Nepal_Everest_Nepal.jpg+" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5055211118499837442" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="direction: ltr;">By <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">BINAJ</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">GURUBACHARYA</span><br />Associated Press Writer<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">KATHMANDU</span>, Nepal (AP) - A veteran Sherpa guide set off Thursday on an<br />attempt to scale Mount Everest for a record 17<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> time and is<br />confident he'll make it to the top, as he won't be worrying about<br />helping a foreign client up the slopes.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Apa</span> Sherpa will lead an eight-member team of<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Sherpas</span> calling themselves the ''Super Sherpas Expedition'' as he<br />attempts to break his own record for the number of climbs to the<br />29,035-foot summit.<br /><br />''This is my 17<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">th</span> time ... I hope this is my 17<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">th</span> time (to reach the<br />peak),'' <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Apa</span> told The Associated Press before leaving for Everest.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Apa</span> - a modest, thinly built 46-year-old - is one of the most<br />respected climbers in the mountaineering community. His closest<br />competitor, fellow Sherpa guide <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Chewang</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Nima</span>, 41, scaled the peak a<br />14<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">th</span> time last year.<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Apa</span> and his teammates will make a documentary about the climb and<br />some of the money raised will go toward providing better education and health<br />care for children in their community at the foothills of the mountain.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Apa</span> said he expects his 17<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">th</span> climb of Everest to be easier as he<br />will not have to worry about helping foreign clients - but he still<br />is not taking any chances. He visited a famous Buddhist monastery in<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Kathmandu</span> where he offered scarves and colored flags and received a<br />blessing from the head priest.<br />He said he also won approval to climb the peak from his concerned<br />wife, who now lives in Salt Lake City, with his three children.<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Apa's</span> wife normally discourages him from climbing Everest because of<br />the enormous risks involved, having claimed the lives of nearly 200<br />people since the mountain was first conquered in 1953.<br /><br />The eight members of the expedition have scaled Everest a combined<br />46 times - with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Apa</span> topping the list at 16 and his friend <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">and co-leader, Lhakpa</span><br /><script><!-- D(["mb","Gyelu 12 times.\u003cbr /\> Like most sherpas, Appa grew up in the foothills of Everest, and\u003cbr /\>began carrying equipment and supplies for trekkers and mountaineers\u003cbr /\>at an early age.\u003cbr /\> Appa made his first summit of Everest in 1989 and has been climbing\u003cbr /\>almost every year since.\u003cbr /\> Sherpas were mostly yak herders and traders living in the Himalayas\u003cbr /\>until Nepal opened its borders to tourism in 1950. Their stamina and\u003cbr /\>knowledge of the mountains makes them expert guides and porters for\u003cbr /\>foreign mountaineers.\u003cbr /\> The team flew out of Katmandu on Thursday, heading for the small\u003cbr /\>airstrip at Lukla, from where they will trek to the base camp and\u003cbr /\>spend a few more days acclimatizing and preparing for their summit\u003cbr /\>bid in the second week of May.\u003cbr /\> ---\u003cbr /\> On the Net:\u003cbr /\> Super Sherpa expedition Web site: \u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"http://www.supersherpas.com\" target\u003d_blank\>http://www.supersherpas.com\u003c/a\>\u003cbr /\> News about Everest: \u003ca onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\" href\u003d\"http://www.mounteverest.net\" target\u003d_blank\>http://www.mounteverest.net\u003c/a\>\u003cbr /\>\u003c/div\>",1] ); //--></script><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Gelu</span>, who holds the record for fastest ascent, 12 times.<br /><br />Like most Sherpas, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Apa</span> grew up in the foothills of Everest, and<br />began carrying equipment and supplies for trekkers and mountaineers<br />at an early age.<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Apa</span> made his first summit of Everest in 1989 and has been climbing<br />almost every year since.<br />Sherpas were mostly yak herders and traders living in the Himalayas<br />until Nepal opened its borders to tourism in 1950. Their stamina and<br />knowledge of the mountains makes them expert guides and porters for<br />foreign mountaineers.<br /><br />The team flew out of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Kathmandu</span> on Thursday, heading for the small<br />airstrip at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Lukla</span>, from where they will trek to the base camp and<br />spend a few more days acclimatizing and preparing for their summit<br />bid in the second week of May.<br />---<br />On the Net:<br />Super Sherpa expedition Web site: <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.supersherpas.com/" target="_blank">http://www.supersherpas.com</a><br />News about Everest: <a onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)" href="http://www.mounteverest.net/" target="_blank">http://www.mounteverest.net</a><br /></div><script><!-- D(["mb","\u003cdiv style\u003d\"direction:ltr\"\>\u003cspan class\u003dsg\>--\u003cbr /\>Deborah Bulkeley\u003cbr /\>Staff Writer\u003cbr /\>Deseret Morning News\u003cbr /\>801-237-2181\u003cbr /\>888-237-2100\u003cbr /\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/div\>",0] ); D(["ce"]); //--></script><span class="sg">--</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:85%;" ></span>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-54282625768670656222007-04-12T14:35:00.000-06:002007-04-12T14:58:13.470-06:00Update from Nepal<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:100%;" >Fur Geljen Sherpa, director of World Records Expeditions & Treks, who is helping Apa and Lhapka Sherpa in Kathmandu, gives an update of preparations for the Super Sherpa expedition:<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:Helvetica;font-size:100%;" ><br />"The Super Sherpa Expedition local management team is further working to finalizing entire management at Kathmandu before departing for Lukla. The Team has already sent all the expedition equipments and materials cargo to Syanboche via helicopter. The rest of the materials are sending directly from (Kathmandu) to Lukla.<br /><br />"In the mean time, the local management team including two Super Sherpas Mr. Apa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa put their efforts to finalizing the exemption of the climbing permit for Super Sherpa Expedition - 2007.<br /><br />"After doing several (followups) with government officials, (on the) day before yesterday (10th April 2007) government of Nepal, Ministerial Council approved the climbing permit fee exemption for Super Sherpa Expedition for this year. The government of Nepal will issue a confirmation letter today or tomorrow to the expedition team.<br /><br />"Now, the Super Sherpas are doing a final wrap up at Kathmandu to make the trip successful. On the other hand, Nepalese New Year 2064 is just a day after tomorrow, and two legendary Sherpas are very much curious to go ahead to achieve new destiny with new wonderful mission. The local team has already planned to organize a dinner program on the auspicious occasion of Nepalese New Year celebration with government officials, political leaders, journalists, social leaders and other renowned personalities on 18th April 2007 to exchange best wishes and good luck for Nepalese New Year and Super Sherpa Mission.<br /><br />"Mr. Apa had supported approximately more than 75 foreigners to reach the Everest Summit during his 16 times successful ascending of Mt. Everest."</span>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-26202665386465709142007-04-03T12:19:00.000-06:002007-04-03T17:28:32.535-06:00World Class Athletes<div style="direction: ltr;">Testing top athletes is nothing new to Dr. Max Testa, a sports medicine physician at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Murray, who's worked with the likes of Lance Armstrong of cycling fame. Now, Testa explains new TOSH research into a different kind of athleticism. Apa Sherpa and Lhapka Sherpa, demonstrated their <a href="http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660205051,00.html">high altitude abilities</a> at TOSH before departing and will also be studied as they climb Mount Everest.<br /><br />"We really want to study them as athletes and see how they perform. ... We just want to see how the best two Sherpas manage their performance and see if something can help others who want to climb. ...<br /><br />"We want to see how their engine works, how much training they need, what really makes them that good. ... When you test any kind of sport, what you first do is analyze the sport. Every sport has a certain energetic environment. You look at bio-mechanics of the sport. ... Training is to be built on a functional model of the sport. ...<br /><br />"We can break down each sport ... you train for those qualities. Training is stressing a body function in a gradual way to make it better. We are doing the same thing with the Sherpas. "<br /><br />"Apa started to carry weights ... since he was 12. He was getting better by repeating the same thing. ... That is good to get to a certain level ... but we move up the level of performance as we start to organize training by targeting different aspects of performance while resting another aspect. ... This 'periodization' developed in the last 30-40 years. It's made a huge difference."<br /><br />For example, Testa says, 100 meter runners don't just run 100 meters. They also utilize other methods such as weight training, plyometrics, and power training, he says.<br /><br />"We'll try to do the same thing with the Sherpa. If we can find a way to do it, and if they want to do it."<br /><br />"We already know lots of things about training people to climb better ... Now what we've got is the best in the world. Maybe we can learn more from Dr. McIntosh (who will act as the 'control' climber, and will also test the Sherpas at least part way up Everest) by looking at the difference between how his body responds to what he's doing. ... The average cyclist sometimes doesn't respond the same way as the Tour de France winner. If you see the extreme you definitely get a better picture. ...<br /><br />"We all have one heart and two lungs, but the starting point is different. Lance Armstrong was born with what I call an invisible gift ... Some of the qualities are inside muscle fiber or inside the heart or lungs. ... you need to measure that in the lab. ...<br /><br />"For me it's really a learning experience. I'm really curious to see what they come back. It could trigger more research on them or other Sherpas."</div><span class="sg"></span>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-6515046683525568422007-03-30T20:10:00.000-06:002007-04-03T17:25:04.207-06:00Getting It DoneJerry Mika, base camp co-manager, describes the logistics of sending nearly 1,000 pounds of Everest gear, packed into 15 waterproof bags, to Kathmandu with Apa Sherpa and<br />Lhapka Sherpa.<br /> "You just gotta know how to pack it right . . . There's over $80,000 worth of gear in there. There are 8,000 meter (26,247 foot) suits that are $2,000 apiece. That's just the suits, specially made by Marmot," an outdoor clothing company, which is among the climb's sponsors.<br /> Then, there are 18 tents. And extra clothing layers for the climbers who will be going in layers, "dressing up, dressing down" for temperatures that can drop to 50 to 60 degrees below zero, and even lower when taking into account wind chill, Mika says. And high tech communication gear that the base camp managers will take with them to Kathmandu.<br /> "It will take 32 yaks and about 24 porters to take up the gear (to base camp). Apa and Lhapka will be gathering extra supplies there as well. You've got, just in our group, about 11<br />people. That's quite a few people to feed for two months."<br /> When all's said and done, the expedition will have cost nearly $120,000, he says. With the help of the Sherpas' experience, Mika, an outdoor industry insider, has been working to pull<br />together the gear, while base camp co-manager Roger Kehr has been handling the communications equipment.<br /> "In most cases it takes one year to three years" to plan an Everest expedition. "We started ours in January."<br /> Mika also opened Karma Outdoor Clothing Co. in Salt Lake with Apa in November. And the two base camp managers have been helping the Sherpas adapt to Utah, "taking care of family, taking care of business, parent teacher conferences, driving school. ...<br /> "You just gotta get it done. It's going to happen. It's a big project. It's taking all of my management skills."Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-64808389453688110652007-03-29T11:43:00.000-06:002007-03-29T12:02:17.778-06:00Saying Goodbye<div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBV135LXAaH_MVXmOzQuqhlxO5pncBp1IXYfkCAZrkm_jLYNoG1NnICNqkw8zaKiYUd3-2iGK1xDVm9HdtwU9c-Q3MsztyP7XOzsJr2VSdNdcda_RnuV9JvUMfxHb9KEQ44BuyxaHL_NTi/s1600-h/goodbye.bmp"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047404959123415154" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBV135LXAaH_MVXmOzQuqhlxO5pncBp1IXYfkCAZrkm_jLYNoG1NnICNqkw8zaKiYUd3-2iGK1xDVm9HdtwU9c-Q3MsztyP7XOzsJr2VSdNdcda_RnuV9JvUMfxHb9KEQ44BuyxaHL_NTi/s320/goodbye.bmp" border="0" /></a><br />-Photo by Laura Seitz, Deseret Morning News.<br /><br />Apa Sherpa said goodbye to his wife, Yangzin, at the Salt Lake International Airport on Wednesday. Before departing, Apa told the Deseret Morning News that he's excited about co-leading the Super Sherpa expedition. However, it's always difficult to leave his family behind for the roughly two months required for an Everest expedition.<br />"It is hard for me and all the family to be far away ... I worry for them ... We worry for each other." </div>Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6416137476236193603.post-16086810530457844342007-03-28T12:54:00.000-06:002007-03-28T17:18:41.042-06:00The Adventure Begins<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://deseretnews.com/i/pdf/everest.pdf" target="_blank"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv81-KA5FFQDkvOM_R1s05WeIgd3aqVV_Ws_dWkrNS5NpTwdQ3fgdrEErzr6axogzXo1TSMS-BnQT-cp6rIFq5r34-EmU1V2rP-ZF2Xgb6k3fyYLHph4mNB9NSBb_6vmDy1GZ0w9A_GFVM/s400/Everest1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047118394610458722" border="0" /></a>Two world-record holding Sherpa guides left Utah on Wednesday, March 28, to embark on an unique expedition to the top of the world, designed to raise awareness and funds for the Sherpa people of Nepal.<br /><br />The "<a href="http://www.supersherpas.com/">Super Sherpa</a>" ascent will be led by Apa Sherpa, who has reached the 29,035 foot summit of Mount Everest a record 16 times; and Lhapka Sherpa, who has climbed Everest in a record 10 hours, 56 minutes and 46 seconds.<br /><br />The expedition will be the subject of a <a href="http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660204542,00.html" target="_blank">documentary</a>, with at least 25 percent of the proceeds going to education, health care, and other needs in Nepal. The team also hopes the documentary will raise awareness about the Sherpa guides and porters who often cross the most dangerous parts of the journey to Everest's summit several times.<br /><br />Apa and Lhapka will be sending periodic updates as they prepare for the expedition in Kathmandu. Base camp managers Jerry Mika and Roger Kehr will be arriving in Nepal on April 15, along with Dr. Scott McIntosh, of the University of Utah, who will be continuing <a href="http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660205051,00.html" target="_blank">medical tests</a> on the Sherpa's athleticism that were conducted at The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Utah. After reaching base camp, the Sherpas will wait for the right conditions before they attempt to climb to the summit. They hope to climb in early May.<br /><br />The team will be providing their perspectives on the expedition, Everest and Nepali culture through text, pictures and occasional videos on this site.<br /><br />We'll also be including perspectives from the <a href="http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,660206351,00.html" target="_blank">home front</a> with contributions from family members living here in Utah.<br /><br />The route the Sherpa climbers will take is the same route that was taken by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, who first reached the summit in 1953. Keep checking for updates as the expedition progresses.Deseretnews.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07868445084728143761noreply@blogger.com0