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Sherpa Guide at Mount Everest. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Mountaineer Warner Rojas became the first Tico climber to summit Mount Everest on May 24th. His feat has earned him accolades from all of Costa Rica, including President Laura Chinchilla, who congratulated him with an official communique, exalting his achievement as one that should inspire all Ticos who reach for the stars.
Mr. Rojas is currently making his way down to Camp 2 with the Jagged Globe expedition team lead by David Hamilton, who has reached the Everest summit six times. There are some team members left behind; they are busy dismantling Camps 3 and 4, hauling the spent oxygen breathing supplies and equipment. These are the brave Sherpa guides of Nepal, and among them is an amazing man who helped Mr. Rojas achieve his dream of flying the Costa Rica flag at the top of the world: Mingma Sherpa.
Mingma Sherpa is in his mid-30s and has scaled Mount Everest 18 times. In a 2011 article on the Kathmandu Post, Mingma Sherpa was called “Invincible, the Grand Old Man of Climbing.” He holds a unique record among Sherpas and climbers all over the world: he has scaled all the 14 peaks in the world above 8,000 meters. In the rugged world of mountaineering, such feat makes Mingma Sherpa a legend. His achievement has been recognized by the President of Nepal Ram Baran Yadav.
The professional climbing career of Mingma Sherpa began in earnest in the year 2000 when he climbed Mount Makalu. From that time on, he scaled eight major peaks in Nepal, five in Pakistan and one in Tibet. He shares the opinion of experienced mountaineers around the world: Mount Everest may be the top of the world, but K2 in Pakistan is the most grueling. Speaking to the Kathmandu Post, he explained:
“K2 is almost impossible to climb. I found Kanchanjunga in eastern Nepal and Nanga Parbat in Pakistan the most beautiful ones.”
The Sherpa people of Nepal are believed to have adapted genetically to the high altitudes they live in, and thus they make excellent climbers. Such is the speculation by Kenneth Kamler, author of Surviving the Extremes: What Happens To the Human Body At the Limits of Human Endurance. As cited in Wikipedia, Sherpa guides may possess:
“[…] unique hemoglobin-binding enzymes, doubled nitric oxide production, hearts that can utilize glucose, and lungs with an increased efficiency in low oxygen conditions.”
According to a representative from Jagged Globe, the team is expected to be back at Everest Base Camp for a warm breakfast on Sunday morning (not quite gallopinto yet for Mr. Rojas) while the amazing Nepali Sherpa guides follow them with equipment. Mr. Rojas knows that without the expertise of the Mingma Sherpa and the rest of the guides, he would not have been able to make Costa Rica proud.
