'Humanity Must Join Hands to Protect the Himalayas from Climate Change'

Mingma David Sherpa, an ace mountaineer who, until last year, was the youngest individual to climb all 14 eight-thousanders (at a young age of 30) and still holds the record of summiting the world’s second highest summit, the 8,607-metre K2 (Godwin Austen), record six times, including the first ever winter ascent of the peak by a group of all-Nepali climbers (January 2021), recently sat for an interview. Excerpts:

You have made records atop mountains. What does it take to be a mountaineer?

In today’s youth, there’s this mindset: My friend’s friend has climbed mountains, so let me also give it a shot.  

But climbing mountains is no fun activity. It takes years of training and a lot of mental and physical strength as well as endurance to climb a mountain.

For example, snowing in the Everest (Sagarmatha) buries the routes just carved out for a planned ascent. That makes reaching atop a very difficult undertaking.   
Back in our school days in Taplejung, going to school and returning home used to be one hard trek. Looking back, I feel that hard journey also trained me to be a mountaineer.

These days, increased road connectivity means people do not trek much. In a way, this impedes the training for the future mountaineer. That’s why it is getting increasingly difficult to find mountaineers. The aspiring youths need to work harder, and build their physical and mental strength before setting out on their mountaineering journeys.  
  
By the way, mountaineering is not just a race for supremacy, a perennial race for setting and breaking records, it is also about team efforts, about saving lives by throwing your own life in line and triumphing against all odds. Personally, I have paused my ascents to save lives in the Himalayas.  

In our belief systems, these mountains are deities and they are sacred; they are not standing there awaiting humanity to smash records. In these belief systems, like humans, they are related to each other.

Before setting out on an ascent, we offer puja to the mountain gods and ask them to bless us with success. Human endeavors count and so do blessings from the deities.

An increasing number of mountaineers and trekking guides are leaving the country for better opportunities abroad. How do we curb this trend?

Which sector in Nepal is not seeing a drain of human resources in search of better prospects? These people need better training and better job opportunities to stay in the country. The government needs to do proper planning and provide these people training and jobs to retain them in the country.  

How worried are you about the impact of climate change on our Himalayas?

It breaks my heart whenever I see majestic mountains shorn of snow and baring black rocks, and piles of waste along the way. I have taken part in many expeditions to clear the garbage from the mountains. 

The thinning of ice on the mountains, glacial retreat and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) affect us all. Despite this fact, certain sections try to propagate the narrative that climate change affects certain gender and other groups while others are kind of immune from it. This is not true, climate change and global warming affect us all. For example, when there is no snowing in the Himalayas, billions of people suffer for want of water.

Despite a nominal carbon footprint, Nepal has been paying a heavy price for the sins it did not commit. As a renowned mountaineer, what is your appeal to the international community? 


The international community must get its act together to curb climate change instead of engaging in blame-game. All countries must work together to save the planet. Humanity must stand as one in this mission. 

You brought a piece of rock from the Himalayas that features in the NPL trophy as its crowning glory. Tell us something about it.

By following all applicable laws and procedures, we brought the piece of rock from Kalapatthar, which lies in the Sagarmatha National Park, in response to a request from the Cricket Association of Nepal.

This is not just a piece of rock. It carries a message from Nepal to the rest of the world. The piece of rock is meant to make the world aware of the fact that Nepal is home to majestic mountains like the world’s highest peak, Sagarmatha, to raise awareness on the impact of climate change on the Himalayas and to promote Nepal as a tourist destination. It also reflects our love for the game of cricket.

Apparently, you have many more mountains to climb. What’s your immediate plan?

My plan is to summit the K2 once again. It’s a vertical climb and the weather changes quite fast along the way. It requires you to be quite fast to make it to the top. No mountain has fascinated me more than K2, so I am eyeing the peak once again.

The government plans to conduct the Sagarmatha Sambaad (on May 16-18) to draw the attention of the world to the impact of climate change on the Himalayas. How do you plan to contribute to it?

I have been approached to play a part in Nepal’s global initiative to bring attention to the impact of climate change on the country. The global event falls in the midst of the mountaineering season, so chances are that I may not be in Kathmandu at that time. Having said that, I am ready to contribute to the cause in whatever way possible.