KATHMANDU: Doma Sherpa, a journalist by profession, was troubled and pinched when she heard the news of avalanche in the Mt Everest on 18 April 2014 that claimed the lives of 16 people, including high-altitude porters and Sherpas.
That very moment she decided to act – to explore the Mt Everest and reach the summit. In fact, she wanted to accustom herself with all the nuts and bolts of the Himalayas, mainly the Everest.
That was not all. She wanted to understand and get acquainted with the ecological environment of Mt Everest and the hardship of high-altitude porters and the Sherpas.
As a media person, she wanted to explore the facts and circumstances and reveal her findings and breakthroughs that usually came to the fore, including the rumors.
“I had a dream, a dream to achieve and realize in the expedition”, says Doma Sherpa during her conversation with Khabarhub. She, however, hastens on to add that climbing Mt Everest, for some, could be a Herculean task. “You know, everyone who comes back safely from Mt Everest battles with death,” she grins.
Look, for instance, she continues, “If any event happens in the Base camp, information pops out like wildfire and goes beyond control.”
During the summit, she could experience the fact that while national and international guides do focus on the safety and security of the climbers, some unprofessional and beginner guides only tend to reach the summit by any means.
This means that a number of guides and high altitude porters do not focus on the safety and security of the climbers.
She continued to explore the mountain. She even reached other camping sites in a bid to accomplish her campaign. Besides climbing the mountain, Doma made a documentary on Sherpas and the expeditions during her expedition.
The Sherpas, according to her, are well aware of the fact that mountains cannot be climbed without them. They are equally concerned over the preservation of the mountains.
Doma, therefore, feels that the government needs to support the Sherpas and the high altitude porters to preserve the mountains.
Unlike previous years, she says, it is hard to find guides. Earlier, climbers used to go to the expedition offices during the season to seek jobs but now offices already book the Sherpas.
If this continues, there will be a dearth of experienced expedition workers and porters.
She adds, “Many Sherpa guides have gone abroad to earn. Sherpas currently do not inspire their siblings to get into the mountaineering sector because of lack of security.”
Sherpas and high altitude porters will be able to work hard for another 50 years, according to her. Therefore, the government should provide social security fund or allowances to the high-altitude porters and Sherpas to make their life happy for their retired life as civil servants. “The government needs to support the siblings for their education,” she suggests.
This year, the government collected a revenue of Rs 44 million from Mt Everest only. And if the government provides 15% of the total income to the Sherpas that would be of great support to the Sherpas she opines.
Doma climbed the Mt Everest to raise the issues of high altitude porters and Sherpas with the slogan of ‘Voice of the Voiceless and Women Empowerment’.
During the expedition, she underwent several bitter experiences. “In fact, people are least bothered when it comes to helping others during the expedition. Humanity becomes just a myth while climbing mountains,” she says adding, “People have become more self-centric.”
While on her mission, she encountered with a Sherpa, unknown to her, between camp 4 and camp 3, descending down, wearing broken glasses. His clients had an extra glass but did not bother to give him.
Doma then gave the shades to her. “He could seriously suffer from frostbite which could even damage his eyes,” says Doma.
She reached the summit on May 22, 2018, at 5:15 am to become the first female Sherpa journalist to conquer the world’s highest peak. “I was lucky enough to see the pleasant surrounding due to clear weather,” she told Khabarhub.
Doma says she was speechless atop of Mt Everest to experience the heavenly ambiance. She could see all the peaks from the Nepal side.
She urged the government to provide basic and advance training to high altitude porters and the Sherpas since they can focus on safety and security.
Nepal has more than 290 mountains. Therefore, the government needs to open more mountains to climb in a bid to promote the mountains.
“The government needs to establish an information center at the Everest Base Camp by making a provision to disseminate news, information, and pictures only from the center for authenticity.
“If we establish an information center, the news of traffic jams in the Everest this year would not have got the negative repercussion,” Doma says.
Mt Everest, at times, looks like a trash bin. Therefore, Doma opines that all concerned need to take initiatives to make it clean and preserve its beauty.
She is of the opinion that liaison officers checked the stuff being taken to the summit and verify it while climbing down to control garbage.
Currently, Doma is trying to engage herself in a mountaineering association to raise the voices of Sherpa and support them in whatever way she could.
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