Everest (Reflections on the Solukhumbu)

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Sujoy Das

A seasoned trekker and photographer, Sujoy Das feels most at home in the high Himalaya. Founder of South Col Expeditions, he has introduced many trekkers to the magic of the Everest and Annapurna regions in Nepal, where he has been photographing for 30 years. His images and accompanying essays have featured in the Washington Post, Alpinist, Insight Guides, Outdoor Journal, Outlook Traveller and many other publications. He has co-authored and photographed several books including Nepal Himalaya A Journey Through Time, Sikkim A Travellers Guide and Lonely Planet Nepal for the Indian Traveller.

Lisa Choegyal

British-born Lisa Choegyal has made Kathmandu her home since 1974, deeply involved with Nepal tourism and conservation. She worked for 25 years with the Mountain Travel Nepal group of adventure tourism pioneers and is director of Tiger Mountain Pokhara Lodge. As a specialist in sustainable tourism, she consults throughout the Asia Pacific region. Author and editor of Nepal Himalaya A Journey Through Time, Kathmandu Valley Style, The Nepal Scene Chronicles of Elizabeth Hawley and Offerings from Nepal, she produced the South Asian Insight Guides series and contributes a fortnightly column to the Nepali Times. Lisa serves as trustee on a number of pro-bono organisations, and since 2010 is New Zealand's Honorary Consul to Nepal.

In ancient texts the high valleys of Solukhumbu are described as 'a paradise surrounded by snow mountains', an unlikely description for a place where even the air we breathe is in short supply. The reason was neither material comfort nor scenic beauty. Instead, the strong feeling of peace and security of the mountain environment made Solukhumbu a paradise in the minds of the local inhabitants.

Oral history tells us our Sherpa ancestors arrived more than 500 years ago while searching for a beyul, a promised land. Sherpas believe that beyuls are hidden valleys, refuges guarded by powerful mountain deities, and thus we have developed a deep respect for mountains as sacred spaces. Mountain climbing, for which our people have become world famous, is only a recent adaptation.

Mountains provide us a sense of stability and continuity in a constantly changing environment. Over the past five decades, Solukhumbu has gone through a number of difficult social, economic and environmental upheavals. The Sherpa people have not only managed to cope, but to adjust to each shock. When the centuries-old trans-Himalayan trade with Tibet suddenly collapsed, Solukhumbu Sherpas managed to latch on to mountaineering and prosper, even if it meant having to climb our sacred peaks.

This book is a wonderful tribute to my old friend Sir Edmund Hillary on his birth centenary. His historic climb with Tenzing Norgay and subsequent philanthropic work in Solukhumbu are integral to the Sagarmatha story.

The glorious peaks of the Himalayan range are also central to my mountaineering career, and the precious friendships with my Sherpa climbing colleagues are lodged deep in my heart. My fifteen trips to the mountains of Nepal include three expeditions to Mount Everest, leading the first ascent of the south-west face in 1975 on which Doug Scott and Dougal Haston became the first Britons to summit, and eventually reaching the top myself in 1985 at the age of fifty.

I salute the participation of the Sherpas without whom we could not have enjoyed such success, and with whom I have shared the triumphs, trauma and tragedy that are part of any pioneering mountain adventure.

**Contents and Sample Pages**