The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“Before we climb, we pray”
By Katherine Nettles
Sherpa Café in Crested Butte held a celebration last week to welcome the “Year of the Snake” in Nepalese, Indian and Tibetan cultures. With a feast of Nepalese and Tibetan food, the café closed to commercial business for the evening on February 25 and speakers from the Sherpa family shared stories of their numerous adventures on Mt. Everest and other major mountains of the Himalayas.
Sherpa Café is a family-owned and run business established in Crested Butte in 2010 (with a later addition in Gunnison), and the family and many of their employees are ethnic sherpa from the Khumbu (Mt. Everest) region of Nepal. The Year of the Snake is considered one of intuition, regeneration and growth in Nepal, Tibet and India. Owner Pemba Sherpa welcomed the public for a free evening of chai and snacks to accompany stories as the café celebrated the holiday.
Among the speakers was 16-time Mt. Everest summiteer Mingma Sherpa, who spoke to an overflowing crowd about how he became a sherpa on Everest, of his many successful summit expeditions there and some of the harrowing experiences he has had along the way including massive rock fall, avalanches and frostbite. As a young man, Mingma spent six years in school as a monk to support his family prior to joining his older brother in climbing Everest. He went on to successfully summit Everest 16 times, turning back only four times due to various client needs and complications. Mingma spoke briefly about climbing many of the other largest mountains in the world including K2, Lhotse and Kangchenjunga.
Sherpa’s welcomed others from its family to speak about their experiences as sherpas on Everest as well, and they fielded questions from the audience about their preparation, process and challenges. They described the two climbing seasons for Everest: May/June and December/January, and that the longest they have lingered at the 29,000 foot summit is about five minutes.
“Before we climb, we pray,” said Pasang Sherpa of the final act among sherpas before they begin the superhuman ascent which requires carrying and handling gear, preparing meals and attending to clients in an extremely inhospitable environment.
Pemba Sherpa, who was also an expedition guide before he came to the Gunnison Valley in 2007, shared news of his upcoming tour to Nepal this coming fall. “People come to Nepal for all sorts of adventures,” he said. The fall 2025 tour will include an Everest Region Three Pass trek, exploration of sherpa culture, a city tour of Kathmandu, a trip to Everest Base Camp and time spent hanging out with locals. More information can be found at sherpascafe.com/Nepal or by contacting Pemba at [email protected] or 720-273-7258.
The evening ended with more food, music and dancing.
Namaste!
