Phurba Tashi

Phurba Tashi

Phurba Tashi (* 1971 ) is a Nepalese mountaineer and member of the Sherpa people .

successes

Phurba Tashi worked for the well-known expedition operator HimEx (Himalayan Experience, Chef Russell Brice ) as a sirdar . Because Phurba Tashi always accompanied the final ascent to the summit due to his performance and good constitution, which HimEx led for many years largely over the north side and the long northeast ridge, he bears the honorary name "Man on the Ridge", for example "our man at the top of the ridge ".

In 2007, at the request of Russell Brice, Phurba Tashi took part in an organized Everest crossing - he ascended the familiar north side, descended the south side, rested for three days at the south base camp - and then made his way back south over the summit on the north side, an enormous achievement.

Phurba Tashi has climbed Mount Everest 21 times so far (setting the Appa Sherpa record / as of 2013). He also climbed Cho Oyu five times, Manaslu twice , and Lhotse and Shishapangma Central Summit once each.

In 2002 he was on the summit of Everest twice with different expeditions. Together with Juanito Oiarzabal , he holds the record with a total of 30 eight-thousand-meter climbs (as of May 2018).

In 2006 and 2007, Russell Brice's expeditions were accompanied by the Discovery Channel. Phurba Tashi can be seen several times as part of the documentary Everest - Playing with Death .

He lost his record of 21 ascents on Everest, which he held together with his Sirdar colleagues Appa Sherpa and Kami Rita Sherpa , in the 2018 season when Kami Rita climbed the summit for the 22nd time.

End of his engagement

The Chinese authorities made since the Olympics for the torch relay of the Chinese military to the Everest increasingly difficult for commercial expeditions and also tried to put pressure on Nepal to terminate the mountain at certain times completely, sometimes suddenly and into the oncoming preparations inside. This resulted in considerable planning uncertainties for commercial expedition providers. Understandable anger and disappointment of paying customers followed.

Russell Brice therefore decided not to climb from the north anymore. However, there were also significant problems on the Nepalese south side - in 2012 Russell Brice broke off his expedition on the south side because the predefined route became too dangerous for him. The "Icefall Doctors", the advance party of paid Sherpas who are hired by all commercial providers together, had insured the route through the icefall again in the usual manner - near the west ridge - but the participants had to deal with a huge one over the years move the grown ice wall hanging from the southwest wall.

In 2014 there was the partly anticipated disaster in the Khumbu icefall on the south side, in which twelve local Sherpas died. Since then, the "Icefall Doctor" route has been laid on a long stretch close to the south side of the Nuptse, but the route through the icefall remains by far the most dangerous part of the south ascent, as there is no alternative if there is an avalanche or an ice tower collapses.

The following year, 2015, there was the devastating earthquake, which triggered an avalanche that penetrated the base camp and killed 18 expedition members. As a result, Phurba Tashi withdrew from mountaineering. Too many friends of Phurba Tashi were among the dead. In 2016 Phurba Tashi was still at HimEx base camp and helped Russell Brice with the organization, but did not move up. Phurba Tashi had also lost his parents the previous year.

Web links

• Phurba Tashi in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Brief information with photo

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Himex.com Himalayan Experience Team of Sherpas and Guides. March 1, 2010, accessed August 25, 2019 . 
2. ↑ News on 8000ers.com, accessed May 6, 2011
3. ↑ http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=15279  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/death-and-anger-on-everest Report by Jon Krakauer in the New Yorker, accessed May 21, 2018