Lakpa Serpa is not supposed to have ever been a climber. Her mother definitely did not want her. she would prefer her daughter to become a housewife. But that did not stop Serpa. “I broke the rule. [I didn’t] “Listen to my mom,” Sherpa told Matt Galloway on The Current. They are one of the pairs of climbers who broke new mountaineering barriers in May. Last month, Sherpa became the first woman to climb to the top of the world not just once, but 10 times. “It was very exciting because it is the top of the mountain.” Lakpa Sherpa is the first woman to climb Mount Everest 10 times. (Lhakpa Sherpa / Facebook) Serpa was born in a cave in Nepal, in the shadow of the great peak and always looked at it with wonder. It was her father who encouraged her to reach this peak, even when her mother did not want her to. “Daddy tells me, okay, let it go. You know, this is my dad. This is my hero. I believe in my dad,” Serpa said. And Sherpa proved that her father was right. At the age of 48, although she has no formal education, Sherpa is the most successful woman to climb Mount Everest.
For the love of snow
James Kagabi decided he wanted to climb mountains when he was a teenager. One night, his father pulled him out of bed and showed him that someone was firing fireworks from Mount Kenya to honor Kenya’s independence. As Kagambi stared at the screen, he was inspired to climb the mountain. Ten years later he would achieve this goal. At first he struggled, but eventually stumbled upon something that completely changed his mind about the experience. “I hated this mountain. I had a headache. I did not feel well. I could not eat because I was poorly prepared. But when I had snow… when I reached the top, I just loved it. And that’s what got me back to the mountain,” Kagabi said. . “Even now people know; as soon as I touch the snow, my feelings change. I am the happiest person. I just jump up and down, I dance. If you want to see me at my best, put me in the snow.” James Kagambi (KG) flies 🇰🇪🇰🇪 to the top of Mount Everest Thursday morning. 13/5/22. Congratulations 👏🥳 pic.twitter.com/wIGL4WIfKb – @ iamalexkamau Kagabi fell in love with mountaineering and to the great disappointment of his parents, he quit his job as a teacher and started mountaineering full time. “My family was not happy. My dad and mom, you know, kept saying, ‘No, you can’t stop teaching,’” Kagambi said. “Finally I said ‘you know, this is my life and here I am.’ This led Kagambi, at the age of 62, to be a member of Everest’s first all-black climbing team in May and the first Kenyan to climb to the top.
Why go up?
For Kagabi, climbing Mount Everest helps him improve as a person. “It gives me a lot of challenges, a lot of hope. It gives me a lot of learning,” Kagambi said. “I also find that it allows me to be myself. “When I go out in nature, then I feel that I can do whatever I want.” For Sherpa, it’s not just a big achievement. She said the mountain has a profound effect on her well-being. Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world, and other peaks in the Himalayas can be seen through an aircraft window during a mountain flight from Kathmandu, Nepal. (Monika Deupala / Reuters) “I think the mountains heal me; the mountains make me happy,” Serpa said. She said she hopes her story will inspire young girls around the world. Sherpa said that it is important not to give up on your dreams and not to let your parents’ dreams become yours. “My mom may say, ‘Oh, my daughter, I wanted a housewife’ … but I had a different dream. I followed my dreams. Slowly, but [I didn’t] I quit. I reached it 10 times “. Written by Philip Drost. Produced by Kate Cornick.
