KATHMANDU, Aug 4: “When will I summit the peaks?” Young Ang Kami’s heart would fill with queries. The stories of scaling mountains and sharing stories of their expedition would induce a sense of envy onto his young heart. Born and raised at Gudel village of Solukhumbu, he was determined to scale on one of the highest summits. He would think, “I will certainly set my foot on one of those gigantic peaks someday”.

The undying aspiration has now brought Ang Kami Sherpa to join the seven-summit expedition. A six-time Everest summiteer, he has been planning to scale Mt. Denali, previously known as Mt. McKinley -- the highest peak of North America. Following the ascent of Denali, he aims to scale three different highest peaks of the remaining three continents to complete his seven summit expedition.

“Mountain climbing is addictive in its own way,” says Ang kami. “Once you start mountaineering, you are provoked with the desire to scale more peaks. The obsession and passion brought me to this expedition, of scaling the seven highest peaks of all seven continents. 

The six-time Everest summiteer has also set foot on Mt. Lhotse and Mt. Manaslu. Along with the highest peaks in Nepal, he has also scaled Carstensz Pyramid of Indonesia, Aconcagua of Argentina and numerous peaks of South America.

Mountaineering initially piqued his interest after following his father, Chhetar Sherpa’s, who also dedicated his life into trekking. Encountered with many hardships, he initially started his career in tourism as a porter. In the course of working as a porter, he once trekked to Kalapatthar and saw a close view of Mt. Everest. Upon having such a closer view of the peak, he realized that the highest peak in the world was reachable and since then aspired to scale it at any cost.

Ang Kami was 18 when he started the trekking profession in 2002. After a year, he took up the Basic Mountaineering Training organized under Nepal Federation of Mountaineers. Moreover, it was only after the summit of the 6476m Mera Peak that Ang Kami finally got the opportunity to set his foot on the highest peak of the world in 2004. Ever since the first summit, he has led many foreigners to the top of the mountain. Moreover, he is also the youngest persons in his village Gudel to have frequently scaled the Everest.

Besides mountaineering, he is actively engaged in conducting social activities. Reminiscing about the days when he could not study due to the inaccessibility of education facilities in his village. In order for the welfare and development of Gudel, a social organization called Gudel Sherpa Kidug was introduced in Ang kami’s recommendation to unite the Sherpa residents of Kathmandu. Not only has the organization been lending support for the village development activities, but has also been providing support for the family of deceased who lost their lives in mountaineering works.

His contributions were noteworthy in the onset of crisis brought by the 2015 earthquake. While on the journey to Manasalu, the earthquake occurred. Although he was fortunate enough to be left unharmed, many national and international summiteers lost their lives in the avalanche. “I have partaken in Rescue and Disaster management due to which I was able to deploy myself in the rescue works after the disaster took place,” said Sherpa. 

After the rescue program, he returned to his village to help his people. “It was sad to see the village in ruins. I then sought for financial aid from foreigner friends and distributed relief materials to the victims and lent our support by reconstructing houses for the quake victims,” expressed Sherpa. Since the quake, he has actively been extending his help to improve the state of education in the village.