Image by Patrick Morrow, Invermere, BC, Canada
Pasang L Sherpa, aged 6 years young.
Pasang and Chotin playtime with Wasfia, 2014.
“The kind of journey that stays with you long after the mountains fade from view. My experience with High Karma and the Chomolungma retreat was far beyond a trek. This was my first time going to see Chomolungma, and honestly, I still can’t believe how it all came together but standing there at the EBC surrounded by mountains, it didn’t feel like ‘just’ base camp. It felt like walking into a story that’s always been a part of my family. I came expecting a physical challenge but left carrying a deeper sense of clarity, strength and connection both to the Himalayas and to myself.
I did this journey with auntie Wasfia Nazreen, who once stood on the summit of Everest with my father when he was alive. That made every step in this trek more personal. We also had uncle Lhakpa Rita Sherpa with us, which added even more meaning to the retreat . Along the way, we visited Thame village, which is still carrying the scars of destruction, and the memorial site near Lobuche, where deceased climbers are honoured including auntie’s friends.
Base camp may have been the destination but for me it was about remembering where I come from, honouring the people who came before me, and carrying their stories forward. I am grateful to carry this experience . Thank you High Karma, auntie Wasfia and uncle Lhakpa. I’ll never forget it.”
— May 2025, aged 19 years young.
Chotin, 14 years young.
Chotin, aged 2 years young.
Pasang and Chotin Sherpa are the daughters of Pema Sherpa and the late Ngima G. Sherpa, who was one of Wasfia’s climbing mentors. He was the Sherpa Sirdar for Wasfia’s Chomolungma climb, and together they reached the top of the world at Nepal time 6:26AM, 26th May, 2012. Photos from Nepal Tourism Board’s reception pre (left) and post (right) successful climb of Chomolungma/Mount Everest, March and June 2012. Ngima tragically passed away after a motorbike accident in the streets of Kathmandu, on Christmas Eve, December 2012.
Village students near Wasfia’s hometown, Chittagong, working with NASA + JPL Scientists via Osel Foundation over a two-year-long curriculum. A project funded partially by grants from Nat Geo, where the network to remote parts of Bangladesh was provided by Grameenphone, 2016-2018. Video in Bengali with English subtitles.
