The Nepal Relief Fund: Part I

One of our hopes at Musa Masala is to help introduce people to the fun of trekking in Nepal. not only is this a beautiful country with many different environments to travel through, but culturally, Nepal is a wonder for exposing trekkers to the many different religions, tribes and cultural groups throughout the country. Lakpa Sherpa, along with Musa writer Ang Diku Sherpa and our friends Nwang Phuri Sherpa and Binu Rumdali Rai, took a quick break from their busy lives in Kathmandu to enjoy the trek around Gosaikunda Lake in Langtang National Park. Here is Lakpa's post on their short and sweet trek.

Peak Promotion guides for Dave Carter's Everest Base Camp Trek, April, 2015 Mingmar Dorji Sherpa, Phula Sherpa, Gelu Sherpa, Ngwang Phuri Sherpa, Pemba Sherpa

One of our hopes at Musa Masala is to help introduce people to the fun of trekking in Nepal. not only is this a beautiful country with many different environments to travel through, but culturally, Nepal is a wonder for exposing trekkers to the many different religions, tribes and cultural groups throughout the country. Lakpa Sherpa, along with Musa writer Ang Diku Sherpa and our friends Nwang Phuri Sherpa and Binu Rumdali Rai, took a quick break from their busy lives in Kathmandu to enjoy the trek around Gosaikunda Lake in Langtang National Park. Here is Lakpa's post on their short and sweet trek.

On April 25th, 2015 trekkers Dave Carter, Ace Yakey and John Mead were well on their way to their destination, Mount Everest base camp. Their group was traveling with Peak Promotion, the climbing, film and trekking company run by the late Wongchu Sherpa.

They had recently left Dughla and were atop the Thokla pass, where the memorial to Sherpas and climbers lost on Mount Everest stands, and were headed to Lobuche, where they planned to spend the night.

At 11:36am, without warning, the earth began shaking. A 7.8 magnitude earthquake was moving Nepal. It would cause catastrophic damage to the infrastructure of the country and take the lives of thousands.

When the shaking stopped, they were in a whiteout, brought on by the nearby avalanches and snow thrown into the air by the temblor. Neither the trekkers or their guides had any real idea of the damage the quake had caused. Continuing on to Lobuche, they began to see evidence of the effects. Because many of the buildings in the Solukhumbu consist of brick and stone, much of the damage in Lobuche came from their collapse.

Damaged building in Luboche

The group spent a fitful night in the village. Communication was difficult, but a report from the BBC alerted them to the devastation in Kathmandu. Injured climbers and porters were coming down to Lobuche from base camp, where there had been a terrible avalanche.

Here the composure and good sense of the guides—Mingmar Dorje Sherpa, Phula Sherpa, Gelu Sherpa, Ngwang Phuri Sherpa and Pemba Sherpa—really kicked in. They were all from the village of Chyangba in the lower Solu Khumbu region, the birthplace and home of Wongchu Sherpa, and had very little information of the situation in the village.

John and the group suggested the guides go back to Chyangba to look after their homes and families, but none of them left. Instead, they decided to get their clients safely to Kathmandu.

"It was very emotional to have them with us knowing they were not leaving our side. I will never forget it,” wrote John Mead in the newsletter that was later sent to their donors.

The next night, they slept in Pheriche, taking shelter in the sunroom of the HRA clinic in the village. All the way back to Lukla, people were sleeping outside due to so many aftershocks.

When the team reached Lukla, they learned that bad weather had grounded flights. While not an unusual occurrence, it added to the urgency with so many Trekkers trying to return to Kathmandu.

Again the guides came through and secured a place to stay for the night. Wongchu Sherpa, in his hospital bed from where he was fighting colon cancer, worked the phones to help get the team back to Kathmandu.

While making their way back, Dave, John and Ace realized how much they owed to the guide team that was taking care of them while their homes and village were damaged or worse. They decided to establish a fund to help their friends with the recovery they understood was coming. By the time they reached Kathmandu, the idea for the Nepal Relief Fund had been born.

"The reason we put the fund together was to honor the Chyangba and Peak Promotion team, incredible individuals,” wrote John Mead.

The whole team in Lobuche, as they turn around

On returning to the U.S., the three joined with their friend David Breashers, the renowned climber and filmmaker who had been at camp one on Mount Everest with Ang Phula Sherpa, working on a film project on climate change in the Himalayas at the time of the earthquake. They had been helicoptered off the mountain with about 150 stranded climbers due to the instability of the Khumbu icefall. The four began a fundraising effort and a decision making process of where to help.

In part two we cover the start of the fund and the reconstruction of the Chyangba Secondary School.