Nanga Parbat summit success for Mingma Gyalje Sherpa and seven other mountaineers

If the name Mingma Gyalje Sherpa doesn’t ring a bell, it may be worth learning it as we’ll certainly be hearing more of him in the future. The talented Nepalese from the Rolwaling valley made headline news in 2015 when, aged 29, he made the solo first ascent of the West Face of Chobutse. The climb was hailed asa turning point in the history of Sherpa climbing, as it was the first time a Sherpa had established a difficult new route on his own.

The tireless 31-year-old UIAGM Mountain Guide is also head of Dreamers Destination that runs commercial expeditions to the highest mountains in the world, and last summer Mingma Gyalje Sherpa successfully guided 12 mountaineers to the top of K2. His was the only expedition to reach the 8,611m high summit last summer and the first to summit since 2014. Mingma Gyalje Sherpa also led clients up Nanga Parbat on 11 June and Broad Peak on 4 August, but doubts were raised later by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa himself about both these ascents, as the summit push had occurred in extremely poor weather and he was no longer 100% certain that the true summit had been reached.

All doubts have now been pushed aside: Mingma returned to Nanga Parbat and reached the mountain’s highest point with seven other climbers. One of these was Pakistan’s Muhammad Ali Sadpara, who summit the Naked Mountain for the fourth time. Sadpara had made the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat on 26 February 2016 together with Italy’s Simone Moro and Spain’s Alex Txikon, while Tamara Lunger tur