K2 Global Project

Phunjo Lama's story

A Himalayan childhood

Phunjo Lama is a Nepalese woman in her thirties. She comes from an isolated village located at 3500m in the Himalayas. Raised by her grandfather, Phunjo spent her early years transporting salt to Tibet with a herd of yaks, often walking long distances and carrying heavy loads herself. She had little schooling, as school was almost non-existent in her village and the family’s income also depended on her contribution. At the age of 13, her older brother, who had moved to Kathmandu, invited her to join him in the capital. With 45 kg of supplies on her back, Phunjo set off on a two-week journey on foot, expecting Kathmandu to be little more than a large village. She imagined becoming a Buddhist nun, as opportunities for women were limited.

A first profession

But Kathmandu opened up other opportunities for Phunjo. Her brother enrolled her in school ; the transition was difficult. Given her level of schooling, Phunjo was placed in a class with much younger children; Phunjo didn’t speak Nepali at the time- in her village people speak Tibetan - and she describes these years as arduous. However, she managed to learn the language, and by 2013 her linguistic skills proved invaluable. A woman from her village, not knowing how to call for an helicopter, asked her for help for her pregnant sister who was in labor, her survival and that of the baby depended on being airlifted to the nearest hospital. There were no doctors in this village in the heart of the Hilamayas, and women still sometimes died in childbirth. Phunjo herself lost her mother in such circumstances when she was just two years old. Thanks to her Nepalese, Phunjo managed to coordinate the rescue, and both mother and child survived. This experience led to an unexpected opportunity; through the helicopter pilot, Phunjo discovered the possibility of becoming a mountain rescuer. She attended three training courses in Nepal, and was sponsored to complete her training in Europe. She thus became the first female long-line helicopter rescuer in Nepal.

Guiding in the Himalayas

Phunjo describes herself as deeply committed to her career as a rescuer at the time, but very uncomfortable - being steeped in Buddhist culture - with the fact that her income depended on often very serious mountain accidents. Thanks to her colleagues of the time, she discovered mountaineering and excelled in both technical ascents and high-altitude expeditions. Like many Nepalese mountaineers, she saw it as a way of earning a living and paying for her daughter’s schooling. She borrowed money from a family friend and took the necessary courses to become an accredited mountain guide in Nepal, a profession she pursues today. She would now like to obtain international accreditation, which would open up other opportunities, but the training is expensive and she has not yet been able to finance it.

How the project started

How I met Phunjo

Phunjo is one of two or three female mountain guides in Nepal, and that’s how I met her. Last November, I joined an all-female expedition in the Khumbu and Everest region, organized by my friend Sunny and guided by Phunjo (and Jeannette McGills, another very inspiring woman). Phunjo and I hit it off immediately. Her smile is mischievous, her joie de vivre contagious and her strength reassuring in the mountains. We share the same passion and religion. I’d heard of her - she holds the speed record for climbing Everest, a fact that doesn’t go unnoticed in the small world of mountaineering - but I soon realized that I didn’t know much about who she really was, and that I’d have known a lot more if she’d been Western. Because her record is truly extraordinary and so is her personal story; if she were European or American, sponsors would be snapping her up and she’d be all over the internet. That’s what I thought when I befriended this woman full of energy, talent, humanity and the desire to share. For me, Phunjo is a true pioneer, an inspiration to women and men alike (just ask my partner Jojo about her, his eyes shine with admiration).

We went to Everest base camp together, and she told me about her ascent last May to the world’s highest peak (the interview will soon be published on the explore training blog). Hearing the details of this feat in the very environment in which it took place gives it a whole new dimension. In the age of social networking, you might think that climbing Everest is a matter of money and willpower. We don’t know what logistics, training, preparation, strategy, sacrifices and technical skills it requires. Nor the extreme discomfort of daily exposure to cold, sleep deprivation and altitude in the month leading up to the climb, which she spent at base camp preparing for. Nor can you imagine what it’s like to traverse the famous Icefall; you may have heard it was hard, but you don’t see the walls of ice to climb, the crevasses to step over, and the slope that never seems to end. To reach the summit in 14:31 like Phunjo did is truly extraordinary. The rare climbers who manage it take between 4 and 5 days. Phunjo’s physical and mental strength is rare, unique perhaps.

Yet there is little written or video coverage of his feat. There are a few newspaper reports - Le Monde gives him a short article and I found one or two short videos on You Tube. Apart from a few climbers, most people don’t know who Phunjo is. They don’t know that she holds the record for both the ascent and descent for men and women, and that she beat the previous women’s record by almost 10 hours. Phunjo isn’t very visible, certainly because she doesn’t have access to the same opportunities as Western athletes and doesn’t have the network. And yet she deserves it, on her own behalf and on behalf of all the other “invisibles” she represents.

When Phunjo suggested that we set up a project together, I immediately said “Oh heck, yes”. And so the K2 Global Project was born.

Project requirements

Financing

The total cost of the K2 Global project is estimated at around $60,000.

1. Expedition costs

   • Mountain permits, porters, accommodation and camp equipment, food at base camp for one month
   • Oxygen, sherpas, camp helpers and porters for three people (Phunjo and two Nepalese guides who will support her during the speed attempt - one guide from base camp to camp 2, and the other from camp 2 to the summit).
   • We are awaiting quotes from three different expedition companies in Pakistan, initial estimates are between $45,000 and $50,0000 (for comparison this is the standard cost of an Everest expedition).

2. Nepalese guide salaries
   Estimated at €1,500 per guide (for two guides).

3. Plane tickets
   Estimated at $2,000 per person (for three people, total $6,000) from Nepal to Pakistan.

4. Visas
   Estimated at $100 per person ($300 total for three people).

5. Food and lodging
   For the period before and after the expedition itself.

6. Equipment
   The most important expenses are for a down suit and high-altitude mountaineering boots. Phunjo specifically needs new Scarpa mountaineering boots (approximate cost $1,000).