STATUE DE LA SHERPA PASANG LHAMU
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Located opposite the Tara Goan in Kathmandu, this statue celebrates Pasang Lhamu, the first female Sherpa and, more generally, the first Nepalese woman to reach the summit of Everest in 1993, forty years after the first successful ascents. Born into a sherpa family in the Himalayan mountains in 1961, she took up mountaineering at an early age. In 1978, she ran away from home for love, and settled with her husband in Kathmandu, where they set up the trekking agency Thamserku-Expedition. She undertook several expeditions to the roof of the world, but her first three attempts were unsuccessful. She was the victim of an avalanche on her penultimate ascent, during which she lost her rope-mates. At the same time, she climbed other peaks, including Mont Blanc and Cho Oyu. Her final attempt in April 1993 was successful, but cost her her life. On the way back down, when a fellow Sherpa fell victim to altitude sickness, she decided to stay with him until help arrived. But bad weather prevented teams from arriving, and Pasang Llhamu died on the summit. Not far from the famous Buddha monument in Kathmandu, this monument depicts her energetically dressed as a mountaineer, ice axe in hand. It's a celebration of an admirable female figure, a symbol of courage and perseverance. And one that inspires new vocations.
