Draft:Pasang Ongchu Sherpa

Pasang Ongchu Sherpa was born on 25 April 1987 in Bung-9, Solukhumbu District, Koshi Province, Nepal, a region known as the Sherpa heartland and the lower gateway to the Everest massif.^[1]

He began his career in the mountains as a porter at the age of fifteen in 2002, carrying loads of up to 35 kilograms during treks in the Everest region.^[2] Over the following years he undertook systematic professional mountaineering training through Nepal's leading institutions, achieving internationally recognised certification as a mountain guide in 2011.

During the 2016 climbing season on Everest, Pasang Ongchu Sherpa performed a critical high-altitude rescue that was documented by mountaineering writer Mark Horrell in a post published on 1 June 2016.^[6]

The incident involved a climber named Robert Kay, a client of the expedition company Altitude Junkies, who suffered a severe deterioration descending from the Everest summit and collapsed near the tents at the South Col (Camp 4, approximately 7,920 m). According to Horrell's account — which drew on testimony from Robert Kay himself — Pasang Ongchu stayed with Kay throughout the descent, continually encouraging him to keep moving when his rest stops became dangerously prolonged. A second Sherpa, Sangye Sherpa, was released to return to camp after he also began to show signs of fatigue. When Kay collapsed metres from the tents, Pasang Ongchu fetched help from the camp; however, as an oxygen bottle was being changed, Kay lost consciousness and began to convulse, requiring a coordinated emergency response from multiple teams.^[6]

Kay later stated: "Were it not for Pasang Ongchu Sherpa, Sange Sherpa, Ben and Laura Darlington, Barbara Padilla, Lysle Turner, Billy Nugent, Phil Crampton, Jason the pilot, the doctors at the CIWEC Clinic, the six men who carried me to my tent and the six men who carried me over a mile in the snow and dark into C2, there is no doubt in my mind that I would be dead on the side of the mountain."^[6]

Horrell also noted that Pasang Ongchu had performed a similar act during their own shared Manaslu expedition in 2011, guiding Horrell back down to Camp 2 after he returned exhausted from the summit.^[6]

In 2011, Pasang Ongchu Sherpa completed the certification process to become an IFMGA/UIAGM Mountain Guide, the highest internationally recognised standard for professional mountain guides. He is listed as a certified guide on the official guide registry of the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association (NNMGA), which is itself affiliated with IFMGA.^[3][2] His path to certification began in 2002 as a porter and spanned nearly a decade of structured training.

The following training and certifications have been completed through Nepal's nationally accredited mountaineering institutions:^[3]

As a certified mountaineering instructor, Pasang Ongchu Sherpa has trained hundreds of aspiring guides and climbers through Nepal's formal mountaineering education programmes. He has served as an instructor for the following courses: Introductory Rock Climbing, Aspirant Guide Course, Trekking Guide Training, Basic Mountaineering Training, Basic Mountain Rescue Training, Advanced Mountaineering Training, Rock Climbing Level I, and Basic Mountain Navigation.

In 2021, he led the exploration and establishment of the Mahakulung Rock Climbing Centre within Mahakulung Rural Municipality, Solukhumbu, for which he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the local government. In 2020, he opened a new rock climbing route near Khare in the Mera Peak region of the Khumbu area.

Pasang Ongchu Sherpa is the founder and managing director of Himalaya King Trekking & Expeditions, headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal, which he established following his IFMGA/UIAGM certification in 2011.^[2] The company offers guided trekking, peak climbing, and high-altitude expedition services across Nepal's Himalayan regions. It holds affiliations with the Trekking Agencies' Association of Nepal (TAAN), the Nepal Tourism Board, the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), and IFMGA/UIAGM.