ENVIRONMENT

Widows, ace guide to climb Everest to honor Sherpas

Associated Press
Published | Updated

In this photo taken Saturday, March 30, 2019, Nima Doma, 34, right, and Furdiki Sherpa, 43, stand for photographs after their morning exercise as they train to summit Mount Everest, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Five years after one of the deadliest disasters on Mount Everest, three people from Nepal's ethnic Sherpa community, including Doma and Sherpa, are preparing an ascent to raise awareness about the Nepalese mountain guides who make it possible for hundreds of foreign climbers to scale the mountain and survive. The two women lost their husbands in the 2014 ice avalanche on Everest’s western shoulder that killed 16 fellow Sherpa guides. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

In this photo taken Saturday, March 30, 2019, Nima Doma, 34, right, and Furdiki Sherpa, 43, perform morning exercises as they train to summit Mount Everest, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Five years after one of the deadliest disasters on Mount Everest, three people from Nepal's ethnic Sherpa community, including Doma and Sherpa, are preparing an ascent to raise awareness about the Nepalese mountain guides who make it possible for hundreds of foreign climbers to scale the mountain and survive. The two women lost their husbands in the 2014 ice avalanche on Everest’s western shoulder that killed 16 fellow Sherpa guides. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

Five years after one of the deadliest disasters on Mount Everest, three people from Nepal's ethnic Sherpa community are preparing an ascent to raise awareness about the Nepalese mountain guides who make it possible for hundreds of foreign climbers to scale the mountain and survive.

Renowned climber Kami Rita lived through the 2014 ice avalanche on Everest's western shoulder that killed 16 fellow Sherpa guides. He aims to break his own record this spring by reaching the mountaintop a 23rd time as a guide for foreign climbers.

Furdiki Sherpa lost her husband in a mountaineering accident, and Nima Doma lost hers in the 2014 avalanche. They are also attempting to scale Everest, to bring attention to the plight of Sherpa families living in the shadow of the world's highest peak.