Six-time Everest summiteer Dawa Ongju Sherpa has made 38 ascents of 8,000m mountains. In 2022, he led Kristin Harila’s 14-peak expedition along with Pasdawa Sherpa. He climbed K2 as his twelfth 8,000m peak during Kristin’s 149 days climbing spree. The mission ended as the team failed to get climbing permits for the two remaining mountains -Cho Oyu and Shishapangma -from China. Last year, the trio could not acquire visa and climbing permits as China remained shut due to COVID pandemic. The duo of Pasdawa and Dawa Ongju aimed to complete ascent of all 14 peaks above 8000m in 2023 independently to clinch the coveted membership of the 14 peak club.
Their journey, however, has come to an unexpected halt as the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu canceled their visa two days after they were issued in April. Meanwhile, Kristin has already summited the Tibetan peaks in April becoming the fastest woman to summit all 14 peaks above 8,000m, which she completed in a year. Dawa Ongju and Pasdawa, who were in agreement with Kristin to share the record, would also have achieved 14 peak summiteer record if not for their visa cancellation at the last moment. The Chinese embassy has said that the duo themselves withdrew their visa application. Dawa Ongju says that they never withdrew their visa application.
Everest Chronicle talked with Dawa Ongju Sherpa about his experience of leading 12 expeditions back-to-back for Kristin Harila, and about the recent developments about his 14 peak dream.
How did your collaboration with Kristin Harila start?
In 2021, Pasdawa Sherpa successfully guided Kristin Harila on Everest and Lhotse summit. The completed the ascent in 12 hours and Kristin set a record of fastest female to summit Everest and Lhotse.
That was how Kristin knew Pasdawa. Pasdawa is my nephew.
This achievement of hers led her to plan the 14-peak project. She wanted Pasdawa as her guide. Pasdawa and I had just joined 8K Expeditions. She approached 8K searching for Pasdawa. 8K then assigned Pasdawa as her guide while I was the team leader of her expedition.
This is how I knew her.
How did your climb with Kristin start?
Initially Pasdawa and I were assigned for 3 peaks only.
We started off with Annapurna I in April 2022. The weather was not favorable. It was snowing. We only saw two days of good weather. Regardless, we pushed through fresh snow, when many other climbers waited at the basecamp for better weather. We started the summit push from Camp II. We did not sleep at night, but made it to the top. Then we descended to the basecamp within a day.
Then we went to Pokhara for a rest. After two days of rest, we went directly to camp II of Dhaulagiri. This was one of the most difficult climbs we have had. It was snowing incessantly. Everyone else was retreating from the mountain, while three of us were determined to climb. We opened a route to camp III despite bad weather. As we reached camp IV, we got caught in a blizzard. There was no trace of trail, only snow. We were not sure what to do. We stayed put, but we were freezing fast. We huddled up, hugged each other for 45 minutes to keep ourselves warm. At 4am the sky started turning bright. Then, we started discussing the plan. We agreed to continue even if an avalanche sweeps us.
The blizzard did not subside. We could hardly open our eyes. We had to pull her up on the way to the summit. We put our life at risk for the climb. We did not care about the blizzard and avalanche. Looking back, it was not worth taking that much risk. We then descended to Camp II, and the next day we flew to Kathmandu.
Then we headed for Kanchenjunga.
The weather was not ideal there too. Fellow climbers were not willing to go up yet. We decided to stay in Camp II, then continued to climb. In Camp IV, we had a two-hour discussion as to how to move ahead. We were assigned for three peaks only. The company had already sent their guides and other staff to Everest and Lhotse for her. It was her who asked if we would work with her throughout her 14-peak project. We were happy to know that she would share the record with us. So, we reached a pact that we will set a joint record. After the pact, she called her mother to inform her about the plan. After the summit, we went to Lukla, where we got stuck for two days. The company had to return its guides and other staff from the base camp. They were not happy about it. But the company trusted us and so allowed us to continue with the project.
So how did the rest of the climb unfold?
Everest expedition was also not easy for us. We spent a night at the base camp. Then we started the climb and reached Camp II on the first day. Then we reached Camp IV. We started the summit push at 10pm. The wind was so strong, it was probably 60-70 km/h. The wind would blow us along with the ropes. But when we reached the summit, the weather cleared. We spent half an hour at the top. Then, we hurried down. In Camp IV, we had a cup of tea before we headed out to Lhotse. We literally had to drag her up. As we neared the summit, we were running out of oxygen so Pasdawa went down to Camp IV and brought more oxygen. It took us 8 hours to reach Lhotse summit from Camp IV.
Then we descended to camp III, where night fell. We had our dinner and continued to descend. We reached base camp at the break of dawn. We walked all night long. After we took our lunch, we flew to Dingboche. Unfortunately, we had to spend two nights in Dingboche due to bad weather.
Makalu was on our list next. Again, the weather was not good here. But we had no choice but to climb. As we reached camp III, we met fellow climbers returning from there. But we were so used to pushing through bad weather, it did not bother us much. We started the summit push from Camp III, and managed to reach the summit at 11.30pm. The ropes had been fixed to the summit but it was buried deep due to fresh snow. So we fixed the lines ourselves many times. It was really difficult. After the summit, we descended to Camp III for rest.
As we reached Camp I, Kristin started crying. We consoled her and encouraged her to climb down to base camp. Then, we returned to Dingboche by helicopter and then onto Lukla.
Did you have time to rest and recuperate?
We were exhausted after doing six peaks back-to-back without any rest. We then had about a month in-between before our Pakistan expedition started. I was back home and I slept continuously for five consecutive days. I would wake up only to eat and then go back to sleep. We climbed six of the world’s 14 highest mountains in 29 days: Annapurna (28 April), Dhaulagiri (8 May), Kangchenjunga (14 May), Everest and Lhotse (both on 22 May) and Makalu (27 May), that too on such bad weather conditions. My body was spent.
It was a time bound project. We did not have the privilege to delay. We put in extra hours of hard work to complete it on time. It was also an ultimate test of ourselves.
How was the experience in Pakistan?
We started peaks in Pakistan in June. We started off with Nanga Parbat. Pasdawa fixed the line on Kingshofer wall risking his life. It took him 8 hours to open the route. We climbed during the night. At some point, I thought I will not see my children again. As we crossed the traverse and reached the couloir, we could see the light. And then I felt optimistic. We reached the summit on July 1.
Once we reached base camp, we started a long walk. Since Pakistan doesn’t helicopter ferrying from base camps. It normally takes 3 days for people to reach Chelas from base camp, but we reached it in 1 night. There is no tea house or hotel along the road. We all got sick as our body couldn’t adjust to the lower elevation and heat after spending so much time in snow at high altitude, but we continued the walk. We were so exhausted that we didn’t even speak with each other during the walk. We hadn’t slept for 4 days.
Summit Karakoram was supporting us logistically. When we reached Chelas, they gave us chapati. We could not even chew it, so we swallowed it with coke or water. Having some food and rest, we finally regained life. Then we rested for two days in Skardu.
Then we headed to Karakoram peaks. K2 was next in line, and it takes 5 days of walking from Skardu to reach its base camp. We have to cross the 62 km long Baltoro Glacier to reach the base camp. It took us two days and five hours to reach the glacier from Skardu.
The basecamp was already abuzz with climbers. They were waiting for a good weather window, but we did not have that luxury. Nobody was willing to climb above Camp 2. Even the rope fixing team had not fixed the rope above Camp II. They say they would take their time, and wait for good weather. But ours was a time bound project. We could not wait forever. Then, Ang Phurba Sherpa, from Himalayan Guide, another nephew of mine, came forward and offered four of his Sherpa guides for opening the route.
Then six of us opened the route to the K2 summit in 3 days. Pasdawa was at the forefront leading the team. We were also guiding Kristin simultaneously as we opened the route and fixed the lines. Our mission would have halted right there had Ang Phurba not offered his help. Throughout the mission, including in K2, I was carrying about 40kg of weight including Kristin’s oxygen, tents and food.
On the way down, we met 152 climbers near the bottleneck. It was almost a traffic jam. This perhaps was the most crowded moment in K2.
As we reached Camp III, night fell but we continued to descend. When we reached Camp I, Kristin could not stand on her feet. She would fall asleep at every step. We somehow managed to take her down to base camp. We ate and took rest, but not a lot as we had to be ready for the next peak.
Broad Peak was our next target. Nobody was going to Broad Peak due to the weather. It was just the three of us heading there. So, we asked Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita to join us who was also in K2 base camp. On our first day, we reached Camp II of Broad Peak. The next day we reached Camp III. As we reached camp III, it started snowing. Just when Pasdawa and I started fixing the line, I was swept away by an avalanche twice in the matter of an hour. At the first instance, I managed to stand on my feet after a few minutes and then continued with rope fixing. The next avalanche washed me down some 30 meters below.
When I finally was able to gain my footing, the first thought that came to my mind was my family. I thought I might never see my wife and children. But there would always be another chance to set a record. I asked myself what I was doing. When I rejoined the group, we sat down to discuss the next move. And I decided to continue because I thought we would have to do best for our client. As we reached the second summit, Kristin insisted it was the real summit. As we continued climbing leaving her behind, she was forced to follow us. We reached the summit at 11.30pm and came down to the base camp by 2am.
Then we headed out to Gasherbrum II. We reached the base camp early in the morning. There was nobody there. We did not have rope. We asked a clean-up group for rope. We started the summit push from Camp II. It was a relatively easy climb. As we came down to base camp, we headed out to Gasherbrum I.
We reached Camp I of GI the next day. It was a nightmare to fix the line there. It took Pasdawa 8 hours to fix a 200-meter rope in the Japanese couloir due to snow. We literally swam through the snow. There was much snow and wind. As we reached camp III, Sanu Sherpa also joined us with his client. The next night, we started summit push at 8 pm, and reached the peak at 6am.
As we returned from the summit, we stopped to drink water at Camp II and then we reached Camp I to rest. As the night fell, we started walking. We started at 3pm and reached Skardu in two days. It was a difficult walk; we crossed many mountains on the way. We stayed for only 1 day in Skardu, then we went to Islamabad.
So, you finished all the peaks in Pakistan? What next?
We had started making plan for Manaslu while we were still in Skardu. Our plan was to apply for a bid to fix the rope on Manaslu as that would speed up our summit time. But Elite Exped won the bid. Thus, we had to wait for the line to be fixed. After coming back from Pakistan, we spent three days in Kathmandu before heading out to Manaslu. We spent 2 days in base camp, and moved to Camp I. We spent one night there and moved to Camp II. It snowed all night long. The wind blew off our tent. Over 200 climbers returned from Camp II. Nobody encouraged us to move up.
The rope was fixed already, but the lines were buried in deep snow. As the dawn broke, we started to break the trail through deep snow. It was like opening the route. Sanu Sherpa was once again there with his client. We literally re-opened the route. Despite all odds, we reached the summit and descended down to Camp III on the same day. We arrived at the base camp the next day and flew back to Kathmandu. We had summited 12 of the highest peaks in a record 148 days.
How did it all end?
Now, only Shishapangma and Cho Oyu remained to be climbed. Both of them are climbed from Tibet. However, we could not get a climbing permit and visa for China as the country was shut down due to Covid pandemic. We had assured her that we would open the route and summit Cho Oyu from the Nepal side. But she changed her mind as soon as we arrived in Kathmandu from the Manaslu summit. She completely cut off any communication with us. We learned that she joined the Seven Summit Treks (SST), but she never informed us.
We shared a close relation in the mountains, like a family. She would call me ‘Uncle Dawa’, and ‘bhai (brother)’ to my nephew (Pasdawa). She even visited our families.
She attempted Cho Oyu from the Nepal side with SST team, which did not succeed. In March, she also went to Manaslu.
So that is how our partnership ended. We were shy of 2 peaks, but we still successfully helped her to get the fastest 12-peak record. And we also achieved the same with her.
Can you tell us a bit more about your recent social media status regarding your Chinese visa situation?
Since we had already done 12 of the 14-peaks, both Pasdawa and I wanted to climb the two remaining peaks whether with Kristin or not. And we still had a chance to make the fastest 14-peak record. I have actually climbed 11 of the peaks before already. We applied and then got a Chinese Visa on April 4. Kristin applied for her visa two days after we received our visas.
Climbalaya, which also helped Nirmal Purja Nimsdai to get his Chinese visa and climbing permit for his 14 peaks project, helped us get the Chinese visa. Ten of us got the visa in the first batch. Then Kristin and other climbers applied for the visa. We got our passport with a visa on April 4. Climbalaya asked for our passport back the next day saying the Chinese embassy wanted them. On April 6, the agent informed us that our visa got canceled. It shook us completely. Our dream to complete 14 peaks in a record time was just shattered to pieces. We asked the agent the reason for the cancellation. The agent told us that it was due to Gelje Sherpa’s case. Gelje, a guide from Seven Summit Treks, had not put an exit stamp on his passport while leaving Pakistan, which is why the Chinese embassy canceled his visa. Even though we had our exit stamps, the agent told us that the embassy took our case as being similar to Gelje’s.
The reason given to us was not convincing at all as we had clearly mentioned our travel to Pakistan. We had guided Kristin to five peaks in Pakistan. Our travel itinerary was the same. But she got her permit, and we did not. The agent told us that Nepali passport has no value, but foreigners are accepted easily in China. But Tenjen Sherpa, a guide of Seven Summit Treks, who was with us in Pakistan, was allowed to keep his visa.
So, how the situation unfolded does not sit well with me at all. I feel something unfair is happening to us. I was so disappointed and disgusted to know about the cancellation of the visa. I stayed home for days and tried to accept the situation. But I lost my appetite and sleep. My lips parched, my body was dehydrated. I was not doing well. My family was always there for me, who kept consoling and cheering for me. The realization that our dream died, made me lose all hope at that moment.
The record would be for the country too, not just for us. Again, another two Nepali would have been the fastest to scale all 14 peaks above 8,000m in record time after Nimsdai. People question Nimsdai’s record citing Manaslu’s real summit. If that is taken into account, Nimsdai took two and half years to do 14 peaks. We would have done it in a year. The record would still be with a Nepali.
We bumped into her at a lunch organized by 8K Expedition before she left for Tibet. We exchanged greetings. We did not talk about her expedition.
