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Guide your clients despite your hardships: Jamling Norgay

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Abhigna
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JAIPUR, INDIA: "Well, 18,000 feet is a small height in the Himalayas. Ultimately, I aspired to climb the Everest," said Jamling Norgay addressing the delegates of #CChange2014.

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Recounting the worst disaster that occurred in 1996, where 14 people died, Norgay said, "My father has always been my hero and I decided to pursue my dreams to climb mountains. To achieve the task of climbing the summit, I had to perform some Puja ceremonies."

Remembering the Sherpa who are always behind the scenes in mountaineering, Norgay added, "The Word Sherpa means 'Eastern People'. Sherpas are very good at doing things and many mountaineers have benefited by the trekking and tourism industry."

There are many power spots in the rocks, he said and further added that at above 16,000 feet, the ice balls are huge. Some of the crevices are so deep; you can't even make out how deep they are!.

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Sharing his experience, Norgay said, "Trees do not grow above 12,000 feet. We had to balance across logs. We developed a classic route. If a person were to go from base camp to camp 1, camp 2, etc., he would be dead. You need to acclimatize. Once you have done that, you are ready to climb."

At about 26,000 feet, you find all mountains start disappearing. You are also running out of oxygen, etc. On this particular day, we saw 60 climbers going up the mountain. We decided to come down and wait at camp 2. On 10th of May 1996, nine climbers died in one day. After we reached back at the base camp, we held a memorial service for the climbers who had died, he said.

We decided to climb the mountain one more time. It took us a week to 10 days to get things together, again. The South Pole is a very quiet place. It was going to take us at least 12 hours to reach the top. It took my father 21 years, and six attempts to climb the Everest. He started at 18 and succeeded at 39. He never gave up!

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If you have the same passion, to achieve some goal, it does not matter what language you speak. At such mountains, the higher you go, the slower you get. Putting one foot in front of the other becomes a chore. You have to be mentally prepared to climb the Everest.

"My father had left some offering for the Gods. I also left some offerings to the Gods, from my daughter. The temperature at the summit was over -40 degrees C. We spent over two hours at the summit. It took us four to five days to climb back down," he added.

Working together as a team is something I learnt from my father. The goal needs to be driven by inner desire and challenge. We need to be passionate and have a burning desire. "Guide your clients despite your hardships," said Jamling.

Jamling Norgay concluded the session with his father's quote, Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, "Be great, and make others great!"