Today, more summit successes of commercial teams on Nanga Parbat were reported from Pakistan. Among those who reached the highest point at 8,125 meters was Kili Pemba Sherpa. He was doing his job by guiding a Chinese client to the summit for the expedition operator Imagine Nepal. With Nanga Parbat, Kili Pemba has now climbed all 14 eight-thousanders.
One of the climbers who made the first winter ascent of K2
According to Imagine Nepal, the Sherpa – who was born in 1980 in the Rolwaling Valley near the border with Tibet – has stood on Mount Everest, the world’s highest mountain, 15 times. Kili Pemba, also known as “Kilu,” has climbed K2 twice. One of these ascents was historic: In 2021, he was among the ten Nepalese climbers who succeeded in the first winter ascent of the world’s second-highest mountain.
Kilu was also part of the team led by Mingma Gyalje Sherpa, the head of Imagine Nepal, which in 2021 opened an alternative route to the “True Summit” of the 8,163-meter-high Manaslu – a route that has been used regularly ever since. Previously, commercial teams had stopped at a point on the summit ridge that was mistakenly believed to be the highest point.
Leading two double-leg amputees to the top of 8000ers
In 2018, Kili Pemba Sherpa led Xia Boyu, a Chinese man who had undergone bilateral leg amputations and used prosthetics, to the summit of Everest. In 2021, he accompanied Rustam Nabiev, a Russian who moved solely on his leg stumps, to the summit of Manaslu.
Both ascents caused an international sensation, but most reports on the subject failed to mention Kili Pemba’s pivotal role in these successes. Hopefully, today the headlines will be about Kilu – even though, once again, he was simply doing his job.
Update 4 July: Today, Kili Pemba Sherpa spoke out himself. “Completing all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter peaks is a dream fulfilled. Every summit has shaped me into the person I am today, and I will carry these experiences with deep gratitude,” writes Kilu on Instagram. “I look forward to continuing my journey, embracing new challenges, wherever the mountains lead me.”