PASANG: IN THE SHADOW OF EVEREST

Though Nepalis assist as sherpas for tourists daily, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa risked everything to become the first Nepali woman to summit Everest. As an uneducated, Indigenous woman and a Buddhist in a Hindu kingdom, Pasang’s dream to scale the legendary mountain pitted her against family, foreign climbers, her own government, and nature itself. Her determined pursuit of Everest plays out within the context of her nation’s quest for democracy and the emergence of the commercial climbing industry.