Pasang Kikuli (1911–1939) was a Nepalese mountain climber and explorer who acted as sherpa and later sirdar for many Himalayan expeditions. He died on the

1939 American Karakoram expedition to K2 The 1939 American Karakoram expedition to K2 was the unsuccessful second attempt by American mountaineers to climb the then-unclimbed second-highest mountain in the world, K2, following the 1938 reconnaissance expedition. Fritz Wiessner, the l ...

, attempting to rescue a stranded climber.

Biography

Pasang Kikuli was one of the first generation of Sherpas to be included on the European Himalayan mountaineering expeditions. He was born Sola Khombu, Nepal in 1911 and, starting from when he was only 18 years old, he went on all three expeditions to Kangchenjunga in 1929, in 1930, and in 1931. He died in 1939 at the age of 28 leaving a widow and two young children.

Climbing career

He was on the

1933 British Mount Everest expedition The 1933 British Mount Everest expedition was, after the reconnaissance expedition of 1921, and the 1922 and 1924 expeditions, the fourth British expedition to Mount Everest and the third with the intention of making the first ascent. Like th ...

where he reached Camp V. Hugh Ruttledge, who led the expedition, said he was one of the best porters. On the 1934 Nanga Parbat expedition he was one of the very few who came down from Camp VIII alive. He had stayed with his sahib, until he died and then he came down with other Sherpas to Camp IV by then suffering from dreadful frostbite. In 1935 his frostbite ruled out any mountaineering but in 1936 he was selected by

Bill Tilman Major Harold William Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar, (14 February 1898 – November 1977) was an English mountaineer and explorer, renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages. Early years and Africa Bill Tilman was born on 14 Feb ...

for the

British–American Himalayan Expedition British American usually refers to Americans whose ancestral origin originates wholly or partly in the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Cornwall, Orkney, and the Isle of Man). It is primarily a demographic or histor ...

to Nanda Devi. Because of his frostbite he was not able to go very high but Art Emmons, one of the American climbers, said he was "by far the best porter, a fine personal servant, energetic, and hardworking." After Tilman and Noel Odell had reached the summit (at the time at it was the highest summit ever to have been climbed), he was the only Sherpa to accompany Tilman and

Charlie Houston Charles Snead Houston (August 24, 1913 – September 27, 2009) was an American physician, mountaineer, high-altitude investigator, inventor, author, film-maker, and former Peace Corps administrator. He made two important and celebrated atte ...

over Longstaff's Col out of the

Nanda Devi Sanctuary The Nanda Devi National Park or Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, established in 1982 is a national park situated around the peak of Nanda Devi (7816 m) in Chamoli Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, in northern India. The entire park lies at an elev ...

, the first crossing of the col.

1938 and 1939 in the Karakoram and on K2

On the

1938 American Karakoram expedition The 1938 American Karakoram expedition to K2, more properly called the "First American Karakoram expedition", investigated several routes for reaching the summit of K2, an unclimbed mountain at the second highest mountain in the world. Charli ...

Pasang Kikuli acted as sirdar (chief Sherpa). Norman Streatfeild, the transport officer wrote, "A really excellent porter in every way. Good on rock and ice and always safe on a rope. Acted as Sirdar and carried out his duties admirably." Next year on the

1939 American K2 expedition The 1939 American Karakoram expedition to K2 was the unsuccessful second attempt by American mountaineers to climb the then-unclimbed second-highest mountain in the world, K2, following the 1938 reconnaissance expedition. Fritz Wiessner, the ...

, Dudley Wolfe was high on K2 at Camp VII at on 28 July when all the other American climbers were at Base Camp at . Two Sherpas were at Camp IV after an abandoned rescue with instructions to reach Wolfe if they could. The leader of the expedition, Fritz Wiessner, asked two Sherpas at Base Camp to make another rescue attempt. Tsering Norbu, with Pasang Kikuli as leader, left Base Camp at 06:00, were at Camp IV by noon, and met the other Sherpas by the end of the day at Camp VI. By climbing in one day they made the sort of alpine-style Himalayan ascent only achieved decades later by western climbers. With Tsering Norbu staying at Camp VI, Pasang Kikuli, Pasang Kitar and Phinsoo reached Wolfe at noon, 29 July. Wolfe had spent 38 days continuously above and 16 days averaging without supplementary oxygen – he was alive but in a terrible condition: no water or warm food, utterly apathetic and, because he was trapped in his tent, covered in urine and faeces. He refused to go down, telling the Sherpas to return next day when he would be ready. Back at Camp VI the Sherpas were stormbound but on 31 July the three again attempted his rescue. Pasang Kikuli, Pasang Kitar, Phinsoo and Wolfe were never seen alive again. Wiessner wrote afterwards, "The death of Pasang Kikuli takes away one of the finest men and best climbers from the climbing fraternity."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasang Kikuli 1911 births 1939 deaths People from Solukhumbu District Sherpa people Nepalese mountain climbers Mountaineering deaths on K2