Dipen Bhai (World's Greatest Climbing Guide!)

Dipen is the world's greatest. Ok, maybe I'm a little biased. There are many great guides and Sherpa out there. Here's a story about one of them.



The top of the world--May 25, 2008, 0730 am Mount Everest Summit.

At the beginning of our trek to Mount Everest base camp, we had the option to hire a personal guide. It's now hard to believe I ever considered not doing this! The additional price was nominal and my gear was very heavy. Nikon does not make digital SLR's with trekking in mind! Having Dipen with me was a dream come true. Not only did he carry my pack, narrate the entire trek, answer all questions with expertise and help with anything else I needed, his company was also wonderful. Without him, I'm not sure I would have been so successful. During our two weeks together, I thanked him many times a day. I told him I wanted to thank him at least one million times.

I met Dipen on a chilly morning in Lukla. It was our first trekking day and our group had just flown into town a few hours before. After the trek, I felt I had known him for a lifetime and he will always be my friend. Dipen's real name is Roshan Bhattarai and he's 24 years old. His friends call him Dipen. I call him Dipen Bhai, which is the Nepali word for younger brother. He calls me Didi, which means older sister.


On May 25th, 2008, just months before I met him, Dipen summitted Mount Everest. (Southeast ridge route) He was kind enough to send me these photos and I promised to make him famous by posting them here. (at his request--sort of a joke between us) On our long days of hiking, we exchanged many stories about our lives and he was excited to hear about my websites. He told me he wanted to be famous. I don't know if this will really make him famous, but I hope you'll enjoy the photos. In addition to being my guide, Dipen worked nonstop with the rest of the Nepali staff. Their work ethic is unbelievable. A Nepali would never say: "that's not in my job description." From digging holes for the toilet tent to setting up camp to cooking and cleaning after meals, etc, everyone pitched in on every job. Yak drivers, cooks, Sherpa's, guides, they only rested after all chores were done. That's what I call teamwork!




Dipen carefully makes his way through the Khumbu Ice Fall.



Ropes and ladders are used to traverse the treacherous seracs, crevasses and shifting blocks of ice. This is between camp 1 and 2 at 21,325 feet.



Camp 3-- 24,278 feet.



Dipen summitted with a team from Canadian West Mountaineering School. He has summitted other peaks in the Himalayn region and continues to work on expeditions and train in more advanced mountaineering techniques.



A million thanks Dipen Bhai!!