Women Champions part one | Emilie Tsering Sherpa

Back in March, Mercator’s founder and director Nell Hegarty explored the incredible landscapes of Nepal with Beyul Experiences. She was blown away by the knowledge and enthusiasm of her guide Emilie, whose grandfather was part of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s famous expedition to Everest. We caught up with Emilie to find out a little more about her life in the mountains and her tips for travellers to the country.

On having sherpa-ing in her blood…

My grandfather was part of the Hillary Tenzing expedition of 1953. He was the messenger, responsible for bringing the news that Hillary and Tenzing had reached the summit of Mount Everest. He has less than five days to get the news from Everest base camp to the Kathmandu valley so that it would arrive for the Queen’s coronation. I remember my grandfather telling me this story many times – how he had to walk day and night to reach the valley as quickly as possible (at that time there were no coaches, no planes, and definitely no helicopter rides!). He managed it, which is really unbelievable – I don’t think anyone has ever tried doing it again! He used to tell me that he did find a bus in the end because he could no longer walk as his legs had swollen. When I asked him where he took the bus from, he replied “from Bhaktapur” (which is just 14 kms away from the centre of Kathmandu). 

My father, following his footsteps, started working on expeditions at 17. He was part of the American Women’s Expedition to Annapurna I in 1978. It was his first 8,000m expedition and it really changed him. Out of the 13 women members of the expedition, two lost their lives during the summit. So I grew up with a lot of expedition stories and have always been fascinated by this mountain life.But although most of my family are high altitude mountain climbers, I don’t think I will ever climb an 8,000m peak. I prefer going on treks to Base Camp and exploring the cultural side of each village I visit!

On being one of the first women mountain guides in Nepal…

There aren’t many women mountain guides or city guides in the valley, though recently the numbers have increased. Still, I’ve never felt as though I was being treated differently than the men. If anything, I was treated with more respect – maybe because I was younger than most of my staff when I started and already had so much responsibility. I do hope to see more female co-workers, so that more women feel confident to travel around our country independently. 

On Nepal’s best trekking…

I really love trekking in the Mustang region. It is unlike any other places in Nepal. Upper Mustang is breathtaking in every way. From the colors of the mineral landscape to the ancient untouched monasteries, you feel as though you are traveling back in time. I also love plants, and for a trek to see the most diverse flora, the best time is spring season – around mid-April. Wild flowers blossom everywhere and it just adds to the beauty of everything. This year, I took a trip to Solu, where we did a few walks along the ridges of the valley. There were rhododendrons in full bloom throughout and it was absolutely stunning! Patches of pink, white, red, and purple everywhere in the forest. 

On Nepali cuisine…

Mingma from The Happy House (which is owned and run by Beyul Experiences)  is about to release a cookery book with the help of the author and travel writer Sophy Roberts. We are impatient for it as Mingma is simply the best chef I know! All the meals he prepares are rich in flavor, texture and color.  He is passionate about cooking and you can feel it when you eat his food. If you watch him cook in the kitchen, it is truly entertaining! He will tell a joke and crack up laughing, all the while tasting and adding some more spices, tossing more herbs in the salad and folding little dumplings with agility. Personally, an all time favorite of mine is his black rice risotto with Himalayan morels – absolutely divine with a glass of red wine in the living room of Happy House, by the fire. 

The variety of food on offer is one of the upsides of Nepal being so diverse in terms of culture and landscape. In the plains, the cuisine is very similar to Indian, where a lot of curries have similar spices and the main food staple is rice. In the mid hills and around Kathmandu valley, there are a lot of specific dishes belonging to different ethnic groups. Newari cuisine, for example, which includes dried curries, beaten rice, fermented meat and lentil pancakes, is very popular in Kathmandu valley.  And then in the mountains the dishes are more influenced by Tibetan cuisine. An all-time favorite for most people here is momos – delicious Tibetan dumplings! I absolutely adore them! One of my favorite places to eat them is at Dechenling Garden restaurant, in central Kathmandu. 

On the culture shock of living in Europe…

I had travelled to France every year for holidays to see my grandma and friends. But when I actually went to live there year-round for university, it was something quite different and challenging. My biggest shock was the change in climate. I couldn’t get used to the long winter days that went on till late May! In Nepal, spring starts as early as mid-March and then it gets warm quite rapidly. I was so relieved and happy when tulips started growing in the parks in Paris – a sign that warmer days were finally arriving! 

On the best mindset to visit Nepal…

You need to be prepared to be completely disconnected from the world, in the sense that there will be no network connections, and you will finally be able to appreciate the simple joys of just reading a book, or watching the bonfire burn at night, or admiring the starlit skies and catching a shooting star. When you camp out, there’s a whole team of staff to attend to your every need. Each one has a specific job to do, from going to fetch water from the river to setting up your tent and dining accommodation. It’s a real treat to be out in nature and to see human collaboration at work for the most basic needs: I feel it makes us appreciate things a lot more when returning to the comfort of our homes. 

On where to really get away from it all…

Pikey Peak! It's one of the best viewpoints from which to see eight of the 8,000m peaks from one spot, but very few people actually go there – only the occasional local yak herder. There’s also a beautiful mossy forest just before the peak where – if you’re lucky – you could spot a red panda!

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