He's the first sherpa to climb the 14 mountains that climb above the 8,000 meter mark
Mingma Sherpa, the first sherpa to climb the 14 8-thousand plus mountains of the world, visited the FC Barcelona Museum and went on the Tour Experience, where he got the chance to revisit the biggest moments in FC Barcelona history and see the Camp Nou. Mingma Sherpa is a known Barça fan and he’s a big admirer of Leo Messi, so he made sure to stop by the Argentinian's four Ballons d’Or and the three Golden Boots in the FC Barcelona Museum.
“Messi is a fantastic player and he’s very well known throughout the world. He’s very lucky to play for Barça and Barça are very lucky to have him,” explained Mingma Sherpa, who was very pleased with his Museum experience: “I never could have imagined a museum like this one, not even in my dreams. Barça are a very big Club. Coming here and seeing this museum is very surprising for someone like me.”
The 14 peaks above 8,000 meters
In May 2011, Mingma Sherpa became the first sherpa to scale the 14 mountains that climb above 8,000 meters when he summited the Kangchenjunga (8,586 m), the third highest mountain in the world. On that occasion he was accompanied by the Catalan alpinist Óscar Cadiach, who was unable to complete his journey due to technical difficulties (he did summit in 2013). During the first attempt to summit Kangchenjunga, Cadiach filmed the ‘Beyond the Kumbhakarna’ documentary, a tribute to the sherpa village and the trajectory of the first Nepali to climb the 14 8-thousand meter mountains.
Cadiach defines Mingma Sherpa as a “respected man in his village. They support him and they praise him for being their hero. He’s a different kind of sherpa, intelligent ... at the age of 12, he lost his father and he started working by carrying 25 kilo packs up mountains. After that he got involved in expeditions, later he became a guide and finally he became a sherpa. His charisma is unique. I admire his simplicity and humility.”