Konbu(1933-) Mountains On His Mind

China boasts unparalleled mountain resources. Among the world’s 14 highest peaks above 8，000 meters， nine are located in China or on its border. Since ancient times， Chinese people have climbed such mountains for various reasons and it’s no surprise that the most alluring of all is the world’s highest peak， Mt. Qomolangma， also known as Mt. Everest in the West. In 1960， Konbu， a Tibetan athlete on the Chinese mountaineering team， scaled Qomolangma’s summit via its north ridge along with Han teammates Wang Fuzhou and Qu Yinhua. Of the three， Konbu gained most attention， not only because the young man was greatly talented despite less than two years of formal training before reaching the summit， but also because as a Tibetan， Konbu stood on Tibetan people’s holy peak and raised China’s national flag.

Konbu was born into a poor family in a small village in Xigaze in 1933. Because his parents were serfs， Konbu began working for their “l(fā)ord” at the age of 10. In 1955， several Chinese People’s Liberation Army （PLA） soldiers visited the estate. They cooked for themselves and paid fees for their short stay， which starkly contrasted the behavior of soldiers of the corrupt Kashag， the local Tibetan government. Young Konbu was deeply moved. In 1956， he set off on foot for a nine-day trip to the city seat of Xigaze where PLA soldiers were stationed. “I just wanted to see the situation myself，” Konbu recalled， “and I ended up a PLA soldier.”In 1958， a working group from the National Sports Commission（now China’s General Administration of Sport） visited Tibet to recruit athletes to scale Mt. Qomolangma. It was then that the promising Konbu began his journey as a professional climber.

In global history of mountaineering， Western climbers spent several decades trying to reach the summit of Qomolangma. Starting in 1921， British carried out seven successive expeditions to reach the peak via its north ridge， but they all failed. Not until New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Nepalese Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit in 1953 via the south route did humans finally conquer the world’s highest peak for the first time. The longer north route was deemed inaccessible due to its adverse conditions.

In the late 1950s， China began to make preparations to ascend the mountain. In the early 1960s， China organized a mountaineering team with more than 200 members， including Konbu. In April 1960， the team established a base camp at an altitude of 5，200 meters to launch a journey to the summit via the north ridge. In the early morning of May 25， Konbu， Wang Fuzhou and Qu Yinhua overcame freezing temperatures， extreme fatigue， and oxygen deprivation and reached the summit via the north route， the first successful attempt in human history. The ascent rocked the world. The British mountaineering community commented that the achievement represented a milestone in the history of mountaineering and exploration. Since then， China’s mountain climbing has developed rapidly. In 1988， mountaineering teams from China， Japan， and Nepal met at the summit. In 1993， a joint team of mountaineers from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan reached the summit. In 1998， a joint Chinese and Slovakian team did it again. Alongside elite mountain climbing， more accessible related activities have gained greater popularity with the general public， including rock climbing， hiking and cross-country skiing.

Konbu has remained dedicated to Chinese mountaineering and the protection of Tibet’s mountains after retirement. He proposed and organized an ambitious 1993 effort by which the Tibet mountaineering team began to conquer all the 14 highest peaks in the world. By 2007， the task was completed. Expectedly， Konbu has a lot to say about mountaineering. “I hope to found a museum dedicated to our country’s mountain climbing，” he reveals. “Precious objects and keepsakes from our mountaineering efforts should be carefully preserved and used to inspire generations to come.” To work towards this goal， Konbu is now writing about various high peaks in the world in Tibetan， including their altitudes， locations， surrounding landscapes and lakes， and folk legends. At present， about 30 peaks have been recorded. “After all these years， I just can’t stop thinking about mountains，” says Konbu. “I just want to do what I can to leave something for our kids.”