To Greater Heights

If There's One Person Who Can Teach Women A Thing Or Two About The Life Skills Needed In Their Climb Towards The Top, It's 33-year-old Nepali Mountaineer And Rolex Testimonee Dawa Yangzum Sherpa.

To say that Dawa Yangzum Sherpa has reached the peak of success would be an understatement. Growing up surrounded by Nepal’s iconic mountains in a rural village 4,200m above sea level, she scaled Mount Everest – the highest summit on earth – back in 2012 when she was just 21. Six years later, she became the first Nepali woman to earn mountaineering’s most elite title: the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations, or IFMGA, certification. It’s an accolade that only about 7,000 people in the world hold, allowing them to be international mountain guides. Of this exclusive league, only 1.5 per cent are women.

Such feats are, however, not the only reason why Rolex – a long‑time supporter of pioneering explorers who have pushed the boundaries of human endeavour – has appointed the now‑33‑year‑old as a Rolex Testimonee. Determined not to be the last Nepali woman to reach such heights, Dawa Yangzum has also introduced a course specifically for Nepali women and girls.

Launched in 2019 and based in Khumbu Climbing Center – located in the village of Phortse in the Nepalese part of the Himalayas – it takes students through two weeks of intensive training in ice and rock climbing. Everything from safety and first aid to logistics and knot‑tying, and map reading and geology are covered. The idea is to equip them with the skills and knowledge needed to be able to literally scale great heights – a cause that has won the support of Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative, which champions organisations and individuals who contribute to a better world and help foster the next generation of explorers, scientists and conservationists.