Wetass Of The Week–Nawang Sherpa: There’s nothing unusual about a Sherpa on the way to the summit of Everest, but a Sherpa with just one leg deserves a big tip of the hat (Explorer’s Web has the full story). Meet Nawang Sherpa, who ironically lost his leg not on a mountain but in a motorcycle accident in 2000. Thanks to a non-profit called “High Exposure,” Nawang got a prosthetic climbing leg in 2002, and now he is on the mountain and pushing for the summit. The founder of the nonprofit, Ed Hommer, lost BOTH his legs on Denali and was supposed to be climbing alongside Nawang. Sadly, Hommer died on Mount Rainier last September, when he was struck by a falling rock. American climber Tom McMillan stepped in to take Hommer’s place (as far as TWC knows, he has all his limbs), and recently reported that he, Nawang and the rest of the team are at Camp 2 and pacing themselves to summit over the weekend. You can follow their bid here. If the human spirit is this stubborn, this durable, how long will it be before a paraplegic gets to the top of the world’s highest mountain?



BioSherpa Nawang: “Man, this thing is great. No chance of frostbite, and I can open beer bottles with the shin “bones”…”

(Image via Explorer’s Web)