History
In 2012 I hiked up Langtang Valley with my son. After four days of walking, we reached Langtang village, where we met Dindu Lama, who ran a trekking lodge with his family and nephew Pasang. Lodges are a major form of livelihood for the Sherpa people in this part of Nepal: wooden buildings with a few extra rooms fitted with rough beds to sleep hikers and a kitchen for cooking rice, lentils and vegetables. We loved our stay with the family and formed a peculiar bond with them. Dindu later took us to the highest peak in the valley as a guide and even helped carry my son when he was struck down by altitude sickness.
On a late April morning in 2015, Didnu‘s village was swept off the face of the Earth by a stone avalanche triggered by the most horrific earthquake in centuries on Nepali history. Within a few minutes, life was turned upside down for the region. Whole villages lay buried under dozens of feet of stone and debris. Most of Langtang village disappeared and Dindu perished with most of his family. Only his ten-year-old son was saved along with three of his cousins; their parents and grandparents all died in the disaster.
Pasang was 24 at the time of the tragedy, the oldest surviving member of the family. He was a student at University in Kathmandu, the capital, when the earthquake hit the country. After avalanche found those who survived up in the valley and brought them back to the city, where they now rent an apartment with some extra money we sent over in the wake of the earthquake. Pasang now dreams of returning the family to Langtang, where the four of them have built a small hut with a few beds for hikers. They dream of rebuilding previous livelihood and the village that used to be the heart of a magnificent valley.
In March, I visited Nepal again. I went with three of my friends, and Pasang took fantastic care of us, taking us on a long trek around Manaslu. We gradually learned about his experience of the earthquake and the dream of returning to his native valley. He has inherited about 35 acres (15 ha) in a beautiful part of Langtang and wants to build a new lodge overlooking the peaks.