Mountain climber seeks to give back to village that helped save his life

It has been more than two years since Wichitan Glenn Nyberg climbed Tibet’s Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest mountain in the world, and nearly lost his life.

Nyberg has invited Dan Mazur – who led that expedition – to speak at the First United Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway, on Wednesday. The presentation starts at 7 p.m.

Nyberg and Mazur are trying to raise funds for a building project in Patle, Nepal, to benefit the Sherpa village affected by two devastating earthquakes in 2015.

“Dan Mazur is a stud in the world of high mountain climbing,” Nyberg wrote in an e-mail to The Eagle. He is “very respected amongst his peers. We hope to raise $70,000 for the building of a primary school, high school and health post all of which were destroyed in the (earthquake.)”

So far, Nyberg said, he has raised $27,000, and another $10,000 has been committed.

“I am confident I can get this done and see it through,” he wrote.

When Nyberg reached the summit of Tibet’s 26,864-foot Cho Oyu on Sept. 29, 2014, he was suffering from frostbite and a bleeding stomach ulcer. The descent nearly killed him.

Mazur, the expedition leader, cared for him, but Nyberg’s condition worsened. Mazur then assigned Sherpas to help Nyberg down the mountain.

In the end, Nyberg was carried down the mountain, then transported by motorcycle and jeep to a Kathmandu hospital, where he was treated briefly – just long enough so he would survive a flight to Wichita.

The toes on his right foot and all his fingertips were amputated due to frostbite.

The village where he stayed was the one affected by the earthquakes.

“When the first earthquake happened on April 25, 2015, it caused such mass destruction, schools were destroyed and there were no funds making their way back to the Sherpa village to rebuild,” Nyberg said.

This past summer, he returned to Nepal and was dismayed by the conditions in the village.

“My mission and vision is to try and rebuild the schools,” Nyberg said. “They have propped up makeshift buildings, but it is not in good conditions.”

Mazur is working through The Mountain Fund and the Mount Everest Foundation for Sustainable Development to collect funds for the area to rebuild.

This story was originally published January 17, 2017 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Mountain climber seeks to give back to village that helped save his life."