GOLDEN • He was once guiding in the Himalayas, once living his dream as a young Sherpa leading the way up Mount Everest, before a near-death tragedy that gained international attention. Years later, Dawa Sange Sherpa, 26, is trying to build a new life in Colorado.
It’s been a life of difficult adjustments, culturally and physically. Frostbite claimed his fingers that ill-fated day high in Everest’s “death zone.”
But one adjustment has been pleasant: Sange loves Colorado’s seasons.
“In the fall, the colors change, I take pictures; it’s beautiful,” he says here at his apartment in downtown Golden.
The mountains are most beautiful in the winter, he believes. No matter the harsh elements that keep others away, he is drawn to the mountains most in the winter.
“And when the spring comes oh, my god,” he remarks. “The flowers blooming, the green comes back. … This is really such a beautiful state.”
Which explains why he’s decided to stick around since a miraculous, highly publicized series of events landed him here in 2017.