Daring to Dream: Sherpa Woman Climbing K2 by Frances Klatzel

“As a human being we should have a dream. Our dream teaches us to live our life, our dream motivates us to go further in our life.” Maya Sherpa

Daring to Dream tells the story of Pasang, Maya, and Dawa as they struggled with their own decisions on climbing K2, the mountainous obstacles overcome to raise the necessary funds, and the challenging journey and climb.

More than an account of climbing, the book tells the story of three women determined to achieve their dreams. It tells of their perseverance in facing the endless challenges from mounds of bureaucracy to the treacherous slopes of the mountain. Dawa, Maya, and Pasang are role models to inspire women in Nepal and around the world.

Daring to climb the most dangerous of the world’s high peaks, three determined Sherpa women set out in June 2014 on an expedition to K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, in Pakistan’s Karakorum range.

Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita, Maya Sherpa, and Dawa Yangzum Sherpa were all experienced climbing instructors and guides who had already climbed Mt Everest. When they wanted to climb K2, family and friends asked why they would want to take such risks on ‘the killer mountain’.

“We wanted to show women that if you just follow your dreams, even as a woman, you can do anything. Nothing is impossible,” says Pasang.