A Buddhist monk who blessed Everest climbers headed for the summit of the world's highest mountain has died in Nepal aged 87, local officials said Wednesday. Lama Geshe was a fixture of the Everest climbing community and few would dare attempt to climb the fabled 8,848 metre (29,029 foot) peak without seeking his blessing.
The Buddhist teacher died on Tuesday morning at his home in the village of Pangboche, which lies in the shadow of Everest in Nepal's Khumbu Valley, former local official Pemba Tshering Sherpa told AFP. Lama Geshe was revered by the Sherpa community - a Buddhist ethnic group from the Himalayas who are the backbone of Nepal's mountaineering industry, guiding hundreds of climbers up its mountains each year.
Sherpa, who consider Everest sacred and call it Chomolungma ("Goddess Mother of Mountains"), would not climb the mountain without first visiting Lama Geshe. His home became an essential stop for all climbers heading to the mountain. "Sherpas believe that his prayers were extremely powerful in protecting them on Everest," said Dawa Steven Sherpa of Asian Trekking, a mountaineering expedition organiser in Nepal.
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