“[He was] alone, cold and out of place …”
Last month, a group of Mount Everest guides were practicing on a glacier when they noticed something unusual in the snow. A bird was partly buried in the ice, lying facedown and completely still. At first glance, it looked frozen.
One of the guides carefully dug the bird out. When they finally saw him clearly, they were shocked to discover he was a duck.
The bird had been found on the Khumbu Icefall, around 18,000 feet above sea level. The area is one of the most dangerous parts of the route toward Mount Everest’s summit, and it was the last place anyone expected to find a duck.
Ang Tshering Lama, founder of Angs Himalayan Adventures, had never seen anything like it. The bird was alone, cold and clearly far from where he belonged.
The guides later identified him as a Eurasian wigeon, a type of duck that usually migrates between northern Europe or Asia and warmer regions farther south. No one knows exactly how he ended up on Everest, but it is possible he was blown off course while migrating and became separated from his group.
The duck was weak, confused and exhausted after being trapped in the ice. Lama knew he couldn’t leave him there, so he picked him up and carried him carefully down through the dangerous glacier terrain.
Step by step, the guides brought the duck back to Everest base camp.
Once they arrived, Lama set the duck up inside his tent so he could warm up. He offered him water, chopped cabbage and other food, which the hungry bird eagerly ate.
Over the next few days, the duck rested, recovered and slowly regained his strength. He slept in Lama’s tent each night and soon became a beloved part of the team. Lama named him Pemba Tshering — “Pemba” meaning Saturday in Sherpa and “Tshering” meaning long life.
Before long, the little duck had become the group’s unexpected Everest mascot.
Still, Lama knew Pemba Tshering could not stay on the mountain. Once he was strong enough, the duck needed to return to a safer, more natural place where he could hopefully continue his journey.
When the time came, Lama released him into a lake near Mount Everest. This time, Pemba Tshering was alert, steady and confident. He entered the water and swam away happily.
After being found frozen and alone on one of the world’s most dangerous glaciers, the duck had been given a second chance. Now, rescuers hope he finds his way back to the sky — and back to his flock.