Tenzing Norgay conquered Everest with Edmund Hillary in 1953, establishing the community’s fame as climbing masters.

But since then, Nima Rinji said, Sherpas have rarely been seen as expedition leaders. He’s started a “Sherpa power” campaign to change that. “This generation does have the potential because we have the privileges that those before us didn’t have, like good education, speaking well and we can understand what is happening regarding climate change, regarding the mountains,” he said.