Inuk conquers Everest base camp

GREG YOUNGER-LEWIS

Lisa Koperqualuk didn’t expect to find memories of home in the shadow of the world’s biggest mountain.

But Koperqualuk, originally from Puvirnituq, got a welcome surprise last month, as she huffed and puffed her way up Mt. Everest, the famous mountain shared by Nepal and Tibet, along the Himalayan mountain range.

“There were inuksuit all over,” she laughed in an interview this week from her office in Montreal. “I was so happy to see them.”

Koperqualuk said other Canadians who trekked up to the mountain’s Base Camp started building stone cairns of different sizes at a village along the trail decades ago.

The base camp was Koperqualuk’s ultimate destination, in a two-week trip she won through a marathon race last year.

On April 8, she became the first-known Inuk to climb to the Everest base camp.

To mark the occasion, Koperqualuk built her own inuksuk, higher up than all the rest, standing on its own on a peak facing the famous mountain.

“I wanted to place an Inuk mark there,” Koperqualuk said.

The trip was a research project, sponsored by Kanatek, an Ottawa-based technology firm, and the University of Ottawa. It aimed to test how high altitudes affected hikers’ breathing and physical well-being.

The trip gained national attention when the trip leader, Sean Egan, died of an apparent heart attack during his expedition to the summit. He was heading back for medical attention for a lung infection when he collapsed.

Egan, 63, was a university professor and self-described fan of the North, especially Nunavut and Nunavik. He visited the region over the last 15 years, teaching short courses on health and physical education in several communities, including Iqaluit.

Egan told Nunatsiaq News that he reserved one spot on the Everest trip for an Inuk because it would inspire others to follow in the chosen participants’ footsteps.

“One of the things I have noticed in any aboriginal society, is they look up to the white man,” he said, speaking from his home in Almonte, Ont. “On a symbolic level, Mt. Everest is one of the white man’s accomplishments. [This expedition] says ‘you guys can do it as well as we do’.”

Koperqualuk only heard the news about her expedition leader late last month when she got back to Montreal, where she works for Makivik Corp.

She said she highly respected Egan, both as a fit leader with a good sense of humour, and as someone who cared about Inuit.

“The fact that he thought of inviting an Inuk on his expedition is something important,” Koperqualuk said. “It’s not something everyone thinks about doing. It [the invitation] opened a lot of opportunities to us.”

Koperqualuk, 42, said her part of the journey wasn’t physically difficult, as long as they took extended breaks. She was part of a group that went to the base camp at 5.2 km above sea level; Egan and others tried to continue 3.5 km higher to the top.

However, Koperqualuk recommended anyone doing the trip exercise a lot before they go, and make sure they have an experienced guide.

She said Inuit living in flatland areas should also test whether they get vertigo easily or not. Hikers have to cross shakey wooden bridges along the way, and fly near the mountains in a Twin Otter.

The trip is relatively comfortable, thanks to the hard-working Sherpas who work as guides and porters.

Koperqualuk said their work ethic, resourceful ways and gentle nature reminded her daily of the Inuit, back home.

“The manner in which the Sherpa works so hard reminded me of how Inuit work so hard,” she said. “And there was an easy manner in which they smiled and welcomed people.”

Koperqualuk said another Inuk is due to make history on the slopes of Mt. Everest. She met a Greenlander named Nick while they were in Kathmandu before her expedition. He plans to be the first Inuk to climb to the top of the mountain.

As for Koperqualuk, her sights are set closer to home, where she’s considering a trip to Mt. d’Iberville in the Torngat Mountains.

Koperqualuk’s expenses for the expedition were covered by Makivik Corp. and other Nunavik groups.