Euripides said, "A coward turns away but a brave man's choice is danger." It was the October daylight of 2010, Lakpa Tshering Sherpa, 37, an experienced Everest climber, with a dream of flying above the top of the world, undertook a solo mission to paraglide from the Khumbu region. But his goal to fly off the top of the world didn't come true at once, as the wings of the paraglider on which he took off, crashed into a tree at the hillside. Sherpa even failed to make what Jean Marc Boivin, a Frenchman fared in 1988. Boivin had successfully made out an eleven minute descent from the summit to the base camp in a parasail. "If I had no hope my heart would have broken," said Sherpa at Gilingche Tibetan Restaurant in Thamel last week. Sherpa, along with Sanu Babu Sunuwar, 28, successfully accomplished the much-awaited flying mission which began on May 21st, 2011: paragliding from the top of the top of the world and kayaked down the Ganges to the Indian Ocean in the 38th day of expedition. Sherpa had met Sunuwar, an expert in paragliding, in Pokhara until the duo get all-equipped for the ultimate descent. "We met just six months before the expedition," said Sunuwar. Breaking the record of Boivin they flew about 20 miles from the Everest to a landing field at Syangboche, Solukhumbu. That was not the limiting point for them however. Next endeavor they successfully put on was, they kayaked down the Sun Koshi River to its confluence with the Ganges, and finally out to the Bay of Bengal. Notably, they journeyed 5.5 miles from top to the bottom and overcame all the others in time, space or degree. They traveled from the 50 feet above the Mt.Everest, aka, the top of the world, to the ocean in a single trip. After the Everest was endowed with an official English name after Sir George Everest of Royal Geographical Society, the top of the world has attracted large number of summiteers and novice climbers. Records show, by the end of the 2010 climbing season, Everest has been mounted by about 3,142 individuals since the first ascent 58 years ago by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Earlier in 1924, climbing Mount Everest was something like making an expedition to moon. Controversy still hinges the mountaineering community, whether George Mallory and Andrew Irvine had been the first to summit Mt. Everest in their doomed attempt of 8–9 June, 1924. It was understood that Mallory carried a photograph of his beloved wife Ruth with him which he planned to put on the summit, but Ruth's photograph was not among his many personal belongings found at the site of his death, which pose a question: had they accomplished their mission and lost their lives while descending from the summit? But coming to these days, Everest has been climbed without supplementary oxygen or support; many summiteers have reached the top of the world singly; French pilots have even landed helicopter on the summit of Mount Everest for about four minutes; women have climbed the Everest. The first woman to get to the top was Junko Tabei in 1975. A single man Apa Sherpa has reached the summit 21 times. Likewise, 13-year-old Jordan Romero was the youngest person to climb Mount Everest in the year 2010. Everest has been skied down. It has been climbed by a visually-impaired man. Even people have gotten married up in the summit. Hence, setting a record on the world's tallest peak now seeks a very different and splendid enterprise, which Lakpa and Babu better understood. Still, the duo doesn't consider their unrivaled venture as an act of competing for profit or a prize. "We did it for the sake of fun. We weren’t after setting a record or breaking other's records," said Lakpa pushing the dog-end of the cigarette into an ashtray. "We just wanted to do climbing, paragliding, bicycling, kayaking in a single uninterrupted trip," added Babu over a sip of coffee at Gilingche. Despite their displayed modesty, Sano Babu Sunuwar and Lakpa Tsheri Sherpa have been nominated for People's Choice Adventurer of the Year 2012 along with Adventurer Alastair Humphreys, Climber Cory Richards, Hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis, Kayakers Jon Turk and Erik Boomer, Mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, Rider Danny MacAskill , Skier Nick Waggoner, Snowboarder Travis Rice, and Surfer Carissa Moore. The winner will be announced in February.

Nature worshippers: When inquired about their fascination for adventure, and the cause behind inspiring them in undertaking an exciting or wild experience (not necessarily lawful), a single word was uttered by both of them: Nature. "To befriend with the nature and the snow-bound environs on the way to summit for a time being haunted me with an uncomfortable feeling. It was hard to breathe. The situation was of do-or-die for I was not a climber but had always dreamt of climbing the Everest," Sunuwar said while sharing his experiences on how Lakpa, who had conquered Everest three times, helped him in his first enterprise. "We love, respect and befriend nature but it does not mean that we forget to respect the rules of nature. We always prefer to carry adventure only when nature in preferable. We need to understand our limit, skill, and environment while undertaking a venture," added Babu on what Sunuwar told.

Sharing the dreams: Babu was devoid of climbing experiences, who was only working as the tandem pilot and paragliding instructor in Pokhara. Similarly, Lakpa had never kayaked down the rivers and didn’t even know how to swim. But still they managed to accomplish the tandem paragliding flight off Mount Everest and paddling down the Ganges River to the Indian Ocean. "Some call us mad men for what we did, but we managed to get it done through audacity, friendship and unforgettably by sharing our dreams," said Babu. Amateur expertise: The duo met just six months before the expedition and made a plan not only to climb the Everest but also fly above the summit and paddle to the sea despite the fact that one lacks skill and knowledge about mountaineering, and other about the kayaking. "Instead of promoting our cause, Nepal Tourism Board has termed our descent from the top of the world to the sea as an 'amateur expertise,' lamented Lakpa firing up another round of cigarette. When asked are you a chain-smoker he said, "I climbed Everest this time (4th successful venture) without supplementary oxygen and smoked cigarettes up to 28,000 feet, but I faced difficulty in breathing only when we reached the lowland India where the air was fouled and darkened with factory soot."

Adventure or Exploration: "As soon as we completed our mission, Nepal Tourism Board warned us for misusing the sky of Nepal but as far as I know, we need permit only for expeditions and adventures, not for exploration," Babu clarified, having uttered that he alone with his partner explored from the highest peak of the world to the sea in a single trip. He further distinguished the idea of exploration and adventure by exemplifying on the naming of Everest. "It was George Everest who explored and surveyed the Himalayas in the early 1800′s and the Everest was named after him but all others who climbed and conquered the summit are the adventurers." "We saw cremated bodies drifting in the holy river of Gangas. We were robbed and went out of money but luckily survived by having wild fruits and berries grown along the riverbanks. Torrential downpours battered us and we got infectious blisters." said Lakpa in a cheerful countenance and taking a next puff of cigarette. "But the ability to keep going in adverse condition was absorbing us, as people say even after a bad harvest there must be sowing. As soon as we saw the Gangas mingling into the sea, we felt our dream came true. We had never seen the ocean before," added Babu on what Lakpa narrated on their kayaking down the Ganga to the Indian sea. Meeting with them commenced in an excitement and ended in enlightenment.