A remote little monastary tucked beneath peaks of Tawache, Everest, Nuptse, Lhotse, Ama Dablam, and Thamserku, by the name of Tengboche.

Tengboche Village ~ built 1923

And perhaps the most significant sherpa in history, Tenzing Norgay, the fellow who assisted Edmund Hillary on his ascent of Mount Everest. Tenzing Norgay was born and brought up in Tengboche.

Tenzing Norgay ~ 1953

Now,  I will show you a design I have named “Tengboche”, inspired by the colors of the monastary and blues of high altitude sky.  The hat with an attitude, as well as altitude.  Versatile.  Confident. An overstatement anywhere below treeline.  My attempt to merge my love of knitting with my love of mountains, what emerges is a lined sherpa-worthy  chullo-esque hat, designed for comfort above all.  A favorite for those who’s skin is too sensitive to wool, it can be lined with cotton or silk layer (or some other soft barrier that is hardy for wear). Now the question might be stirring “What is going on here? “

Backstory :  My brother, a mountaineer in his youth, he loves his sherpa~chullo hats ! Loves the wool and homey-spun ethnic ones, but he wants some kind of cotton liner for them, he says. He looks at me as a young child looks at the mother, and with a hopefull expression which seems to ask ” … there must be a magic trick for this????

I have taken it unto myself to be my brother’s Provider Of Knitted Hats, and to come up with a way to make them cottony on the inside and woolly on the outside. Sherpa Nouveau is my solution.  And now, for a fun little frolick  in the woods of my home…modelling a hat two sizes too big for me (I have a very small head, and my brother, for whom it was made, likewise) .

A hat with real personality , looking like a cross between a Tibeten headress and South American chullo . Soon I will assemble a pattern-instruction-tutorial sort of thing where I will show you how it is done. ( Sherpa Nouveau is the finished version of which got hang-dried  in this post)