Some of the greatest watch stories come from the achievements of individuals in extreme environments, conquering nature all while accompanied by a Rolex or an Omega or even an Ocean to Orbit. History has a habit of repeating itself, and so with the launch of the new Ocean to Orbit Himalayan Project I wanted to highlight the story of the Sherpa people and how a record-breaking individual lead to the development of this brilliant new watch.
If you’d like to learn more about the story of the Ocean to Orbit brand, you can read about it here.
A Brief History of the Sherpa People
Many of you may hear the name ‘Sherpa’ and think of the mountain guides and porters that aid climbers and mountaineers in their ascent of the great peaks of the world. But in reality, they are much more than that.
The Sherpa people are an ethnic group living in the Himalayan regions of Eastern Nepal. They have their own community, culture and traditions that stem from Tibetan Buddhism. Originally of Tibetan descent, the people migrated to Nepal in the 15 th or 16 th century, and the name Sherpa comes from the Tibetan ‘Sher-war’ which means “people of the east”.
The contribution of the Sherpa people to the mountaineering community and their achievements cannot be overstated. From the first successful summit of Everest in 1953 completed by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, the Sherpa name has been closely associated with climbing achievements.
Despite these achievements in expeditions and countless acts of heroism to save those that have succumbed to the mountain conditions, the Sherpa people have faced many hardships. Having always been the supporting role in expeditions, many Sherpas do not receive the credit or gratitude they deserve when next to the expedition leads. Only a handful of current Sherpas are well known thanks to breaking records. As such many do not receive fair wages and often live in extreme environments that are constantly changing due to the impact of climate change. They risk their lives to support the missions of mountaineers, carrying extremely heavy equipment and as often as the people they are guiding, lose their lives in attempts to summit the mountains.
Activists within the Sherpa community have used their voices to improve conditions for those working on the mountains and to bring better awareness to the individuals that risk their lives to aid and rescue others.
Mingma Gyaba ‘David’ Sherpa
Mingma Sherpa has spent the majority of his life conquering the highest peaks on Earth and braving some of the most hostile conditions this planet has to offer. Working his way up from a porter to a multiple world-record holder and Sherpa leader, he is an expert in alpine expeditions and safety guiding many people to the top and to safety. In a single season he successfully completed 52 rescues, saving each of their lives and displaying his skill and compassion. He is a multiple record holder for summiting the highest peaks at both a young age and in record time.
Alongside his mountaineering prowess, Mingma is a voice for change. Using his influence and platform to bring the Sherpa into the spotlight. He promotes a safety-first expedition culture from trip planning to rescue strategy; his knowledge has been shared across the mountaineering community to help save countless lives. He has also worked with the local government to improve wage structures for the Sherpa and improve environmental accountability to protect the beautiful yet fragile environment he loves.
As a Sherpa, timing is crucial in ensuring that checkpoints are reached along the ascent and companions are met along the route. In the case of a snowstorm with no visibility and the failure of other equipment, a watch can also be used to navigate. Therefore, a reliable and rugged timepiece is an essential piece of equipment for a Sherpa.
If you would like to learn more about his achievements and accolades, we have a more in-depth article which you can read here.
The Himalayan Project
After the success of Ocean to Orbit’s first model, the Lhotse, in its expeditions with Purnima, Mingma approached the brand with the need for a robust, lightweight watch that could accompany him on record breaking summiting attempts. David and Sidd took on the task with honour and set about developing a watch that could stand up to the extreme conditions in alpine climates.
What they came up with was the Himalayan Project. A titanium sport watch that is highly legible and stacked with luminescent material. Equipped with a sapphire crystal and OCTOPOD strap system they created a watch that is as tough as the man set to wear it.
The prototype of this watch accompanied Mingma on his attempt to summit K2 in July 2025. This was the 7 th time Mingma had climbed the second highest mountain in the world. This was part of the 14 peaks challenge where Mingma supported Nims Dai, an ex-special forces soldier attempting to climb all mountains over 8,000m withing the space of 6 months. Something that had never been achieved before and seemed like an impossible goal. You can follow their journey as they attempt the unimaginable in Netflix’s series ‘14 Peaks’.
Mingma continues to wear the Himalayan Project on his expeditions, further pushing the watch past the boundaries where many others would fail. This testing is playing a pivotal role in the continual development of the Himalayan Project and the durability of Ocean to Orbit watches overall.
In Conclusion
History, and marketing schemes, are littered with stories of watches that achieved great things alongside the brave and pioneering explorers of the 20 th century. We are now witnessing a retelling of this story with a new brand and a modern-day hero.
The Himalayan Project is available to pre-order now with the first shipments going out in March 2026.
