Record-breaking

At 8850 meters above sea level, Mount Everest stands tall and magnificent. It was first scaled by the New Zealander Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa on May 29, 1953.

It is every mountaineer's dream to climb the world's highest mountain - one that Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa, known to everyone as Apa Sherpa, has realized more than once. On May 11 at 9.15 a.m., the 51-year-old reached the summit of Mount Everest for the 21st time.

"Well, it’s not easy. You need our physical fitness," Apa Sherpa told Deutsche Welle. "People who live at sea level need to do a lot of training, but our Sherpa do not need to train because we live here, at this high elevation."

Apa Sherpa, who initially started as a tourist guide, was accompanied by an American, a Swiss man and three other Nepalese Sherpas during his latest ascent, which he dedicated to the impact of climate change.

Ang Tshering Sherpa, the chairman of Asian Trekking, whose association with Apa Sherpa goes back a long way, said Apa was "extraordinary."

"He is a strong and very good climber technically and he practises a lot. Climbing Mount Everest is not easy but it is possible for him."

Supporting education in Thame

Dawa Steven Sherpa from Eco Everest Expedition, under whose banner Apa climbed Mount Everest this time, agreed that Apa was impressive. He said he had trained by working "as a climbing Sherpa up and down the mountain and as a result of a long career he managed to get to the top more than anyone else."

Although Apa moved to the US in 2006 so his children could have access to a better education, he comes back to climb Everest regularly. He first dedicated his climb to a particular cause in 2007 when he raised funds for his school in his home village, Thame.

"He wanted to give the children in his village the opportunity to go to school as he did not have the opportunities that his children have today" when he was growing up, Dawa explained.

Climbing for a cause

Since 2008, Apa Sherpa and Dawa Steven Sherpa have been raising awareness about the impact of climate change on the Himalayas in a project called the Eco Everest Expedition. Apa plans to scale Everest again, carrying messages about the fragile environment and the need to conserve it.

Over the years, many mountaineers have lost their lives in attempts to scale it. Apa Sherpa is among the few who have made it to the summit of the highest mountain more than once.

Author: Sherpem Sherpa
Editor: Anne Thomas