Kriti Mehrotra
While Nepali-born Lhakpa Sherpa is best known for being the woman to have summited the highest peak in this world a record total of ten times, her journey to reach there was not easy. Whether it be the fact she has no formal education, hasn’t ever officially trained, or her personal issues stemming from her union with Gheorghe “George” Dijmărescu, she had to face it all. This has even been carefully explored in Netflix’s ‘Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,’ wherein the mountaineer opens up about her domestic struggles for the very first time.
George Dijmărescu Had Early Traumas of His Own
Born around 1961 in the small community of Turcinești in Gorj County, Oltenia, Romania, George grew up stuck under communist rule and knew from an early age he wanted a different life. Therefore, at the age of 25, when this then-soldier saw a chance to slip away, he took it without any hesitance despite the fact it meant he couldn’t even say a final farewell to his parents. He actually swam across the massive Danube River in the middle of the night while avoiding guards because the alternative to this successful escape was likely losing his life upon capture.
George ultimately made it to Yugoslavia, from where he did his best to rush to Italy before being granted political asylum all the way in the US, so he decided to settle down in New England. It was here that he gradually developed a passion for climbing, thanks to his surroundings, all the while also establishing a contracting/home-renovation business alongside his brother Claudio. He subsequently re-invested all the money he earned either back into the company or his hobby, only to end up scaling the daunting Mount Everest for the very first time in 1998 at the age of 37.
George Dijmărescu Was Allegedly Quite Violent
It was reportedly in 2000 when George came across Lhakpa Sherpa in her tea shop in Kathmandu, Nepal, during his second expedition to the highest peak, just to quickly become interested. She admittedly barely spoke English at the time, so she had a friend convey to him that she would be willing to see how things move forward only if he returned the following year, and he did. Thus began their relationship – they ascended Everest together with dreams of making a living from it, happily tied the knot, settled in Connecticut, as well as eventually welcomed two girls.
The fact Lhakpa already had a son from a previous relationship seemingly didn’t bother George at all, yet everything soon turned upside down for the Nepali-born America-based mountaineer. According to her own accounts, her husband became abusive, domineering, plus short-tempered in every way imaginable prior to going as far as to hurt her daughters and younger sister too. He not just used to pull their little girls’ hair in anger, but he also once slapped his wife’s younger sister merely for stepping over his bags with her crampons, per the aforementioned production.
However, it seemingly wasn’t until 2004 that George really went too far while drunk, and that too right in front of their entire New England-origin expedition group on literal chilly Mount Everest. The Hartford Courant journalist Michael Kodas was right alongside them to report on this adventure, and he vividly remembers him punching Lhakpa so hard after an argument that she lost consciousness. “I saw him dragging her out of the tent, and I’d started taking photographs,” this author of ‘High Crimes’ said in the documentary before adding, “He made a comment, ‘Get this garbage out of here.'”
Michael also stated, “George’s behavior took a turn almost immediately [once we got on the mountain]. He was drinking a lot. He became very loud and very aggressive… As things got more tense, George went online and read the stories [I was publishing weekly]. I heard him scream threats that he was going to cut the line to my oxygen tank or light my tent on fire, but he was going to make sure I didn’t come back down from the mountain to report anything else about him.” Therefore, of course, when he published his related book in 2008, he did so with caution because he feared the Romanian-American would somehow make good on his continued threats.
As if all this wasn’t enough, according to reports, George later forbade Lhakpa from speaking publicly on any matter before eventually making her quit climbing altogether to be a housewife. And if she ever even mentioned leaving him alongside their children for a better future, he would allegedly tell her that if she did so, “First I will kill you, and then the girls, and then myself.” Eventually, things came to a head in 2012 when an incident ended with his wife in the emergency room, where a social worker immediately recognized the signs and took the three girls to a shelter.
George Dijmărescu Died of Cancer in 2020
In the end, although George and Lhakpa officially separated in 2012, it wasn’t until 2015 that their marriage was dissolved, with her getting sole custody of their children shortly after. The judge sided with her because the evidence against him included several testimonies of his abusive/violent behavior, plus their eldest daughter, Sunny, also expressing clear fear of him. Furthermore, the fact his major argument against his ex was simply that she is not competent enough since she has no formal education backfired too, especially as the judge’s own parents were immigrants with little education.
It was on January 5, 2015, that the verdict to dissolve George and Lhakp a’s marriage was given, with the judge stating, “It was clear to the court that the husband treated the wife more like chattel than a human being; someone more suitable for the rigors of carrying loads than raising children. Ms. Sherpa embodies all the qualities of first-generation immigrants to the United States seeking a better life for themselves and their children.”
However, little did any of them know George would soon pass away — this 9-time Everest summiteer plus 4-time K2 climber sadly died of cancer in September 2020 at the age of 58. He did fight with this ailment in the early 2010s too, but had managed to go into remission following surgery, yet it came back, and this time, he unfortunately lost the fight.
We should mention that in 2011, while struggling with cancer, George had written a letter to his wife, asserting, “I know, Lhakpa, I hurt you many times. I’m sorry. I said it to you before. If God grants me another chance, I’ll make you my queen and I will devote my life to your happiness. I was wrong, and I did not know the meaning of happiness, the meaning of true life and prosperity. I know I found it now and am ready to use this knowledge.” But alas, things actually didn’t change, and they separated a year later.
Read More: Lhakpa Sherpa’s Kids: Where Are Nima, Sunny and Shiny Now?
