Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s only one word we can ever use to describe Lhakpa Sherpa, it would have to be resilient, considering everything she has achieved in life despite the obstacles thrown her way. This much has actually even been chronicled in Netflix’s ‘Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,’ a Lucy Walker documentary that gives us a true insight into this Nepalese climber’s entire life. Whether it be her experiences as a little girl growing up in the Himalayas, her early interest in the outdoors, her struggles as a family woman, and her record ten Mount Everest summits, it details all.
Lhakpa Sherpa Started Climbing at a Young Age
Despite being born in 1973 in Makalu, Nepal — around 13,000 feet above altitude — to yak farmers as the middle of 11 children, Lhakpa Sherpa knew from the very beginning that she was different. That’s because she was a tomboy — she never wanted to do the things her sisters were interested in or settle down with a nice man like they dreamed of; she simply wanted to be outside. The fact that girls in their society weren’t given any schooling opportunities back then hurt as well as hindered her, yet she ensured to make the most of what she had in every way imaginable. Since some of Lhakpa’s relatives were in the trekking-climbing business, she decided to follow her passion by cutting her hair short to fit in and getting a job with them as a porter or a “kitchen boy.”
She was actually 15 when she started carrying loads for an outfitting company, just to gradually evolve and load up the trails leading right to the base camp of her dream ascend, Mount Everest. From serving as a helper to establishing her own tea shop to begin mounting smaller peaks like Mera plus Yala, Lhakpa subsequently did it all thanks to her not needing to wait for a climbing permit. After all, as a Sherpa, she has a right to traverse Himalayan grounds — all she ever needed at the time was to borrow proper gear from well-wishers and have proper guides helping her along the way.
Lhakpa Sherpa is a Proud Mother of Three
It was reportedly around the late 1990s when Lhakpa welcomed her first child into this world from a short relationship while residing in Kathmandu, only for it to turn her entire universe upside down. While her then-partner allegedly betrayed her and looked down on her for being from a small village, all the while she felt “ashamed” as a single unmarried mother, her son Nima truly brought her joy.
That’s when Lhakpa decided to really go ahead with her desire to climb Mount Everest, which was actually okayed by the prime minister — it was the Nepali Women Millennium Everest Expedition. She was appointed as the leader of this group since the whole thing was her idea, but only she and one other member successfully made it all the way to the top on that fateful May 18, 2000, dawn. While others quit at different stages of their ascend for different reasons, this lifelong outdoorswoman became the first woman ever to summit the highest above-sea-level peak in the world.
What followed was Lhakpa getting the praise she unquestionably deserved, yet the recognition was unfortunately primarily national and not at all long-lasting outside of the mounting circle. It was shortly after this that she came across renowned Romanian-Ameri can climber/guide George Dijmărescu in her tea shop, only for him to almost immediately show a keen interest in her. She barely spoke English at the time, so she indicated to him through a close friend that she’d agree to see how things move forward with him if he showed up the very next year, and he did.
Lhakpa and George thus got together, just to then soon happily tie the knot, welcome two beautiful daughters – Sunny Dijmărescu as well as Shiny Dijmărescu – plus settle down in Connecticut. Alas, little did the former know her spouse would turn abusive – per the show, he purportedly hit her, pulled the girls’ hair, called her garbage, silenced her, and even ultimately forbade her from climbing. The couple had actually ascended Everest together a few times, but his feelings were allegedly quick to change, and he wasn’t shy about it, meaning many in their lives witnessed the violence.
All this finally culminated in Lhakpa and George’s official separation following Sunny’s 10th birthday in 2012, after which their divorce was finalized, with the former getting sole custody in 2015. Hence began her journey towards healing while also doing her best to provide for her children — she took up a cleaning job, served at Whole Foods, and started planning an Everest expedition. She not only wanted to show her kids that they could achieve whatever they put their minds to, no matter the hurdles, but she also wanted to secure a better life for them while doing what she loves.
Lhakpa Sherpa’s Journey is Far From Over
Although it took Lhakpa a lot of inner recuperation, practice, and resolve, she eventually returned to Nepal to summit Mouth Everest for a self-record-breaking tenth time on May 12, 2022. The fact her youngest had accompanied her to base camp, plus the fact her ex-husband had nine summits under his belt before he passed away in 2020, made this one even more special to her. And she was right; this successful ascend resulted in her getting a lot of international coverage, leading her to gain sponsors, public appearance offers, and much more to secure a better life. So, it comes as no surprise that Lhakpa actually managed to climb the second highest and most dangerous peak in the world, K2 of the Karakoram Range in Pakistan, the very next year.
She summited on July 27, 2023, and has since been diligently planning her ensuing expeditions, including Mount Everest plus K2 again, along with various other heights across the globe. From what we can tell, this Connecticut resident now wants to climb the highest points in all 50 states, ending with the Denali Mountain in Alaska, and has recently shown interest in exploring the elevations of the UK too. The third-highest Kangchenjunga Mountain, plus the seven major summits of the world — Aconcagua in Argentina, Denali Mountain in Alaska (formerly Mount McKinley), Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Mount Elbrus in Russia, Puncak Jaya in Oceania, Vision Massif in Antarctica, and Mount Everest in Nepal/China (this time with both her daughters) — are also on her list.
Lhakpa admittedly made no plans to do any expeditions this year since the best time to do them is near the summer, and she already knew she’d be promoting her documentary across the globe. As for her end goal, that remains the same: she recently conceded to BBC she wants to build her own guiding company, secure more sponsorships, as well as inspire youngsters to climb and explore. “I want to show people women can do it… I really want changing my life, my daughters – I work hard,” she said. “I know the mountains, I wish I can share my expertise and experience with other people.
Read More: Lhakpa Sherpa’s Kids: Where Are Nima, Sunny and Shiny Now?
