Lhakpa Sherpa holds the world record for the most Everest ascents by a woman. "The most impressive Everest aspirant you've never heard of," is how she is described in the 2023 documentary "Mountain Queen," which followed her tenth Everest expedition. This year, the Sherpa woman will make her eleventh attempt on the world's highest mountain.
On the way to the roof of the world
Lhakpa Sherpa was born in 1973, one of eleven children, in Balakharka, a small village in Nepal's Makalu region. She never attended school. At that time in Nepal, girls were not allowed to attend school, so instead, Lhakpa carried her brother to and from school for two hours every day. An early lesson in perseverance.
I want to be someone. I want to make a good difference!
Lhakpa Sherpas
The Himalayas were as much a part of her childhood as the air she breathed. But back then, the mountains didn't belong to her. To even get close to Everest Base Camp, as a young girl she cut her hair and disguised herself as a boy. She started as a porter, worked her way up to the kitchen, and finally became a mountain guide. The birth of a career that is unparalleled.
May 18, 2000: The first summit
On May 18, 2000, Lhakpa Sherpa became the first Nepalese woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and return alive. Before her, only one other Nepalese woman, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, had achieved the summit. Tragically, Pasang Lhamu died during her descent. In Nepal, Pasang Lhamu became a national heroine and a role model for Lhakpa.
As Pasang Lhamu's funeral procession passed by my house, I gave her a flower. I felt her soul pass into me.
Lhakpa Sherpa in “Mountain Queen”
Her path to the highest point on Earth was by no means easy. She knocked on doors, seeking sponsors to fulfill her dream of climbing Everest. No one believed her. When she heard about a major race, she entered and won $2000. With this money, she opened a teahouse. And again, she asked her customers, "I want to climb Everest, what can I do?" One of her customers wrote a letter to the Prime Minister of Nepal. Lhakpa became the leader of an all-female team that attempted to summit Everest. She was the only member of the expedition to reach the top.
Once wasn't enough for her. In 2003, she climbed to the summit again together with her sister Ming Kipa and her brother Mingma Gelu – the first sibling trio to reach the summit of Everest simultaneously, a feat recorded in the Guinness Book of Records. For Lhakpa, the mountain became a constant in a life full of upheavals.
I want to climb the way the Sherpas did long ago. I want to show the younger generations how it used to be done.
Lhakpa Sherpas
Between Everest peaks and everyday life as an immigrant in the USA
Lhakpa's story is not a straightforward ascent. She married the Romanian mountaineer Gheorghe Dijmărescu and moved with him to the USA. What followed were years of domestic violence. In 2004, her husband beat her unconscious in front of other expedition members at Everest Base Camp. The marriage ended in 2015, and Lhakpa was granted sole custody of her daughters.
Lhakpa Sherpas
I want to show my girls how to be brave.
As a single mother, she lives modestly in Hartford, Connecticut, and works as a dishwasher at Whole Foods to feed her children and finance her sport. Between shifts, she trains and plans her next climb. And she keeps climbing Everest.
Ten peaks, an incredible world record
On May 12, 2022, Lhakpa Sherpa reached the summit of Everest for the tenth time – financed by a crowdfunding campaign. This achievement extended her own record, maintaining her position as the woman with the most Everest ascents worldwide. What distinguishes Lhakpa from other high-altitude mountaineers is not only the number of her Everest summit successes, but also her mountaineering philosophy: efficient, deliberate, and deeply rooted in the traditions of her Sherpa ancestors. She combines a spiritual connection to the mountain with technical precision.
K2, Netflix and a life as a "Mountain Queen"
Everest alone is no longer enough for Lhakpa. In July 2023, she climbed K2 – considered the most dangerous eight-thousander in the world – thus becoming one of the few women to have conquered both of the Himalayan giants.
In 2024, Netflix released the documentary "Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa," which brought her life and her tenth Everest ascent to a global audience. The reactions were overwhelming. Suddenly, the world knew a woman who had been quietly making history for decades. Lhakpa herself said of her achievements: "I feel like I have changed Sherpa culture, the status of Sherpa women and Nepalese women."CT Women's Hall of FameShe lives up to this principle every day, both on the mountain and away from it.
2026: The eleventh attempt on Everest
In early 2026, she announced her eleventh Everest attempt and shortly thereafter departed for Nepal. She is currently still at base camp. unstable serac The storm blocked the route to Camp 1 for several weeks, causing a slight delay to this year's Everest season. However, the route has now been officially reopened, and climbers are making their way to the roof of the world.
Eleven ascents. A number that begs the question: Where does a record end, and where does a philosophy of life begin? Alongside this, Lhakpa runs her own business »Hiking with Lhakpa«, with which she leads hikes in the USA and the Himalayas, including tracks to Everest Base Camp and even to the summit of the highest mountain on Earth.
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Cover photo: Lhakpa Sherpas