Appa Sherpa
Encyclopedia
Apa nicknamed "Super Sherpa", is a Nepal
ese Sherpa
mountaineer
who holds the record for reaching the summit of Mount Everest
more times than any other person. He has climbed the mountain twenty-one times . As part of The Eco Everest Expedition 2011, Apa made his 21st Mount Everest
summit in May 2011.
, a village in the Everest region of Nepal
, near the Chinese border. His exact age is unknown, but during a 2003 interview, he estimated it to be 40. Following his father's death when he was 12 years old, Apa had to take up the responsibilities of his family, consisting of his mother, two sisters and three young brothers. He dropped out of school and earned money working as a porter for mountaineering groups. His climbing career began in 1985, and he worked as a kitchen boy and porter for various groups but was not given the opportunity to reach the summit until 1990.
.
In April 2009, Apa founded the Apa Sherpa Foundation, dedicated to the improvement of education and economic development in Nepal
. When not on expeditions, Apa works for Diamond Mold, a precision machining and injection molding company in Salt Lake City, Utah that has also supported his foundation.
team led by climber Rob Hall along with Peter Hillary
, son of Edmund Hillary
. He then began his career as Sirdar, or chief Sherpa, for many high altitude expeditions. He has reached the summit every year between 1990 and 2011, bar 1996 and 2001; all but three times have been in May, and in 1992 he reached the summit twice.
Apa in his May 2010 Trek says that climbing to Everest has become tough due to the melting of ice and rock surfaces. He sees visible changes on the Everest summit due to global warming.
. The team spent half an hour at the top of the mountain, unfurling a banner that said "Stop Climate Change". The team brought down five tonnes of mountain trash that includes parts of a crashed helicopter, tin cans and climbing material. On this expedition, a friend and fellow Sherpa, Lhakpa Nuru, was swept away in an avalanche
on May 7, 2009, and died.
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
ese Sherpa
Sherpa people
The Sherpa are an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. Sherpas migrated from the Kham region in eastern Tibet to Nepal within the last 300–400 years.The initial mountainous migration from Tibet was a search for beyul...
mountaineer
Mountaineer
-Sports:*Mountaineering, the sport, hobby or profession of walking, hiking, trekking and climbing up mountains, also known as alpinism-University athletic teams and mascots:*Appalachian State Mountaineers, the athletic teams of Appalachian State University...
who holds the record for reaching the summit of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
more times than any other person. He has climbed the mountain twenty-one times . As part of The Eco Everest Expedition 2011, Apa made his 21st Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
summit in May 2011.
Early life
Lhakpa Tenzing Sherpa was born in the early 1960s in ThameThame, Nepal
Thame is a small village in the Solukhumbu District in Nepal. It is near Mount Everest, on the salt trading route that existed between Tibet, Nepal and India. Many Sherpa live in the village and it is the home of Apa Sherpa, who holds the world record for summiting Everest 21 times...
, a village in the Everest region of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, near the Chinese border. His exact age is unknown, but during a 2003 interview, he estimated it to be 40. Following his father's death when he was 12 years old, Apa had to take up the responsibilities of his family, consisting of his mother, two sisters and three young brothers. He dropped out of school and earned money working as a porter for mountaineering groups. His climbing career began in 1985, and he worked as a kitchen boy and porter for various groups but was not given the opportunity to reach the summit until 1990.
Personal life
Apa married Yangjin, then also a resident of Thame, in 1988 and has two sons—Tenjing and Pemba—and a daughter Dawa. The family moved to the United States with the help of his friend Jerry Mika for business opportunities and to provide better education for their children. They live in Draper, UtahDraper, Utah
Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah Counties in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Between 1990 and 2000 Draper was Utah's fastest-growing city over 5,000 people . Its population in 1990 was 7,143 and had grown to 25,220 by the 2000 census...
.
In April 2009, Apa founded the Apa Sherpa Foundation, dedicated to the improvement of education and economic development in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. When not on expeditions, Apa works for Diamond Mold, a precision machining and injection molding company in Salt Lake City, Utah that has also supported his foundation.
Climbing career
Apa first reached the summit of Mount Everest on his fourth attempt, on May 10, 1990, with a New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
team led by climber Rob Hall along with Peter Hillary
Peter Hillary
Peter Hillary is the son of the late adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary, who, along with Tenzing Norgay, completed the first successful ascent of Mount Everest. When Peter Hillary summited Everest in 1990, he and his father were the first father/son duo to achieve the feat...
, son of Edmund Hillary
Edmund Hillary
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE , was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953 at the age of 33, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest – see Timeline of climbing Mount Everest...
. He then began his career as Sirdar, or chief Sherpa, for many high altitude expeditions. He has reached the summit every year between 1990 and 2011, bar 1996 and 2001; all but three times have been in May, and in 1992 he reached the summit twice.
Apa in his May 2010 Trek says that climbing to Everest has become tough due to the melting of ice and rock surfaces. He sees visible changes on the Everest summit due to global warming.
Ascents of Mount Everest
Apa has climbed Mount Everest a total of 21 times, which stands as the current record. Aside from these 21 ascents, however, Apa has also participated in unsuccessful attempts.| # | Date | Expedition |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | May 10, 1990 | International |
| 2 | May 8, 1991 | Sherpa Support/American Lhotse |
| 3 | May 12, 1992 | New Zealand |
| 4 | October 7, 1992 | Everest International |
| 5 | May 10, 1993 | American |
| 6 | October 10, 1994 | Everest International |
| 7 | May 15, 1995 | American On Sagarmatha |
| 8 | April 26, 1997 | Indonesian |
| 9 | May 20, 1998 | EEE |
| 10 | May 26, 1999 | Asian-Trekking |
| 11 | May 24, 2000 | Everest Environmental Expedition |
| 12 | May 16, 2002 | Swiss Everest 50th Anniversary Expedition 1952–2002 |
| 13 | May 26, 2003 | American Commemorative Expedition |
| 14 | May 17, 2004 | Dream Everest Expedition 2004 |
| 15 | May 31, 2005 | Climbing for a cure |
| 16 | May 19, 2006 | Team No Limit |
| 17 | May 16, 2007 | SuperSherpas |
| 18 | May 22, 2008 | The Eco Everest Expedition |
| 19 | May 21, 2009 | The Eco Everest Expedition |
| 20 | May 22, 2010 | The Eco Everest Expedition |
| 21 | May 11, 2011 | The Eco Everest Expedition |
May 2009 ascent
Apa broke his own record by reaching the summit of Everest for the nineteenth time on May 21, 2009. He was a member of The Eco Everest Expedition, led by Bill Burke, whose purpose was to raise awareness about climate changeClimate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
. The team spent half an hour at the top of the mountain, unfurling a banner that said "Stop Climate Change". The team brought down five tonnes of mountain trash that includes parts of a crashed helicopter, tin cans and climbing material. On this expedition, a friend and fellow Sherpa, Lhakpa Nuru, was swept away in an avalanche
Avalanche
An avalanche is a sudden rapid flow of snow down a slope, occurring when either natural triggers or human activity causes a critical escalating transition from the slow equilibrium evolution of the snow pack. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the...
on May 7, 2009, and died.