In the world of high altitude climbing, where survival depends on discipline, instinct, and an almost unexplainable relationship with the mountain, Lhakpa Sherpa stands in a category of her own. She is not a climber who has conquered Everest once or twice.
She is the woman who has reached the summit more times than any other woman in history, but her name is still not widely known beyond mountaineering circles.
Born in a small village in Nepal, she grew up in a life ruled by the Himalayas but far removed from privilege. There was no training waiting for her, no structured path into professional climbing. Like many Sherpas, she learnt through experience and observation. The mountains were part of everyday life.
The making of a record breaker in silence
Her first summit of Mount Everest came in 2000. It was a turning point that set her on a path few people in the world can even imagine. One climb became several, and over the years she kept returning to the world’s highest peak. Each expedition demanded everything from her body and mind, from tolerating freezing temperatures and thin air to facing the unpredictability of the mountain itself.
Lhakpa survived an abusive marriage while raising her children and training for some of the most physically demanding journeys. Photograph: (ny times)
But her journey is not restricted to altitude and records. It is also about the life she lived between those climbs.
While her achievements place her among the most accomplished mountaineers in history, she also spent years working ordinary jobs, including at a grocery store in Connecticut, trying to support herself and her family. It is a contrast that says everything about how uneven recognition can be in the world of adventure sports.
A life shaped by struggle beyond the summit
Her personal life carried its own weight. Lhakpa survived an abusive marriage while raising her children and continuing to train for some of the most physically demanding journeys on earth. These struggles rarely make it into the romanticised image of Everest climbing, yet for her, they were part of the same struggle that the mountain demands.
Much of her journey was later brought to wider attention through the documentary ‘Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa’, which followed her tenth Everest expedition.
The film showed her not as a distant record holder but as a working mother and survivor who still returned to the mountain despite everything life had thrown at her. It captured a motivation that does not rely on speeches or spotlight, but on simply continuing.
The invisible backbone of the Himalayas
Her story also highlights something larger than one individual. Sherpa climbers have long been the backbone of Himalayan expeditions, guiding and carrying climbers through some of the most dangerous terrain on the planet.
Much of her journey was later brought to wider attention through the documentary ‘Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa’. Photograph: (Tatler Asia)
However, their contributions have remained in the background while others received global recognition. Her record brings attention to that imbalance, even if she herself never set out to represent anything beyond her own journey.
Now, she is preparing once again. This year, Lhakpa Sherpa will make her eleventh attempt to summit Mount Everest. For most people, one climb would be enough for a lifetime. For her, the mountain remains a place she returns to, not because it is easy or familiar, but because it is part of who she is.
While we celebrate visibility over persistence, her story also deserves recognition. It is not about becoming famous. It is about continuing to climb, no matter how heavy life becomes on the ground below.
