Apa Sherpa Foundation – without education we have no choice

To do this, he wanted to become a doctor. His parents saw his conviction and saved all of their money to let Apa go to school and fulfill his dream. Dedicated to reaching his goal he walked 3 hours to and from school, every day from the age of 5.

But at the age of 12 his father died, and he had to take on the responsibility of the family. He had to quit school and start working as a porter to get money to support his family. Soon, he became known as one of the most skilled porters, being able to carry more than his own body weight up and down the mountain.

In 1990, Apa Sherpa reached the summit of Mount Everest for the first time. Since then, he has taken 21 expeditions to the top of the world.

Apa is known as the Michael Jordan of Mount Everest, the Tiger of the Himalayas and has earned the title Super Sherpa. He also holds the Guinness World Record of reaching the summit of Mount Everest the most times. A record that he now shares with another Sherpa. And he has never lost a client.

Since that memorable day, Apa has participated in 22 Everest expeditions and reached the summit 21 times. Adhering to a simple philosophy that “Everest will always be there” and it is more important to keep all team members and sherpas safe, Apa has led his teams to amazing success.

In 1996, Rob Hall, an acclaimed mountaineer from New Zealand set out to climb the Everest once again. Hall had already climbed with Apa three times so he already knew he wanted him to join this new excursion. For the first time however, and despite Rob hall’s insistence, Apa declined. Instead, he decided to stay home and help his wife Yangjin build their new house in Thame. Tragically, this would be Rob Hall’s final climb as he and many of Apa’s close climbers lost their lives in what is now known as The 1996 Mount Everest Disaster. That year, fifteen people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest year in Mount Everest’s history.

After officially retiring from climbing in 2011, Apa set another record by covering a distance of 1,700 kilometers on foot to raise awareness for climate change in the Himalayas in 2012 (The Great Himalayan Trail). Apa and his team completed 20 Himalayan districts from the East to the West of Nepal in 99 days.

It is this desire for his children’s education that has brought Apa to the United States. While the decision to leave his homeland was a difficult one, Apa knows that his new home will bring him continued opportunities to pass on all that he has learned from climbing.

In addition to his mountaineering accomplishments, Apa is active in climate change education and the conservation of Mount Everest through annual Eco-Everest clean-up expeditions. Eco-Everest removed around 14,000 kg of garbage from the mountain. As a Climate-for-Life ambassador, Apa Sherpa was the recipient of the World Wildlife Foundation’s prestigious “Leaders for a Living Planet” award. He also established a foundation to assist with education projects and schools in the Khumbu Valley. In 2013, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Utah for his commitment to cultural and ecological conservation of the Himalayas.