Photo: Lhakpa Sherpa
At the age of 48, Lhakpa Sherpa has just climbed Mount Everest for the 10th time, but all her life she has been rising to challenges and meeting them. The Nepalese single mother was born in a cave, had no formal education and worked as a janitor. She grew up in the shadow of Mount Everest; as a young person she wanted to become a mountaineer, but her parents didn’t support her. She brushed aside their concerns and made her first ascent in 2000. In the years that followed, she struggled financially and yet she set several records as she continued climbing the mountain. Lhakpa’s fortunes have been slowly changing; she was recognized by the BBC as one of its most inspirational and influential women in 2016 and in recent years she has been able to secure sponsorships for some of her climbs. As for the future, she has no plans to retire. She wants to scale K2, the world's second-highest peak. “I’ve had a challenging life. Mountains made me happy and relaxed. I will never give up. I want young women not to give up,” she said.
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