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Lakhpa Sherpa is the only woman in the world who has climbed the Everest 10 times and made it back. But she had achieved much more than standing at the top of the world. The world deserves to know about the story of this woman from a rural village in Nepal that gender doesn't determine fate.
In her latest Netflix documentary Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, Lucy Walker, an English filmmaker known for her works like Blindsight (2006), The Crash Reel (2013) and Waste Land (2010), narrates the story of this fearless woman.
The documentary is a collage of clips from Lhakpa's climb in 2022, excerpts from her friends and family, blended with a narration that goes far back into her childhood days.
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa starts with the streets of Connecticut and goes to the topmost peak of the world, Mount Everest. Walker's documentary got its theatrical release on July 26, 2024, and will be available for streaming on Netflix from July 31, 2024.
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What is the story of Lakhpa Sherpa?
Lakhpa Sherpa works at Whole Foods in Wes Hartford, Connecticut. She's not educated but earns for herself and takes care of her daughters Sunny and Shiny.
On occasion, she takes some time off from carrying wooden boxes, packs her geas and stands at the top of Mount Washington, reminiscing her earlier days. But things haven't always been like this.
Lakhpa Sherpa was one of 11 children of a yak farmer near the slopes of Makalu, Nepal. Growing up without a television or even shoes on her feet, she felt a strong calling from the mountains. Being the fifth highest peak, the icy slopes across Mount Makalu felt like an escape from her gloomy cyclical routine.
Slowly, she started taking little steps toward its steep pathways despite the wishes of her mother. But her father saw the little girl's potential. One day, while taking the lambs and yak back from the slope, she stumbled upon Sherpa mountain men, all packed in gear who were climbing the mountain. That made the little Sherpa find out what she truly wanted to do for the rest of her life.
From the age of 15, she started setting up kitchens for other fellow climbers on the trek and began learning their ways. She eventually met Babu Chhiri Sherpa, one of the legendary Evert guides who took Lakhpa into his crew when she turned 17.
In 2000, the young Lakhpa Sherpa along with six other girls appealed to the government to sponsor them for an Everest expedition that would be only led by girls.
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa had reached the top of Everest in 1993 but couldn't make it back. In 2000, though, Lakhpa became the only Nepali woman to climb Everest and make it back.
In 2002, her mentor Babu Chirri Sherpa died in an accident while on a trek, which was heartbreaking news for her. She didn't stop and continued to carry her legacy, climbing the Everest a staggering 10 times.
Lakhpa Sherpa faced domestic violence and hardships being an immigrant
In 2002, while on one of her expeditions, Lhakpa met a fellow climber named Romanian George Dijmarescu.
She connected with the stranger during their climbings and fell in love. They married and moved to Connecticut. Together they ran a roof repairing and painting business before shifting to climbing ladders and fixing cracks and leakages.
They had two daughters, Sunny and Shiny, and for a while, she began to feel that life had turned out well, but soon George began to show his dark side.
He started to get angry over the smallest of issues and began beating her. The violence gradually intensified, and one night in 2012, George beat her so badly that she had to be admitted in emergency.
Michael Kodas, a reporter for the Hartford Courant, recorded these events in his book on Everest, High Crimes: The Fate of Everest in an Age of Greed, published in 2009.
After her recovery, she left her husband and took her two daughters along with her. With the help of a social worker, she got shelter for eight months. Eventually, she realized that she must take charge of her own life.
She began cleaning houses to sustain her family and moved to a small apartment. People started asking questions about her surname, but she knew the mountains were calling her back again.
When she got a job at Whole Foods in West Hartford, Connecticut, she began working as a part-time Everest climbing guide. From there, her story started to get spread among people. People started realizing that the helper among them in the supermarket is a world-record holder.
In 2022, she left her job in the supermarket to climb Everest for one more time. If she was successful, she would break her record. This time, she was accompanied by her two daughters contacting her through a walkie-talkie from the base camp.
Netflix's Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa documents this journey of Lakhpa Sherpa proving that a woman is not only a mother or a breadwinner but can aalso reach the top of the world, over and over again.
Lakhpa Sherpa serves as an inspiration for every woman who has ever dreamed of climbing the summit of Everest and return with pride and honor.
