Lhakpa Sherpa, who lives in West Hartford with her two daughters, holds the world record for the most number of summits of Mount Everest by a woman, and has no plans to stop climbing.

By Ronni Newton

Lhakpa Sherpa has journeyed to heights that are even beyond the imagination of most people, but along with the peaks, her life has also had unimaginable valleys.

Sherpa is a West Hartford resident, a survivor of domestic violence, the record holder for the most number of successful summits of Mount Everest by a woman, a single mother without a formal education, and the subject of a documentary released by Netflix this summer.

On Tuesday she attended a reception at the Hartford Public Library prior to a screening of “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa,” a documentary by filmmaker Lucy Walker that chronicles not only Sherpa’s record-setting achievements on Mount Everest, but also delves into her personal life, her experience with domestic violence, and how she has continued to strive to build a better life for herself and her children. The screening, held during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, was sponsored by Interval House, the state’s largest domestic violence agency, which helped Sherpa finally break away from her violent and abusive husband more than a decade ago, and supported her as she built a new life with her daughters, Sunny (22) and Shiny (17).

“When people ask me why I am in this business it’s because we have an opportunity to help people change their lives and get to their next best place, Mary Jane Foster, president and CEO of Interval House, said when she spoke about Domestic Violence Awareness Month at a recent meeting of the West Hartford Town Council. “In this case it was Mount Everest,” she said of Lhakpa Sherpa.

“Netflix gives me a good opportunity. … Now I know people know how much I work hard,” Sherpa said Tuesday.

Raised in Nepal, as the child of a family of climbers, in 2000 she was the first Nepali woman to successfully ascend and descend Mount Everest, which is more than 29,000 feet above sea level. She has now summited 10 times, breaking her own record each time.

“I’m a little bit of a different kind of a girl. Little bit tomboy type,” she said. Her mother told her to do one thing, but she did the opposite – something she said she’s being paid back for now by her own teenage daughter.

“I like hiking, going to the mountain, looking at the beautiful birds, the beautiful river,” she said. It’s given her the ability to see things in nature that she would never have otherwise experienced.

For years Sherpa supported herself and her daughters by working at Whole Foods in West Hartford’s Bishops Corner. She trained by walking to and from work, and hiking nearby. She still lives in an apartment in West Hartford with Sunny and Shiny, and in addition to leading hiking expeditions, she cleans houses.

Shiny accompanied her mother to Everest Base Camp in 2022, and she has long hoped to inspire both to also climb mountains.

Sherpa climbed K2 in Pakistan last year. “That is no joke. That mountain is a very difficult mountain,” she said.

Sherpa said she is now 50 – although she doesn’t have a birth certificate so she’s not entirely sure when her birthday is – and has no plans to slow down. She is training for another summit of Mount Everest in 2025 and while she’s not planning to bring either of  her daughters, she does have other goals that they are a part of.

“I want to teach my daughters here in the United States, to reach the highest points [in each state],” she said, including Denali in Alaska and Mount Whitney in California. She’s already climbed Mount Washington in New Hampshire – five times – including leading groups.

She doesn’t get scared while she’s climbing. “I love it,” Sherpa said. It’s her job, and she loves it.

Watching the documentary wasn’t easy for Sherpa, and it brought back painful memories. “I forget all the times, bad things. … Everybody has positive and negatives together, but I want to put all the positives in front and negatives behind,” she said.

On Tuesday night she received praise from Gov. Ned Lamont and from Foster, and both the governor and state Rep. Kate Farrar, also on behalf of West Hartford’s legislative delegation, presented her with citations congratulating her and proclaiming Tuesday, Oct. 15, her day.

Lamont said Tuesday that since COVID, domestic abuse has become an even greater problem. He thanked Interval House for their important work helping get victims back on their feet.

“Lhakpa, your story is just so inspirational, everything you’ve been through … knowing that you can get back up and climb that peak. I think you’re an example to each and every one of us,” Lamont said.

Foster said Tuesday was about honoring an extraordinary survivor. “Domestic abuse impacts one in four women, one in seven men. The CDC says there are more than 12 million cases of of domestic violence every single year.”

It’s important to raise awareness, she said. “If you shine a light on it, it will help. It will help raise awareness, it will erase the stigma, and it will allow more people to come forward and live their very best lives.”

The team from Interval House who helped Sherpa were in attendance Tuesday night – Maria Mojica, Jennifer Lopez, and attorney Ramona Mercado-Espinoza. “In fact, the relationship lasted for 13 years,” Foster said. “We have seen her put her life back together. We have seen her persevere … she is so brave, she is so tenacious. She knows where her heart and soul is. It’s with the mountain, and it’s with her daughters, and she never loses sight of that.”

Sherpa spoke to the crowd that had gathered. “Coming here today I’m so proud. I’m not so good at talking, I’m good at mountain climbing.” She thanked the Interval House team and said they saved her life. She said she’s very lucky to live in West Hartford, very happy with the schools.

She posed for countless photos during the reception, but when it came time for the screening, Sherpa left the room.

Mountain Queen received rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival even before it was released by Netflix, and it’s been mentioned on some of the documentary feature film short lists for the 2025 Oscars. Sherpa didn’t mention it Tuesday night, but at this week’s San Diego Film Festival, she was honored with the Humanitarian Award.

More information about “Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa” can be found here and the film can be viewed on Netflix.

Learn more about Lhakpa Sherpa, and her goal of empowering women and girls, at the Climb Any Mountain Initiative. For information about joining Lhakpa Sherpa for an expedition – either a hike in New England or beyond – visit the website cloudscapeclimbing.com.

You can also follow her on Instagram (@mountain_queen_10) and on X (@cloudscapeclimb).

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