Utah’s Apa Sherpa to attempt 21st ascent of Mount Everest
Apa Sherpa, the world record holder for most ascents of the world’s highest peak, Mount Everest, will seek to break his own record by summiting the mountain (and making his wife worried) for the 21st time.
Apa Sherpa on his last record breaking ascent, where he brought canned beer from Utah's Bohemian Brewery to the summit.
Apa Sherpa is 51-years-old, lives in Draper, Utah, and is known the world over as the “Super Sherpa for his super human ability to climb mountains. In 2010 be previously broke his own world record by climbing Everest for the 20th time as part of the Eco Everest Expedition. Their mission has been to clean the garbage and human waste off the face of Everest so it can be properly disposed of. In the last four years, the team has brought down 12,000kg of garbage.
As a Utah related side note, in true mountaineer fashion, Apa brought beer to the summit in 2010. Utah’s Bohemian Brewery had the honor of being the fist microbrew on Everest when Apa carried their Pilsner and Amber Lager to the top of the world.
This year, Apa Sherpa will again take part in the Eco Everest Expedition 2011. According to the Asian-Trekking Agency, the team will once again climb the 29,028-foot peak to climb in ”an eco-sensitive manner, bringing old garbage, in addition to our own, and all human waste produced on the mountain down to base camp for proper disposal. We will once again be using our highly successful alternative energy solutions like the parabolic solar cookers and the SteriPENs for water purification.”
“Last year, Apa carried the banner of the Nepal Tourism Board to the summit of Mt Everest to announce to the world that Nepal was gearing up to celebrate 2011 as its tourism year,” said Ang Tshering Sherpa, chief of Asian Trekking. “This year, he felt he had to return to the peak to complete the work.”
Apa has sought to raise awareness of issues facing the people of Nepal ever since he first climbed Everest in 1990 as a porter. Last year, he established the Apa Sherpa Foundation to raise funds for a Sherpa school in Thame, a remote village in northern Nepal where he was born.
Apa and his wife, Yangjin, have two sons and a daughter. The family moved to Draper, Utah with the help of his friend Jerry Mika so his own children could receive a better education.
According to The Times of India, after the expedition that kicks off in April, Apa will be returning in autumn to further support Nepal’s Tourism Year 2011 campaign that seeks to draw 1 million tourists. With Dawa Steven, Apa will lead “the Great Himalaya Trail” – a five-month trekking odyssey from east Nepal to the west to promote tourism in rural Nepal.
Source: Asian-Trekking, The Times of India
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