Climbing Everest changed my life. Lakpa Sherpa

My guest today is Lakpa Gel jen Sherpa.

At the age of 25 with no training or experience, he reached the summit of Mt Everest the highest mountain in the world.  He has reached the summit of Everest 7 times and climbed many other 8,000-meter summits in Nepal.

With no education, no English or training but a strong belief in taking positive action and karma he has managed to transform his life. 

He has led international treks across Nepal and Tibet with clients from all over the world. 

His family and children are now living the lives many people from Nepal can only dream of. 

Lakpa now splits his time between working in France and Nepal. 

During the cold winter months of Nepal when there are no tourists and little work, he lives and works in the French Alpes. 

During the trekking season in Nepal, he now has his own successful trekking and tour agency employing a team of local Sherpa Guides.

His children have all received an education, his daughter is now living and studying in the US his oldest son is in the Philippines and his 2 youngest sons work in the family trekking business.

Knowing how fortunate his life is now, he is also giving back to the local sherpa community through a charity and foundation he has established with his good friend Zebulon Roche.  

This foundation aims to help families and children who have lost their fathers through death in the mountains. 

It is called Solida Sherpa. If you would like more information about the foundation you can send an email to solidasherpa@gmail.com or telephone +33 6 75 57 69 01. And the foundation will gratefully accept any donations.

I simply know him as Lakpa, an incredibly friendly guy that always greets me with a warm “Namaste” whenever I see him at an altitude restaurant in the French Alpes.

Hello friends, I am your host Ashley Pettit welcome to another episode of the Beyond the Mountains podcast. Where I talk to people who live work and play in the mountains.

Let's start the intro music and get on with the show. Allons-y