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Phurba Tashi Sherpa Mendewa (Nepali: फूर्वा तासी शेर्पा, 1971)[2] is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer known for his numerous ascents of major Himalayan peaks. These include 21 ascents of Mount Everest,[3][4] [5][2] six on Cho Oyu, eight on Manaslu, and one each on Shishapangma[citation needed] and Lhotse.

Everest climbs

Phurba Tashi was born in Khumjung, Nepal, 10 kilometers from Everest's base camp. He grew up in a family of climbers, watching his father and uncles go on climbing expeditions with international mountaineers.[6]

His first successful summit of an eight-thousander was Cho Oyu in 1998.[7] The next year, at age 28, Tashi summitted Mount Everest for the first time.[8]

In 2000, he accompanied Marco Siffredi up Cho Oyu for the first snowboard descent of that mountain.[7] The two became friends, with Tashi later visiting Siffredi in Chamonix before accompanying him for both his successful Everest ascents.[9] After a nearly 13 hour climb on their second summit of Everest, on September 8, 2002, Phurba encouraged Siffredi to abandon his attempt to be the first to snowboard the Hornbein Couloir. Siffredi refused, and was eventually lost on the mountain.[9][10]

Everest: Beyond the Limit

From 2006-2007, Tashi was featured in the Discovery Channel series Everest: Beyond the Limit.[11] Appearing in 11 episodes, he appears more episodes than anyone else in the series.[12] In the first season of the Discovery Channel series (2006), he was shown carrying double-amputee Mark Inglis down a portion of the lower descent on his back.

In 2007, he reached the summit three times in that single season.[13] That year, as a result of urging by expedition leader Russell Brice, Tashi agreed to accompany David Tait on his mission to complete the first double traverse of Everest, climbing the north route to the summit, descending on the south side, resting for three days, and then repeating the trip in reverse. Once at Base Camp on the south side of the mountain, however, Tait decided to bow out of the return traverse. Tait said that his decision was influenced by his belief that Phurba Tashi was a far superior climber and would have allowed him all the glory had they continued.[4][14] Tait summited Everest for a third time in May 2009, again accompanied by Tashi (his 15th summit).[14]

Phurba Tashi completed his 21st summit of Mount Everest in May 2013 while working for Kishan Rai Mountain Experience, matching the record then held by Apa Sherpa.[15] The record was broken in 2018 by Kami Rita Sherpa.[16][17]

Everest summits

Mount Everest
  1. May 24, 1999 [5]
  2. May 27, 2001[5]
  3. May 17, 2002[5]
  4. May 25, 2002[5]
  5. September 8, 2002[5]
  6. May 22, 2003[5]
  7. May 31, 2003[5]
  8. May 23, 2004[5]
  9. June 4, 2005[5]
  10. April 30, 2006[5]
  11. April 30, 2007[5]
  12. May 15, 2007[5]
  13. June 14, 2007[5]
  14. May 5, 2009[18]
  15. May 21, 2009[18]
  16. May 5, 2010[18]
  17. May 22, 2010[18]
  18. May 5, 2011[19]
  19. May 20, 2011[20]
  20. May 10, 2013[21]
  21. May 24, 2013 (21st Everest summiting)[21]

After the record

The year after Tashi's record equalizing summit, he prepared to make his 22nd ascent of Mount Everest. A film crew led by director Jennifer Peedom and cinematographer Renan Ozturk, planned to chronicle the attempt.[22] However, the 2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche caused the producers to change the focus to covering the aftermath of the tragic event. Nonetheless, Phurba Tashi was featured prominently in the documentary released in 2015 as Sherpa.[23][24]

Phurba Tashi retired from climbing Everest after the 2014 season. The "Everest Yak" as he is known, continued to have a presence at Everest Base Camp, as the head Sherpa for Himex.[25]

In 2015, Phurba Tashi's life was greatly impacted by the 2015 earthquake that seriously affected his village of Khumjung. "Everything I worked for was destroyed in a minute", he said after the loss of his eight-bedroom trekking lodge in Khumjung, Nepal and the extensive damage to his house.[26]

Today, Tashi continues to work with Russell Brice and other expeditions managing operations for climbers on Everest.[27][28] Tashi additionally operates the Tashi Friendship Lodge, a guesthouse and restaurant in Khumjung, Nepal.[8][29]

Other climbs

  • 1998 - Cho Oyu, summit (8,188 m)[7]
  • 1999 - Cho Oyu, (7,400 m due to bad snow conditions)[7]
  • 2000 - Cho Oyu, summit (8,188 m)[7]
  • 2001 - Cho Oyu, summit (8,188 m)[7]
  • 2004 - Cho Oyu, summit (8,188 m)[7]
  • 2005 - Cho Oyu, summit (8,188 m)[7]
  • 2007 - Cho Oyu, (7527m due to dangerous weather)[7]
  • 2008, Ama Dablam, summit (6814 m)[7]
  • 2008 - Manaslu, summit (8,163 m)[7]
  • 2009 - Ama Dablam, summit (6814 m)[7]
  • 2009 - Manaslu, summit (8,163 m)[7]
  • 2010 - Manaslu, summit (8,163 m)[7]
  • 2011 - Lhotse, summit via West face (8,516m)[7]
  • 2011 - Ama Dablam, summit (6814 m)[7]
  • 2011 - Manaslu, summit (8,163 m)[7]
  • 2012 - Manaslu, summit (8,163 m)[7]
  • 2013 - Ama Dablam (6,250 m due to dangerous route)[7]
  • 2013 - Manaslu, summit (8,163 m)[7]
  • 2014 - Ama Dablam (6,500 m due to avalanche risk)[7]
  • 2014 - Manaslu, summit (8,163 m)[7]
  • 2017 - Manaslu, summit (8163 m)[7]
  • 2018 - Cho Oyo, summit (8,188 m)[7]
  • 2019 - Ama Dablam, summit (6814 m)[7]
  • 2022 - Thamserku (6300 m)[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Everest continues to attract climbers 70 years after first summit".
  2. ^ a b c "Himalayan Experience (Himex) Climbing Sherpas: Phurba Tashi".
  3. ^ "PeakFreaks 14 safe summits". May 19, 2013.
  4. ^ a b "Phurba Tashi Superstar". April 10, 2009.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "8000ers climbing records: Phurba Tashi". Apr 17, 2008.
  6. ^ "Everest continues to attract climbers 70 years after first summit". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "The Himalayan Database". The Himalayan Databse (Himalayan Database Online). Ann Arbor, Michigan: The Himalayan Database. 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Nestler, Stefan (March 18, 2016). ""The Everest record means nothing to me"". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Cook, Trey (February 2006). "The Disappearance of Marco Siffredi on Everest's Hornbein Couloir". Snowboarder. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  10. ^ Hawley, Elizabeth (2003). "AAC Publications - Asia, Tibet, Himalaya, Mt. Everest, North Face Snowboarding Attempt". publications.americanalpineclub.org. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  11. ^ "Discovery Channel : Beyond the Limit".
  12. ^ Everest: Beyond the Limit (Documentary, Adventure), Phurba Tashi Sherpa, Rod Baber, Darius Vaiciulis, Tigress Productions, 2006-11-14, retrieved 2024-06-24{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  13. ^ "PHURBA TASHI SHERPA – Sherpa".
  14. ^ a b "Everest 2013: Interview with David Tait, Mr. Traverse is Back". 13 February 2013.
  15. ^ "Phurba Tashi climbs Everest for 21st time, equals record - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  16. ^ "Kami Rita Sherpa scales Mt Everest for record 22 times". The Himalayan Times. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  17. ^ "Sherpa eyes record-breaking 22nd Everest climb". Gulf Times. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
  18. ^ a b c d 8000er Statistics by Eberhard Jurgalski (Everest)
  19. ^ HD - Spring 2011 - A6
  20. ^ HD - Spring 2011 - A11
  21. ^ a b "Phurba Tashi climbs Everest for 21st time, equals record - Times of India". The Times of India. 24 May 2013.
  22. ^ Lieu, Charlie (2016-04-21). "Untold Stories: The Making of the Movie Sherpa". Alpinist. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  23. ^ "PHURBA TASHI SHERPA – Sherpa".
  24. ^ "Discovery Channel's Sherpa Tells the Harrowing Story of the 2014 Tragedy on Mt. Everest Through the Eyes of the Sherpas, the Men Who Risk Their Lives Each Climbing Season when It Airs April 23 – Discovery, Inc". 2024.
  25. ^ "This veteran Sherpa is trying to reach the top of Everest for a record-breaking 22nd time". Independent.co.uk. 11 April 2018.
  26. ^ MacAskill, Andrew (20 December 2015). "Nepal climbers face ruin after quake, blockade hits Everest industry". Reuters.
  27. ^ ""The Everest record means nothing to me" - Mount Everest - Adventure Sports - DW.COM". Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-06-13.
  28. ^ "This veteran Sherpa is trying to reach the top of Everest for a record-breaking 22nd time". Independent.co.uk. 11 April 2018.
  29. ^ "Alpen Glow Expeditions: Phurba Tashi". 2012. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012.
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