A world record fell on Mount Everest again as Utah resident, Apa Sherpa, summited the world’s highest mountain for an amazing 21st time.
According to Apa’s friend and colleague, Jerry Mika, the “Super Sherpa” reached the summit of Mount Everest at 9:15am on Wednesday, May 11th along with team members from the Eco Everest Expedition. Team members include 49-year-old Chris Shumate of the USA, 39-year-old Bruno Gremior of Switzerland, and three Altitude Climbing Sherpas including Ang Dawa Sherpa, Phurba Sherpa, and Arita Sherpa. The team left Camp 4 on the night of May 10th at 10:30pm.
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 also as part of the Eco Everest Expedition. Their mission is 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.
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.
This fall, Apa will be returning to the Himalaya Mountains to further support Nepal’s Tourism Year 2011 campaign that seeks to draw 1 million tourists to the area. 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.
For more about Apa Sherpa and his record breaking ascent, visit www.apasherpa.com