Phurba Tashi

Phurba Tashi Sherpa Mendewa (Nepali: फूर्वा तासी शेर्पा, 1971)[1] is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer known for his numerous ascents of major Himalayan peaks. He holds the record for the most total ascents of eight-thousanders, with 30. These include twenty-one ascents of Mount Everest,[2] five on Cho Oyu, two on Manaslu, and one each on Shishapangma and Lhotse.

Phurba Tashi
Known for21 ascents of Mount Everest[1]

2007 to 2013

In 2007, he reached the summit three times in that single season.[3]

In 2009 Tashi was featured in the Discovery Channel series Everest: Beyond the Limit.[4] He reached the summit of Everest 21 times.[1][5][6] He lives in Khumjung, Nepal.[7]

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, 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.[6][8] Tait summited Everest for a third time in May 2009, again accompanied by Tashi (his 15th summit).[8]

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.[9] In 2017, he was still one of the record holders of the number of summits on Everest but that record was broken in 2018 by Kami Rita Sherpa.[10]

2014 and subsequent years

A crew was filming on Everest in 2014, planning to chronicle the work of Phurba Tashi. 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.[11][12]

Phurba Tashi retired from climbing Everest after the 2014 season but, "Everest Yak" as he is known, was the head Sherpa for Himalayan Experience/Himex, an Everest climbing company as of 2015.[13] However, the 2015 season was cancelled due to avalanches in the wake of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.

Phurba Tashi's life was changed again by the 2015 earthquake that also 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.[14] (Mountaineering is also a dangerous occupation. The April 2014 avalanche on Everest killed 13 Sherpas;[15] in 2015, 10 Sherpas died at the Everest Base Camp after the earthquake. In total, 118 Sherpas have died on this mountain between 1921 and 2018.)[16][17]

In 2015, he lost both of his parents.[18] Phurba was interviewed at the “Tashi Friendship Lodge” in Khumjung village by Deutsche Welle Adventure sports blogger Stefan Nestler.[18] In 2016, Tashi stayed at base camp and worked for Russell Brice with his Himex guide firm.[18]

A 2018 report stated that as of April of that year, he was continuing to work at Everest’s Base Camp, helping organize expeditions with Brice's Himex company.[19]

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[20]
  15. May 21, 2009[20]
  16. May 5, 2010[20]
  17. May 22, 2010[20]
  18. May 5, 2011[21]
  19. May 20, 2011[22]
  20. May 10, 2013[23]
  21. May 24, 2013 (21st Everest summiting)[23]

See also

References
  1. "Himalayan Experience (Himex) Climbing Sherpas: Phurba Tashi".
  2. "PeakFreaks 14 safe summits". May 19, 2013.
  3. http://sherpafilm.com/about/key-characters/phurba-tashi-sherpa/
  4. "Discovery Channel : Beyond the Limit".
  5. "8000ers climbing records: Phurba Tashi". Apr 17, 2008.
  6. "Phurba Tashi Superstar". April 10, 2009.
  7. "Alpen Glow Expeditions: Phurba Tashi". 2012. Archived from the original on June 30, 2012.
  8. "Everest 2013: Interview with David Tait, Mr. Traverse is Back".
  9. "Phurba Tashi climbs Everest for 21st time, equals record - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  10. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mount-everest-world-record-climbs-sherpa-kami-rita-latest-nepal-kathmandu-a8298926.html
  11. http://sherpafilm.com/about/key-characters/phurba-tashi-sherpa/
  12. https://corporate.discovery.com/discovery-newsroom/discovery-channels-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/
  13. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mount-everest-world-record-climbs-sherpa-kami-rita-latest-nepal-kathmandu-a8298926.html
  14. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-quake-nepal-sherpas-insight/nepal-climbers-face-ruin-after-quake-blockade-hits-everest-industry-idUSKBN0U20S520151220
  15. https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=57877542&itype=CMSID
  16. http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2018/05/22/everest-2018-wave-9-recap-more-sherpa-deaths-with-summits/
  17. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150513-everest-climbing-nepal-earthquake-avalanche-sherpas/
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-09-20. Retrieved 2016-06-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/mount-everest-world-record-climbs-sherpa-kami-rita-latest-nepal-kathmandu-a8298926.html
  20. 8000er Statistics by Eberhard Jurgalski (Everest)
  21. HD - Spring 2011 - A6
  22. HD - Spring 2011 - A11
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