Ang Dorje Sherpa

Last updated

Ang Dorje Sherpa
Ang Dorjee Sherpa.jpg
Personal information
Main discipline Sherpa & Mountaineer
Born1970 (age 5354)
Pangboche, Nepal
NationalityNepalese
Career
Starting disciplinePorter
Notable ascentsEverest summit: 23

Cho Oyu summit: 7

Ama Dablam summit: 10

Aconcagua summit: 25

Broad Peak summit: 1

Kilimanjaro summit: 4

Gasherbrum II summit: 1

Makalu summit: 1
Famous partnerships Rob Hall
Family
Children2

Ang Dorje (Chhuldim)[ clarification needed ] Sherpa (born 1970) is a Nepalese sherpa mountaineering guide, climber, and porter from Pangboche, Nepal, who has reached the summit of Mount Everest 23 times. He was the climbing Sirdar for Rob Hall's Adventure Consultants expedition to Everest in spring 1996, when a freak storm led to the deaths of eight climbers from several expeditions, considered one of the worst disasters in the history of Everest mountaineering.

Contents

Early life

Ang Dorje was born in 1970, [1] in upper Pangboche, Nepal, near the Khumbu Valley as it passes down the slopes of Mount Everest. He grew up among Himalayan climbers; his father, Nima Tenzing Sherpa, was a climber with expeditions led by British mountaineer Chris Bonington in the 1970s and 1980s. [2]

He followed his father in work with climbing expeditions beginning as a porter at the age of 12. "I always wanted to climb when I was little," Ang Dorje says. He attended private school in Nepal, with assistance from western clients impressed by his work ethic, as he continued his mountaineering work with several expeditions in the Everest area. [2] His efforts were rewarded when in 1992 at the age of 22 he reached the summit of Mount Everest. [3]

Sirdar and guiding career

Ang Dorje has led many successful expeditions on Everest, frequently as climbing sirdar for Adventure Consultants, the guiding service founded by Rob Hall. During the disastrous 1996 expedition on Everest, [4] he and Lhakpa Tshering Sherpa attempted to rescue Hall and others, in the deadly storm conditions that ultimately killed 8 climbers. They ascended 900 vertical meters to just below Everest's South Summit, only to be halted by impenetrable storm conditions just 100 meters from Hall. They waited 45 minutes before being forced back by the storm. Ang Dorje later commented on the incident saying, "It was very sad. Very difficult." [2] The rescue efforts were recounted by Jon Krakauer in his account of the disaster, Into Thin Air . [1]

In addition to his work as climbing sirdar on Everest, Ang Dorje has also worked as a mountain guide on Everest, as well as Aconcagua, Mount Rainier, Kilimanjaro, and Island Peak. [5]

He first guided Bachendri Pal, the first Indian woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in 1984, when he climbed Mount Everest for the second time.[ citation needed ]

Climbing accomplishments

As of 2024, Ang Dorje had reached the summit of Mount Everest 23 times since 1992 [6] (in both spring and autumn, all via the South Col route), Cho Oyu seven times since 1995, and had also summited Broad Peak (1995), Gasherbrum II (1997) and Ama Dablam (in 1996, via the southwest ridge route) [3]

Personal life

After meeting American computational linguist Michelle Gregory at the southern Everest Base Camp, in 2002 he immigrated to the United States. The couple wed a year later. He returns to climb Everest each spring, in part to be able to visit family as he passes on the way to the mountain. He completed his 19th summit of Everest in 2017. [1] [7] Ang Dorje also works as a wind turbine mechanic at wind farms in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. [8]

He spent time in 19971998 climbing in Jotunheimen in Norway with amongst others his friend Morten Skjellen-Larsen.[ citation needed ]

Everest summits

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Everest</span> Earths highest mountain

Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation of 8,848.86 m was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ang Rita Sherpa</span> Nepalese mountain climber

Ang Rita Sherpa was a Nepalese mountaineer who climbed Mount Everest ten times without using supplemental oxygen between 1983 and 1996. His sixth climb set the world record for the most successful ascents of Mount Everest, which he re-set on his tenth climb. Although others have since summitted Everest more, he still holds the record for most summits without supplemental oxygen. He was also the first, and to date only, person to climb Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen in winter. He was nicknamed the "Snow Leopard" by his peers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenzing Norgay</span> Nepalese-Indian mountaineer (1914–1986)

Tenzing Norgay, born Namgyal Wangdi, and also referred to as Sherpa Tenzing, was a Nepalese-Indian Sherpa mountaineer. He was one of the first two people known to certainly reach the summit of Mount Everest, which he accomplished with Edmund Hillary on 29 May 1953. Time named Norgay one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Hall</span> New Zealand mountaineer (1961–1996)

Robert Edwin Hall was a New Zealand mountaineer. He was the head guide of a 1996 Mount Everest expedition during which he, a fellow guide, and two clients died. A best-selling account of the expedition was given in Jon Krakauer's book Into Thin Air, and the expedition has been dramatised in the 2015 film Everest. At the time of his death, Hall had just completed his fifth ascent to the summit of Everest, more at that time than any other non-Sherpa mountaineer.

Lakpa Gelu, often spelled Lhakpa, is a Nepalese Sherpa climber born in Jubing - 1, KhariKhola, Solukhumbu, Nepal. He is known for holding a world record for the fastest climbing of Mount Everest in only 10 hours 56 minutes and 46 seconds. Gelu's record-breaking trip was his tenth trip to the summit of the mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apa Sherpa</span> Nepalese mountain climber

Apa, nicknamed "Super Sherpa", is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer who, until 2017, jointly with Phurba Tashi held the record for reaching the summit of Mount Everest more times than any other climber. As part of The Eco Everest Expedition 2011, Apa made his 21st Mount Everest summit in May 2011 then retired after a promise to his wife to stop climbing after 21 ascents. He first summited Everest in 1990 and his last time to the summit was in 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Mount Everest expeditions</span>

Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at 8,849 metres (29,031.7 ft) above sea level. It is situated in the Himalayan range of Solukhumbu district, Nepal.

Lincoln Ross Hall OAM was a veteran Australian mountain climber, adventurer and author. Lincoln was part of the first Australian expedition to climb Mount Everest in 1984, which successfully forged a new route. He reached the summit of the mountain on his second attempt in 2006, miraculously surviving the night at 8,700 m (28,543 ft) on descent, after his family was told he had died.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 Mount Everest disaster</span> Death of eight climbers

The 1996 Mount Everest disaster occurred on 10–11 May 1996 when eight climbers caught in a blizzard died on Mount Everest while attempting to descend from the summit. Over the entire season, 12 people died trying to reach the summit, making it the deadliest season on Mount Everest at the time and the third deadliest after the 23 fatalities resulting from avalanches caused by the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and the 16 fatalities of the 2014 Mount Everest avalanche. The 1996 disaster received widespread publicity and raised questions about the commercialization of Everest.

Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineering guide, climber and porter, best known for his work as the climbing Sirdar for Scott Fischer's Mountain Madness expedition to Everest in Spring 1996, when a freak storm led to the deaths of eight climbers from several expeditions, considered one of the worst disasters in the history of Everest mountaineering. Notwithstanding controversy over his actions during that expedition, Lopsang was well-regarded in the mountaineering community, having summited Everest four times. Lopsang was killed in an avalanche in September 1996, while again on an expedition to climb Everest for what would have been a fifth ascent.

Pertemba, also called Pertemba Sherpa, is a professional Nepalese mountaineer, trek leader and businessman. He reached the summit of Mount Everest by the Southwest Face on the first expedition to successfully take that route, in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adventure Consultants</span> Adventure travel company

Adventure Consultants, formerly Hall and Ball Adventure Consultants, is a New Zealand-based adventure company that brings trekking and climbing groups to various locations. Founded by Rob Hall and Gary Ball in 1991, it is known for its pioneering role in the commercialisation of Mount Everest and the 1996 Mount Everest climb during which eight people died, including Hall, a guide, and two Adventure Consultant clients.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Trekking</span> Adventure travel company

Asian Trekking is a Nepal-based adventure company, specializing in mountaineering expeditions and trekking in the Himalayas. Started in 1982 by UIAA Honorary Member Ang Tshering Sherpa, it is Nepal's oldest mountaineering and trekking company still in operation. In 2008, Tshering's son Dawa Steven Sherpa, an environmentalist and mountaineer, took over the leadership of the company and continues to serve as the managing director to this day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ang Tharkay</span> Nepalese sherpa and sirdar (1907-1981)

Ang Tharkay was a Nepalese mountain climber and explorer who acted as sherpa and later sirdar for many Himalayan expeditions. He was "beyond question the outstanding sherpa of his era" and he introduced Tenzing Norgay to the world of mountaineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kami Rita</span> Record-setting Sherpa mountain climber of highest peaks

Kami Rita, Thame, Solukhumbu District, Nepal is a Nepali Sherpa guide who, since May 2018, has held the record for most ascents to the summit of Mount Everest. Most recently, he scaled the mountain for a 30th time on 22 May 2024, breaking his own record set on 12 May 2024. His father was among the first professional Sherpa guides after Everest was opened to foreign mountaineers in 1950. His brother Lakpa Rita, also a guide, scaled Everest 17 times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1965 Indian Everest Expedition</span> First successful Indian summit of Mount Everest

The 1965 Indian Everest Expedition reached the summit of Mount Everest on 20 May 1965. It was the first successful scaling of the mountain by an Indian climbing expedition.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Sohn, Tim (August 15, 2006). "Impossible To Forget". Outside Online. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "A view from the top". Calgary Herald. October 17, 2006. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Mt. Everest 2005: Chhuldim Ang Dorje Sherpa aka Ang Dorje Sherpa". Everest News. Archived from the original on January 22, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  4. "High Ambitions in the Himalaya". BeLegato Productions. 2006. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  5. "The Adventure Consultants International Expedition Guiding Team". Adventure Consultants Limited. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Summit Summit". Adventure Consultants. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  7. "Field reports: Ang Dorje returns from 15th Mount Everest ascent". Spokane Spokesman-Review. June 5, 2011. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  8. O'Neal, Dori (June 7, 2010). "Richland Man Returns From Mount Everest". Tri-City Herald. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  9. 1 2 3 "AC Everest Summiters". Archived from the original on December 1, 2017.
  10. "35 more climbers scale Mt Everest as summit bids underway". May 16, 2017.