Pasang Lhamu Sherpa became the first Nepali woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest on 22 April 1993. Pasang Lhamu Sherpa was a Nepali mountaineer, born on 10 December 1961, who reached the top of the world's highest mountain after several earlier attempts and after facing resistance as a woman who wanted to climb.
Why Pasang Lhamu Sherpa's story stays close on an Everest trek
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa came from the Sherpa world of the high Himalaya, the same culture you meet on the trail to Everest. Her name is known on roads and on a mountain across Nepal. The Everest Base Camp trek walks you into the region whose people she made proud, and our Everest Base Camp trek guide explains the route step by step. Walking below Everest, you follow the trail into the homeland of the first Nepali woman to reach its summit.
Who was Pasang Lhamu Sherpa?
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa was a Nepali climber and the first woman from Nepal to stand on the summit of Everest. She was born on 10 December 1961 into the Sherpa community. Climbing Everest as a Nepali woman meant pushing against doubt and resistance at every step. She kept going until she reached the top.
Before 22 April 1993, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa had made several earlier attempts on Everest. Each time she was turned back, but she did not give up on the goal. She also faced resistance simply as a woman who wanted to climb, in a time and place where that was not expected. Her persistence across those attempts is a large part of her story.
Born on 10 December 1961, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa grew up in the Sherpa community of Nepal at a time when serious climbing was seen as men's work. She set her sights on Everest anyway, the highest mountain in the world and the hardest goal a Nepali climber could name. Reaching its summit as a Nepali woman had never been done. She chose that goal knowing it had already turned others back.
Across several earlier attempts, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa had already shown how much the summit meant to her. She was turned back more than once before 1993, and she met resistance from people who did not think a woman should be climbing at all. Any one of those failed attempts could have ended her effort. Instead she came back and tried again, until the mountain finally let her through.
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa in brief
- Born: 10 December 1961
- First Nepali woman to summit Everest: 22 April 1993
- Died on the descent after being caught in a storm and running out of oxygen
- Her body was recovered near the South Summit on 10 May 1993
- Posthumously awarded the Nepal Tara, the Star of Nepal, the first woman so decorated by the King of Nepal
- Honoured with a peak, a highway, statues, roads, schools, and a foundation in her name
The summit, 22 April 1993
On 22 April 1993, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa reached the summit of Everest and became the first Nepali woman to do so. It was a moment many people in Nepal had waited for. Women from other countries had climbed Everest before, but no Nepali woman had. Her success carried a special meaning for her country.
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa climbed with Sherpa companions, as part of a team working high on the mountain. Reaching the top was the achievement she had tried for across several expeditions. For a short time, she stood where no Nepali woman had stood before. The hardest part of any Everest climb, though, is not the summit but the way down.
The descent, told with care
On the descent from the summit, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa and her Sherpa companion Sonam Tshering Sherpa were caught in a storm high on the mountain. They ran out of supplemental oxygen in the thin air near the top. Pasang Lhamu Sherpa died of exhaustion and exposure high on Everest. She was 31 years old.
Her body was recovered near the South Summit on 10 May 1993, about 18 days after she reached the top. Bringing her down was itself a hard and dangerous effort in that terrain. Nepal received her home as a national heroine. Her death, so soon after her triumph, made her story one the country has never forgotten.
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa: key dates
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 10 December 1961 | Born in Nepal |
| 22 April 1993 | Becomes the first Nepali woman to summit Everest |
| On the descent | Caught in a storm, ran out of oxygen, died of exhaustion and exposure |
| 10 May 1993 | Her body recovered near the South Summit, about 18 days later |
| Posthumous | Awarded the Nepal Tara, the Star of Nepal |
Honours: the Star of Nepal
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa was posthumously awarded the Nepal Tara, the Star of Nepal, becoming the first woman decorated with it by the King of Nepal. The honour recognised what her climb meant for the country. It placed her among the most respected names in Nepal. For a Sherpa woman who had faced resistance, it was a striking public recognition.
The Nepal Tara, or Star of Nepal, was given to Pasang Lhamu Sherpa after her death, and she was the first woman the King of Nepal honoured with it. The award is one of the country's marks of high respect. Giving it to a woman, and to a climber, said something about how Nepal had come to see her climb. It turned a personal achievement into a national one.
A name carried across Nepal
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa's name lives on across Nepal in many forms. A peak in the Jugal Himal is named Pasang Lhamu Chuli in her honour. The road from Trishuli to Dhunche is called the Pasang Lhamu Highway. Statues and roads in Kathmandu carry her name, along with schools and a foundation set up to continue her legacy.
Places and honours that carry her name
- Nepal Tara, the Star of Nepal: the first woman decorated with it by the King of Nepal
- Pasang Lhamu Chuli: a peak in the Jugal Himal named for her
- Pasang Lhamu Highway: the road from Trishuli to Dhunche
- Statues and roads in Kathmandu that carry her name
- Schools named after her across Nepal
- A foundation in her name that continues her legacy
The Pasang Lhamu Highway, running from Trishuli to Dhunche, carries her name along a road that many Nepalis use every day. A peak in the Jugal Himal, Pasang Lhamu Chuli, holds it high on the map of the country. Schools named for her now teach children who were born long after 1993. A foundation in her name keeps her memory and her example working in the present.
Thirty years on, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa remains a national heroine in Nepal. Young Nepali women who climb today do so on a path she helped open. Her story is taught to children who pass a school or a road that bears her name. She is remembered for what she was the first to do, as much as for how she died.
A milestone for women's mountaineering in Nepal
Before 1993, no Nepali woman had summited Everest, and many doubted that one should try. Pasang Lhamu Sherpa met that doubt with several attempts and, in the end, with success. Her climb changed what was thought possible for women in Nepal's mountains. The generations of Nepali women climbers who followed built on the door she pushed open.
For Nepali women who climb today, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa is the name at the start of the story. She was the first from Nepal to summit Everest, on 22 April 1993, and the first woman the King of Nepal decorated with the Nepal Tara. Those two firsts, one on the mountain and one in the honours of the nation, set a mark that others have followed. Her example reaches well past the sport of climbing, into how a country pictures what its women can do.
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa's life was short, but her mark on Nepal is long. She reached the summit on 22 April 1993, and she is honoured today on a mountain, a highway, and in schools that carry her name. Her story holds pride and sorrow together. That is how Nepal remembers her, with respect for the climb and care for how it ended.
Who was the first Nepali woman to climb Everest?
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa was the first Nepali woman to summit Mount Everest, on 22 April 1993. She was born on 10 December 1961 and reached the top after several earlier attempts.
How did Pasang Lhamu Sherpa die?
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa died on the descent from the summit, after she and her Sherpa companion Sonam Tshering Sherpa were caught in a storm and ran out of supplemental oxygen. She died of exhaustion and exposure, and her body was recovered near the South Summit on 10 May 1993.
What honour did Pasang Lhamu Sherpa receive?
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa was posthumously awarded the Nepal Tara, the Star of Nepal, becoming the first woman decorated with it by the King of Nepal. She is remembered as a national heroine.
What is named after Pasang Lhamu Sherpa?
A peak in the Jugal Himal called Pasang Lhamu Chuli is named after her, along with the Pasang Lhamu Highway from Trishuli to Dhunche. Statues, roads, schools in Kathmandu, and a foundation also carry her name.
Why is Pasang Lhamu Sherpa important?
Pasang Lhamu Sherpa is important because she was the first Nepali woman to summit Everest, on 22 April 1993, opening the way for Nepali women in mountaineering. She faced resistance as a woman who wanted to climb, and she became a national heroine after her death.
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