A Climber We Lost: Lhakpa Tenji Sherpa

You can read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2024 here.

Lhakpa Tenji Sherpa, 54, passed away on May 7 while descending from the world’s fifth highest peak, Makalu (8,463m), which he had summited the previous day.

Lhakpa Tenji was on Makalu working as a guide for the Nepalese expedition outfitter Seven Summit Treks, the country’s largest commercial mountaineering guiding service. He began feeling unwell after accompanying Jordanian client Ahmad Mohammad Mousa Bani-Hani to the summit, and he died at Camp III (24,442ft) on the Makalu Col, while his fellow guides were attempting to help him off the mountain.

One of six brothers, Lhakpa Tenji was born in the ​​village of Gudel in Nepal’s Solukhumbu district. He began climbing at a young age, following in the footsteps of one of his older brothers, Lhakpa Dorje Sherpa, an eight-time Everest summiter. Lhakpa Tenji summited his first 8,000er, Makalu—the same mountain he died on—in 2004, when he was 34 years old. The following year, he climbed Cho Oyu (8,188 m) without bottled oxygen, and later summited Cho Oyu a second time, as well as Kanchenjunga (8,586m), in addition to guiding and supporting clients on a number of other peaks. By the time of his death, Lhakpa Tenji had also summited Mount Everest (8,848m) on three separate occasions.

Pemba Chhiri Sherpa, one of Lhakpa Tenji’s four children, said it was “hard to explain how great a father he was to me.”

“My father gave his life to the mountains,” Pemba Chhiri said. “He was a very hardworking person, and he never complained about his work.” Pemba Chhiri said his father was both a role model and a best friend to his children, equally supportive and motivating, and that he was someone who worked tirelessly to provide for his family.

Pemba Chhiri fondly recalled his dad taking him up Mera Peak (6,476m). Pemba Chhiri fell ill and didn’t make it to the summit, but he said that nevertheless it was his favorite memory with his father, something he’ll cherish for the rest of his life. He got to see his dad in his element on Mera Peak, doing what he loved most. “It was the first and last trek that we did together,” he said.

Seven Summit Treks immediately posted about the summit success of their clients on Makalu on May 6, but they made no mention of their employee Lhakpa Tenji’s death for several days, nor did they inform the family, according to Wang Chhu Sherpa, one of Lhakpa Tenji’s brothers. On May 11, the company posted a brief tribute, announcing the death and calling it an “irrecoverable loss to the mountaineering community.”

“Lhakpa was not only a veteran Sherpa guide,” the outfitter wrote, “but also a mentor and friend to many. His climbs and legacy will remain alive, and he will forever reside in our hearts for his humility, kindness, and enduring contributions to our community. Seven Summit Treks could not be reached for comment regarding this article, and Lhakpa Tenji’s cause of death was never made public, though it likely stemmed from altitude sickness.

In addition to his son Pemba Chhiri, Lhakpa Tenji is survived by his wife, three additional children (a son and two daughters), and four brothers. “Goodbye,” Wang Chhu wrote in tribute to his late brother on the day of his cremation. “There is no possibility of meeting in this life, but there is hope that, in the next life, we will be [reborn] from the same mother. You are a good person in the eyes of hundreds of people. I will always wish for your rebirth.”

You can read the full tribute to Climbers We Lost in 2024 here.

The post A Climber We Lost: Lhakpa Tenji Sherpa appeared first on Climbing.