Phurba Tashi

Phurba Tashi Sherpa Mendewa (फूर्वा तासी शेर्पा, 1971) is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer known for his numerous ascents of major Himalayan peaks.

These include 21 ascents of Mount Everest, five on Cho Oyu, two on Manaslu, and one each on Shishapangma and Lhotse.

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, he reached the summit three times in that single season.

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.

In 2009 Tashi was featured in the Discovery Channel series Everest: Beyond the Limit.

He has reached the summit of Mount Everest 21 times.

He lives in Khumjung, Nepal.

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

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.

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.

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.

(Mountaineering is also a dangerous occupation. The April 2014 avalanche on Everest killed 16 Sherpas; 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.)

Nonetheless, Phurba Tashi was featured prominently in the documentary released in 2015 as Sherpa.

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.

In 2015, he lost both of his parents.

Phurba was interviewed at the “Tashi Friendship Lodge” in Khumjung village by Deutsche Welle Adventure sports blogger Stefan Nestler.

In 2016, Tashi stayed at base camp and worked for Russell Brice with his Himex guide firm.

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

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.