My Life on a Mountain: An evening with Ang Dorjee Sherpa | Guest Opinion

Why risk death, time and again?

Perhaps because you were born to it, as was Ang Dorjee Sherpa.

A former Tri-Cities resident who has climbed Mt. Everest 20 times, Ang Dorjee will talk about his life climbing the world’s highest mountains during an appearance at the Columbia Basin Badger Club’s annual meeting on Jan. 16.

It’s a life in which he has brushed and seen death many times, including this past season, which saw a dozen climbers die. Some 300 people have died on Everest, which Ang Dorjee first summited in 1992 at the age of 22. Of those who have died, about a third have been Sherpas, those hardy Nepalese who work to ensure the safety of clients who dream of climbing the world’s highest mountain.

In 2014, Ang Dorjee survived an avalanche on Everest that killed 16 Sherpas, including three from his own crew. In 1996, he was leading a crew of Sherpas when a blizzard engulfed his group. His crew survived, but that storm killed eight people. Among the dead in that storm was noted climber Rob Hall, founder of Adventure Consultants, for which Ang Dorjee has guided expeditions since 1992.

Heroic efforts by Ang Dorjee and Lhakpa Tshering Sherpa to rescue Hall and others were unsuccessful when they finally were turned back by the raging storm. Their efforts were detailed in the 1997 book “Into Thin Air” and 2015 movie “Everest.”

Yet, the world’s highest mountains continue to draw the 49-year-old, who was born in the remote 13,000-foot-high village of Pangboche in Nepal. His father was the famous climber and guide, Nima Tenzing Sherpa, and Ang Dorjee began working as a porter at the age of 12.

Over the years since, he has become noted for the fifth-most summits of Everest (the most is 24 summits), and has made a total of 25 ascents of 8,000-meter (26,246 feet) peaks around the world. He led a group of climbers this past season, successfully getting them through the infamous “traffic jams” pictured at Everest’s summit.

He’s climbed 26,864-foot Mt. Cho Oyu seven times, 22,349-foot Ama Dablam 10 times, 19,308-foot Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa three times, 22,841-foot Mt. Aconcagua in the Andes of South America 35 times, and Mt. Rainier in Washington state 45 times. Other notable summits he’s made include Island Peak, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum II.

Ang Dorjee immigrated to America in 2002 after meeting his future wife, Michelle Gregory, a computational linquist who worked at PNNL, at the Everest base camp. The couple and their two children now live in Boise, where he works as a wind turbine mechanic. He returns to climb Everest each spring, in part because it’s his livelihood and it allows him to visit family in the region, but also to continue keeping climbers safe.

He notes, “My heritage has given me the opportunity to climb, my experience gives me the technical knowledge to do it safely, and my respect and passion for the mountains nurtures my desire to lead climbs.”

Ang Dorjee’s presentation to the Badger Club will include stunning pictures from his expeditions. The event at the Riverfront Hotel Inn in Richland begins with a social hour at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30. The meeting is no longer free to members, registration and pre-payment are required. Cost is $35 for members, $40 for non-members.

This story was originally published January 13, 2020 at 12:44 PM.