Nepal, May 31 -- Lhakpa Phuti Sherpa was born in 1964 in Mushey village of Solukhumbu district, Nepal. As a child she would see tourists pass through her village in order to climb various mountains and she had always been fascinated by their motivation to take up such a daunting challenge. Just like the tourists who come all the way to Nepal to climb the various peaks, Sherpa too had a calling for the mountains and that has today made her a respectable as well as a powerful figure in the mountaineering scene in Nepal.

Sherpa started working as a cook and eventually worked her way up to a tourist guide and she accompanied tourists to various places around Solukhumbu. Unfortunately, like was the case for many women of her times, she was de...