Dawa Yangzum and Dawa Gyalje Sherpa
How These Sherpa Siblings Became the First Brother-Sister to Scale All 14 Eight-Thousanders
In the remote village of Na in Nepal’s Rolwaling Valley, where stone houses with colorful roofs sit at 4,200 meters above sea level, two children grew up surrounded by some of the world’s tallest mountains. They had no idea that one day, they would make history together as the first brother and sister to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters.
Growing Up in the Clouds
Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, born in 1991, and her older brother Dawa Gyalje Sherpa, born in 1980, spent their childhood in one of Nepal’s most isolated mountain villages.
Their home in the Rolwaling Valley had no roads, no electricity, and the nearest town was days away by foot over mountain passes. Life here meant carrying heavy water buckets from rivers, working in fields, and walking long distances at high altitude just to get anywhere.
The village of 50 houses was nestled in the shadow of Gaurishankar, a 7,134 meter peak considered holy by Buddhist Sherpas. Every winter, their parents would move the family three brothers and two sisters down to lower elevations where it was warmer. Every spring, they would return to their high-altitude home.
For the children, this wasn’t hiking or mountaineering. It was simply life. They didn’t know about skiing or climbing as sports. What they did know was that every spring, dozens of men from their village would leave to work on climbing expeditions throughout the Himalayas, earning several times the average Nepalese yearly income in just a few months.
“Every house in my village has two to three people who have summited Mount Everest,” Dawa Yangzum recalls. “I would hear on the radio about them getting money and getting famous.”
Different Paths to the Same Dream
Dawa Gyalje’s Journey
Dawa Gyalje began his mountaineering career in 2000, when he was 20 years old. Growing up in Rolwaling, he was naturally drawn to the mountains that surrounded his home.
He started with trekking and gradually moved into serious mountaineering, working in the Himalayas, the Karakorum range in Pakistan, the Andes in Argentina, and even volcano mountains in Tanzania.
His first major achievement came in 2004 when he summited Mount Everest. This was just the beginning of an incredible career that would see him complete 42 expeditions on 7,000 and 8,000-meter peaks, plus more than 60 climbs above 6,000 meters.
Dawa Gyalje became an IFMGA (International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations) Mountain Guide, reaching the highest level of professional mountaineering certification. His climbing record is extraordinary 15 ascents of Everest, two climbs of K2, and multiple ascents of other 8,000-meter peaks.
Dawa Yangzum’s Rebellion
While her brother was building his climbing career, Dawa Yangzum faced different expectations. In her community, mountain climbing was seen as men’s work.
Women were expected to stay home, have children, work in the fields, and take care of families. But Dawa Yangzum found this life dull compared to the exciting stories and equipment the male climbers brought back from their expeditions.
When she was nine years old, her teacher asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. While other students chose respectable careers like doctor or teacher, Dawa Yangzum said she wanted to climb Mount Everest. Everyone laughed, but she was serious.
At 13, Dawa Yangzum made a bold decision that would change her life forever. Without telling anyone, she joined a trekking group that needed porters to cross the difficult Tashi Lapsa pass. She carried 30 pounds of gear for six days through snow, eventually reaching the village of Thame. Despite getting frostbite and a nasty cough, she had escaped her village for good.
With her porter wages, she bought a plane ticket to Kathmandu for $20 and went to live with her uncle. “I wanted to do something, but I didn’t see anything in my village,” she explains. “That was the beginning of everything for me.”
Finding Their Way
For five years, Dawa Yangzum lived in Kathmandu with her brothers, caring for the younger ones while Dawa Gyalje worked as a guide on Everest and other peaks. In 2008, when she was 18, Dawa Gyalje gave her a chance that would change everything. He offered her the lead guide position on a 15-day trek with three French hikers in the Rolwaling Valley.
This was her first time guiding and her first time back to her home valley since running away. She earned $100 on that trip and was proud to return as a professional guide. But after a while, she felt limited. “After a little while, it was like, oh, I’m just a trekking guide,” she says. “You’re never satisfied.”
In 2010, Dawa Yangzum enrolled in a free ten-day course at the Khumbu Climbing Center, a vocational nonprofit where Western and Nepalese climbers teach technical climbing skills. She proved herself an excellent student, mastering everything from knot tying and ice-climbing techniques to crevasse rescue and pulley systems.
Her breakthrough came in 2012 when legendary mountaineer Conrad Anker invited her to join the North Face/National Geographic Everest expedition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the first American ascent. At 21, she became the only woman among a dozen Sherpas on the team.
On May 25, 2012, Dawa Yangzum reached the summit of Everest, becoming the first woman from her valley to achieve this feat. Standing on top of the world, looking down at the snaking valleys with tiny villages like the one where she grew up, she had proven that mountain climbing wasn’t just for men.
Breaking More Barriers
Dawa Yangzum’s success on Everest was just the beginning. She continued pushing boundaries in the mountaineering world as First Nepali woman to summit all 14 eight, to summit Makalu, the fifth highest peak, in May 2019, Part of the first all-female Nepali team to summit K2 in 2014.
First woman to reach the true summit of Manaslu in the autumn season (2021). Youngest woman to summit K2 and the first Nepali woman to climb Annapurna I without supplemental oxygen Holds the female speed climbing record on Makalu (20 hours). Became the first Asian woman to earn the IFMGA certification in 2017, enabling her to guide internationally
She led National Geographic scientific research teams to Mount Everest in 2019, 2022, and 2023
In 2017, she achieved another historic milestone by becoming the first woman from Nepal to receive IFMGA certification, the highest level of professional mountain guiding qualification.
The Historic Achievement
Both siblings continued climbing the world’s highest peaks, each working toward the ultimate mountaineering achievement climbing all 14 peaks above 8,000 meters.
Dawa Gyalje completed his list in October 2024 when he summited Shishapangma, his 14th eight-thousander. Dawa Yangzum had already completed her list earlier.
Together, they became the first brother and sister in history to achieve this feat. They are only the second set of siblings from Nepal to complete all 14 eight-thousanders, and the first set of IFMGA-certified siblings to do so.
Philosophy and Understanding
The siblings’ approach to mountaineering reflects their unique background and the strong tradition of Sherpa mountain culture. Growing up in the Rolwaling Valley, they understood mountains not as conquests to be achieved, but as part of their daily environment and spiritual landscape.
“Mountain women are tough,” Dawa Yangzum often says, referring to the strength and resilience required to survive in high-altitude environments.
This toughness, developed through childhood experiences of carrying water, working in fields, and walking long distances at altitude, became the foundation of their mountaineering success.
Their philosophy emphasizes respect for the mountains and the importance of proper training and safety. Both became IFMGA guides, demonstrating their commitment to professional standards and sharing their knowledge with others.
Giving Back
Today, both siblings are committed to giving back to their community and the mountaineering world. Dawa Yangzum runs an annual high-altitude climbing course specifically designed to empower Nepalese women. She mentors young girls interested in mountaineering, providing them with climbing gear and training.
“When I started climbing, I would say, ‘If I can climb Ama Dablam, that’s all I want,'” Dawa Yangzum reflects. “Then you climb Ama Dablam and you want to climb one more. Then you climb Everest and you want another. It never ends.”
She has received numerous awards, including the Kumar Khadga Bikram Sahasik Puruskar and Tenzing Hillary Award. As the second vice president of the Nepal Mountaineering Association, she continues to influence the future of mountaineering in Nepal.
World-famous companies like Rolex, The North Face, and Oakley have appointed her as a brand ambassador, recognizing her achievements and influence in the mountaineering world.
Legacy and Impact
The story of Dawa Yangzum and Dawa Gyalje Sherpa represents more than just personal achievement. Their success challenges traditional gender roles in Nepalese society and demonstrates the incredible potential of people from remote mountain communities.
Their journey from a village with no roads or electricity to the summits of the world’s highest peaks shows that with determination, proper training, and opportunity, people can achieve extraordinary things regardless of their background.
For the mountaineering community, they represent the evolution of Sherpa climbers from support staff to world-class mountaineers and guides in their own right. Their IFMGA certifications and record-breaking achievements place them among the world’s elite mountaineers.
Their story continues to inspire young people in Nepal and around the world, proving that dreams can become reality with hard work, determination, and the courage to break barriers.
Today, Dawa Yangzum splits her time between the United States and Nepal, always traveling, always climbing, always pushing boundaries. As she jokes, “When people are going to invite me to a wedding, they always have to ask where to send the invitation. I have no permanent place to stay.”
But perhaps that’s fitting for someone who has made the world’s highest peaks her home, and who continues to inspire others to reach for heights they never thought possible.
