KATHMANDU, JULY 30
Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, that chronicles Lhakpa Sherpa's life and mountaineering career, is releasing on Netflix on July 31.
Directed by award-winning director Lucy Walker, the documentary narrates how a Nepali mountaineer risks everything on a record-breaking Mount Everest climb to secure a brighter future for her daughters, Netflix describes.
Sherpa, a mother of three, broke her own world record by standing atop Mt Everest for the tenth time in May 2022. Born in Makalu VDC of Sankhuwasabha, Sherpa is the first and only woman to successfully scale Mt Everest 10 times in the world.
Sharing details with THT, the director Walker states that she has made a film that tries to do justice to the phenomenal Sherpa. "I am thrilled that her life of vision, courage, resilience, leadership, grace and extremely hard work is finally being recognised."
The film tracks Sherpa's storied mountaineering career against her record-breaking tenth summit to reveal a rich personal history - from her childhood as a girl denied an education in rural Nepal, to her experience as an immigrant in America and survivor of intimate partner violence, to her fight to live as a fearless example to her teenage daughters, adds Walker. Through it all, Sherpa climbs - her incredible strength and resilience inspired by her own mother goddess of the universe - Chomolungma, Mt Everest, the release mentions.
And July 31 will see the release in 190 countries around the world. It will also be the very first film that Netflix has subtitled in Nepali, as per the director.
Ahead of the film's OTT release, in one of her social media posts, Sherpa stated: "I'm very excited to share my life story with the whole world. I would love to teach all the younger generations about my mountaineering skills. All of my life I've always wanted to support women and prove that we are just as capable as any man."
According to Walker, "Lhakpa wanted to show that women were capable of doing more, and not just in her chosen path of mountain climbing, where she holds the record of most summits by a woman. But she also set out with startlingly clear vision as a young woman."
She has captured that in footage dating back to 2000, where Sherpa as a young woman dedicated her life to empowering and inspiring women and girls to get an education and to dream big, not just in mountaineering but in all pursuits. "Denied an education and never having financial means to climb as a paying client, it is probably just as impressive that she managed to summit Everest without being wealthy as it is to summit as a woman, because of course it is typically prohibitively expensive to climb mountains as a female. Lhakpa has done this all without being wealthy, without having sponsorship, and she has not just proved herself as the first Nepali woman to summit and descend
Everest, she has now summited Everest 10 times, by far the most of any woman worldwide, as well as the even more fearsome K2," Walker adds.
The film's trailer is being screened at Times Square in New York till July 31 for two weeks, while it has garnered 169,336 views on YouTube so far.
Mountain Queen had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023.
Mountaineering fraternity believes that Lhakpa's Netflix debut would help promote Nepal's adventure tourism in the world market. President at Nepal Mountaineering Association Nima Nuru Sherpa said that it was probably the first ever documentary of a Sherpa climber. "Lhakpa has made our country proud and so is her Netflix story," the NMA Chief added.
The government must honour Lhakpa for her incredible achievement and contributions to promote country's mountaineering sector in the world, he demanded.
Damber Parajuli, President of Expedition Operators Association Nepal, commented that Lhakpa's story always inspired all women to achieve their dreams. "It's a proud moment for all of us involved in the mountaineering sector," he reacted.
