Dawa Sherpa

Dawa Sherpa — The Man Behind AltiPro Adventures

Few can boast having walked on top of the world, twice. Dawa Sherpa can. But not all of those summits are what make him stand out – those ten years of the backstory are just as important.

Dawa began at the bottom of the mountain industry as a porter, who ascended laden with loads for others to run up the mountain. So he advanced through all camps facets of expedition life - logistics, base camp operations, pictures and ultimately guiding. That was the road that led him to a level of understanding in the Himalayas most high-altitude guides don't possess—one that goes right down to the ground.

The Record is a New Climbing Record That Has Taken Years to Build, Not Luck

Building Dawa's summit list simply requires years of commitment and continuous progress. He's no mountain rush and that's reflected in his experience:

• Everest (8,849m) — Climbed twice in 4 years. As everyone who has tried to climb Everest , or anything in its vicinity, can attest, establishing a summit is remarkable enough. Volving this twice—with an awareness of the risks involved in a mountain—is quite another thing.
• Mount Manaslu (8,163m) — Expedition to the 8th peak among all the peaks in the world, one of Nepal's most challenging 8,000m expeditions . The unpredictable weather and tricky high end of the mountain is what makes Manaslu famous.
• Ama Dablam (6,812m) — One of the most beautiful and technically challenging peaks in the Himalayas. Ama Dablam requires accuracy and practice, it is not the mountain one learns how to climb on the ascent.
• Lobuche Peak & multiple 6,000m summits — The starting point for the serious Himalayan climber. All of them are on top of a technical foundation developed during these climbs.

Three Years Running Base Camp — The Job Nobody Talks About

Prior to his mountain excursions with clients, Dawa spent three years on high adventure expeditions to the Himalayas as a Base Camp Management In-Charge. For any expeditioners, the base camp is where all it takes is a key to make it happen – or not.

Oxygen supply chains, weather window coordination, team rotations, communication with higher camps, emergency protocols — Dawa took care of everything. Such a practical and hands-on experience can't be done in a classroom setting and it definitely reflects in AltiPro Adventures planning and running of all activities today.

Certified, Qualified, and Then Some

Dawa is a government licensed trekking guide by the authority of Nepal Mountain Academy (which certifies all tourist guides in Nepal). However, in addition to guiding countless number of clients on the most popular trek routes in Nepal, such as the Everest Base Camp trek, the Manaslu Circuit or through other high altitude trails in the Khumbu region, he personally has led in these routes which are one of his primary focus.

His philosophy on guiding is simple: "how to do it right", rather than any "short-cut on safety", and ensuring that each guest really understands what she is getting into before she steps onto the mountain. This is the respect that has cemented AltiPro's reputation in Nepal for years, which most Nepal based companies would take years to achieve.

High Altitude Photography — Seeing the Mountain Differently

On leaving school, Dawa began to train as a Professional Photographer and subsequently spent many years as a High Altitude Photographer on Himalayan expeditions. Altitude and spending time behind a camera will cause you to view a mountain in a different light — the light, the timing, the moments you want to capture. Such care in attention to detail extends throughout his guidance and AltiPro's documentation of each expedition to their clients.

Leading AltiPro Adventures

At AltiPro Adventures, the CEO and Co-Founder, Dawa is responsible for both the day-to-day and strategic aspects of the company. He is also deeply engaged in action planning and creating expedition programmes as well as choosing and validating guides, defining safety criteria and ensuring that this is grounded in actual mountain experience and not simply sales.

From the Everest expedition to the Manaslu pyramid to the technically demanding expeditions such as Lhotse expedition , Makalu expedition , Cho Oyu expedition and more, AltiPro leads expeditions all over the Himalayas and Karakoram. For climbers wanting to escape Nepal the team does also lead expeditions to K2 , Gasherbrum I , Gasherbrum II and Broad Peak in the Karakoram range.

All of AltiPro's expeditions feature Dawa's contribution, in planning, team selection and carrying out standards to the field. It is just not a marketing line, it is simply the way of a small and founder driven company when the founder has done the work.