BOULDER — Pemba Sherpa has been called a one-man economic stimulus package for his hometown, a Nepalese village in the Khumbu region of the Himalayas.
The 37-year-old owner of Sherpa’s Adventurers Restaurant & Bar in Boulder is a world-class mountaineer. Besides cooking, climbing and guiding, he is also a man on a mission.
“The village I grew up in, Sewangma, has about 10 houses — no electricity, no running water,” Sherpa said.
Since 1986, Sherpa has led more than 20 trips to Nepal for the Colorado Mountain Club, Himalayan Explorers Club and, this April 14-27, he will lead a cultural and spiritual tour of monasteries and villages, with Mount Everest as a backdrop, for Colorado’s Shambhala Mountain Center.
With each trip, Sherpa also schleps solar panels and other materials home to make his rustic village a little less rustic.
Brian Spielmann of Shambhala jokes that Sherpa hires about three sherpas to carry gear and supplies for every person on their Sacred Journey tours.
“He’s very generous,” Spielmann said.
Sherpa raised $20,000 to build a permanent suspension bridge in 1998 over a river that had previously, every monsoon season, destroyed the rickety structures spanning the water. The new year- round bridge saves villagers, including children en route to school, more than three hours of travel time.
“A simple thing like that makes a big difference,” Sherpa said.
Sherpa also has supported construction of schools and medical clinics.
Sherpa was 16 years old when he started guiding Western tourists in Nepal.
“After guiding several years, I developed a curiosity about the West,” Sherpa said.
He first landed in the United States, in San Francisco, in 1990, and soon after found Boulder, his second home.
“I love the mountains and the people here,” Sherpa said.
Seven years ago he started his Himalayan cuisine restaurant.
“It’s more work than I thought. Even if I work 15 or 16 hours a day, it’s worth it to be in Boulder,” Sherpa said.
And he still spends three to four months a year guiding trips around the world.
“I love taking people places. Trekking is something I’ll do even when I’m 80 years old,” Sherpa said. “Nepal is a different world. People come back with a totally different perspective. People here have everything. People there have so little.”
Electa Draper: 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com
