About

At the age of 9, I was admitted to the Buddhist monastery as a monk. My brith name is Dawa Temba Sherpa, but after becoming a monk, I was given the name Thubten. I spent 8 years at this monastery learning the art of Tibetan painting along with other disciplines. During this time, I was honored to help paint murals on the exterior monestary walls.

Unfortunately, I had to leave the monastery to take care of my mother after my father passed away due to liver cirrhosis at age 62. In Sherpa culture, it is the youngest son’s responsibility to look after his parents.

My father was a renowned Sherpa guide, which is how I got into trekking. He helped guide the United State’s first Everest expedition in 1963, led by team leader, Jim Wittiger. During this expedition, my father rescued several Americans and sherpas that fell down Khumba icefall, one being Dr. Tom Hornbeim, a top journalist. My father’s bravery earned him the National Geography Hubbard Medal bestowed to him by President John F. Kennedy. Due to the inherent riskiness of the expedition, he chose to become a trekking guide, leading many REI treks in the Everest region. I was fortunate enough to go on some of the treks with him when I was a monk.

After leaving the monastery, I followed in my father’s footsteps becoming a top trekking guide to help support my family. After 2 years of trekking, I married a Sherpa lady from Lukla and have 2 kids. I’ve also lead many REI treks, just like my father. In 2005, I was flown to REI headquarters to receive a Top Guide Award.

Unfortunately, since the COVID-19 pandemic, REI has stopped treks to Nepal. So I have returned to making Tibetan paintings to generate income for my family during these hard times.