All about Apa: What's the famed Everest climber been up to in Utah?

Commuting to work on TRAX, attending piano recitals and spending the weekend hiking along the Wasatch. These activities could be done by about anyone in the Salt Lake Valley.
    But Apa Sherpa isn't just another average Joe riding TRAX. Unbeknownst to many commuters, they have been sitting next to the man who has been to the top of Mount Everest more than any other human.
    Don't expect to see Apa Sherpa on the train again for a while, though. He's in Nepal hoping to push his world record number of trips to the top of the world to 18.
    While he is in his home village of Thame planning to break his record, Apa's family remains in Utah going about the daily life they have fallen into since they moved to Draper in 2006.
    Apa and Yangjin Sherpa brought their three children - Tenzing, Pemba and Dawa - from Nepal to Salt Lake City in December 2006 in order to give the trio the best possible education.
    It appears to be working. Pemba, 17, and Dawa, 13, are honor-roll students in the Jordan School District. Pemba also works at a grocery store to help his family, still living with business partner Jerry Mika in Draper. Tenzing, the oldest child at 22, completed two semesters of business courses at the University of Utah, but as is typical with many students, has opted to attend Salt Lake Community College because it is less expensive.
    "My wife and I are very happy with the kids. Of course, we miss family in Nepal, but the education is so important; we must make sacrifices for them," Apa said in early April before leaving for the Himalayas. "With an education comes confidence and I want them to have that. It is very important."
    Yangjin is working at the bakery at Snowbird, along with the, Fuli, the wife of Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa, who was part of the successful SuperSherpas Expedition with Apa last spring. Lhakpa, who works for Coca Cola, will not be climbing in Nepal this spring.
    Since moving to Utah, Apa has also learned the American dream is not always what it is painted to be. Apa opened the Karma Outdoors store in East Millcreek with Mika in advance of his arrival in the Western Hemisphere to provide income for the family.
    Karma Outdoors was a success if the number of people who visited the store just to see Apa could have been turned into cash. But competing against the big companies proved too costly and the venture failed after about 16 months. The business is still partially running on the Web at supersherpas.com.
    One of the many visitors to the store was a man who followed the adventures of Apa and Lhakpa Gelu Sherpa in The Salt Lake Tribune's base-camp Web blog as they led the SuperSherpas Expedition up Everest last May.
    Terrell Pool couldn't believe the world record holder for summits on Everest was living in the Salt Lake Valley and sitting behind a cash register less than 10 miles from his own office. Pool stopped in to meet Apa last June.
    "It was inspiring to meet him, to say the least," said Pool, who owns Diamond Mold, a Salt Lake company that specializes in precision machining services, injecting molding and product design and development. "His humility is the most amazing thing and that makes him all the more inspiring."
    Moved by his meeting with Apa, Pool invited the Sherpa to have a pizza lunch with his staff. Pool was again enthralled by Apa and found himself as the high bidder for a hike with Apa at a fundraiser.
    They climbed Mount Timpanogos in July 2007. Pool was expecting to set his own record for a race to the top, but was only mildly surprised when Apa ended up at the back of the group of 10 or so hikers.
    "He was at the back making sure everybody was OK," Pool said. "We were also slowed down because word somehow spread that he was on the mountain and everybody was stopping to talk to him."
    It was clear by July that the store was going to be closed and during that hike on Timpanogos, Pool offered Apa a job at Diamond Mold. Knowing that Tenzing was a business student and also in need of a job, Pool also offered Apa's son a part-time position as a book-keeper.
    For Apa the job provided an opportunity for stability with the promise that he could also take time off as needed to give lectures - he has done more than a dozen for local schools - to travel to Nepal as necessary and to attend special family events such as his daughter's piano recitals.
    So the man who has braved the dangers of the highest point on Earth and made it more than any other started catching TRAX to work and learned how to drive, which he says was scarier than his first summit of Everest.
    His official title at Diamond Mold is director of outdoor product development. Apa wasted little time developing products. He led the way as the company designed and produced the Apa Sherpa Signature model ice axe. Apa will use the tool on Everest this spring.
    "Having him here has been a blessing. It also makes for some pretty interesting lunchtime discussions," Pool said.
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    * BRETT PRETTYMAN can be contacted at brettp@sltrib.com or 801-257-8902. Send comments about this story to livingeditor@sltrib.com.
   
    All about Apa
   At 48, Apa Sherpa owns the world record for summits of Mount Everest, at 17. The man who now calls Utah home with his wife and three children has returned to his native Nepal in an effort to make an 18th trip to the highest point on Earth.
   
   Expedition Bio
    Apa Sherpa is making his bid for an 18th trip to the top of Mount Everest while climbing with the Eco-Everest Expedition through an invitation by team lead Dawa Steven Sherpa. Apa has witnessed firsthand the impacts of climate change in the Himilayan highlands and wants to help educate the people of the area about the dangers of warming. For more information about the Eco Everest Expedition visit http://ecoeverest.net.np/
   
    Follow Apa online
    Once the communications blackout is ended on Mount Everest, a move made by the Government of Nepal and the Ministry of Culture at the behest of the Chinese government until the Olympic torch has made it to the summit, The Salt Lake Tribune will provide a daily blog on Apa's time on the mountain through Eco Everest Expedition leader Dawa Steven Sherpa.
   
   Everest Summits
    1. May 10, 1990
    2. May 8, 1991
    3. May 12, 1992
    4. Oct. 7, 1992
    5. May 10, 1993
    6. Oct. 10, 1994
    7. May 15, 1995
    8. April 26, 1997
    9. May 20, 1998
    10. May 26, 1999
    11. May 24, 2000
    12. May 16, 2002
    13. May 26, 2003
    14. May 17, 2004
    15. May 31, 2005
    16. May 19 , 2006
    17. May 16, 2007
    18. ??????