Corinne Richardson’s new book follows improbable journey of Everest climber Pem Dorjee Sherpa

By Fischer Genau DIGITAL MEDIA LEAD

“Many sherpas have similar stories of hard work and sacrifice, but not many sherpa stories get told,” writes Pem Dorjee Sherpa in the opening pages of “Beyond Everest,” a book written by author Corinne Richardson with Pem about his personal journey with the highest place on the planet. 

Richardson, a Bozeman-based writer and former Montana State University professor, published “Beyond Everest” on Sept. 30. The book follows Pem’s life from growing up in extreme poverty in Chyangba Village in Nepal to his exploits as an Everest climber, and eventually his new life in the United States and his determination to give back to his community in Nepal. 

“This is about someone who came from extreme poverty and abuse, and against all odds, he had hope, determination and resilience,” Richardson told EBS from her partner’s boat in British Columbia. “I think a lot of people can take heart from the story that, wow, maybe there is a way to improve my life, or help improve the lives of others.” 

The stories of climbers summiting the tallest peak on earth are legend, with movies, documentaries, and books like “Into Thin Air” and “Touching the Void” memorializing the harrowing expeditions to the top of the world. But stories about the sherpas who make these expeditions possible are much more scarce. Richardson and Pem wanted to change that. 

“You hear about the horrific storms and the survival stories, but you don’t hear the day-to-day lives of sherpas and what it’s like for sherpas to climb Everest and the risks that they take that are greater than the average paying Western climber,” Richardson said. 

Pem climbed Everest for the first time when he was 22 and became the first person to get married on Everest with his wife, Moni Mulepati. Born in 1982 in Chyangba Village, Pem left home at age 12 to work in Namche Bazaar, sending the money he made—the equivalent of $8 a month—back to his family. 

Pem, who now runs a gift shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan called The Himalayan Bazaar and the tour and trekking company Imperial Expedition with Moni, is excited to share his story. 

“I hope it will do good, but I’m really proud myself and so happy that a true Sherpa story will be told,” Pem told EBS. 

Richardson and Pem met in 2016 at a fundraiser in Big Sky for Tsering’s Fund to raise money for Nepali girls to go to school. Their first interaction was brief, but a year later, Richardson was teaching English in China and her friend Mary Grace Wilkus invited her to come to Nepal, where Wilkus and Pem were putting together a young girls’ leadership program. 

That’s when Richardson began to hear more of Pem’s story. 

“During that trip, as I learned more, I just felt like, wow, this story really needs to be told,” Richardson said. 

Others had asked Pem about writing his story, but either they didn’t follow through or they wanted to tell an inauthentic version. Richardson wanted to do everything she could to tell his story in an authentic way, and she asked Pem if he was interested in working on a book together. 

“I was really happy when she approached me and said, ‘Hey, I want to write your story,’” Pem said. 

The two then embarked on a journey that would last seven years. Pem told Richardson that the first thing they had to do together was visit Everest Base Camp and see the nearby Khumbu Icefall, a treacherous maze of crevasses that has claimed at least 44 lives. They traveled together to the land of giants, and as they met with sherpas and guides Pem had worked with at various teahouses, Pem’s story continued to unfold. 

“The stories unraveled slowly, as Pem began to trust me more and more with this really difficult material,” Richardson said.  

In total, Richardson spent close to eight months in Nepal with Pem. He took Richardson to meet his and Moni’s families, where she learned more about his life, Sherpa culture, and the challenges Pem faced growing up. 

“The favorite part of the process for me was getting to know Pem better through his culture and community and family in Nepal,” Richardson said. “And also trying to figure out how to write this book in a way that felt like I wasn’t a white American appropriating a story.” 

Doing Pem’s story justice required a significant act of translation. Pem grew up speaking Sherpa, which is predominantly a spoken language, but his family members and friends also speak Nepali and Newari. Pem acted as a translator for Richardson, but occasionally he would encounter words that he didn’t know how to put into English and his daughter, who also speaks English, would jump in to help. Beyond language, there were cultural differences to work through. 

Richardson remembers asking Pem what it looked like standing on top of Everest and looking down, and he responded “Oh, there were white clouds.” She says that Sherpa people aren’t as descriptive or revealing as people typically are in the U.S. 

“They don’t tell their deep, personal stories, like we Americans do,” Richardson said. “We had to really navigate some of these really painful stories, particularly around alcohol and abuse in Pem’s family, and talk about these in a way that aligned with his philosophy and the fact that he needs to go back to his community.” 

Richardson was tasked with making the story authentic, readable and interesting, while also handling Pem and Moni’s relationship and family lives in a sensitive way. This involved frequent back and forth between Richardson, Pem and Moni, but in the end, they are all satisfied with the result.  

“It heartens both Pem and me, because what we tried to achieve was to create this story that was really authentic to both Pem and Moni and the way they lived their lives,” Richardson said. 

Pem hopes that an authentic Sherpa story will draw more attention to the challenges faced by the Sherpa community. 

“I think the lack of education is the biggest issue for the Sherpa community,” Pem said. “Nowadays there are younger generations kind of getting into that field, and hopefully they will be able to not only keep the legacy, but maybe share those stories with the world and help kind of bring the Sherpa story to life.” 

Pem has raised money for numerous projects in Chyangba and other small villages in Nepal, like installing a hydroelectric power station for potable water and rebuilding the Chyangba school after an earthquake. He hopes that some of the Western climbers who have found fame or fortune from Everest might invest in the Sherpa community, helping them get educated or earn proper salaries for their work. 

“This is the essence of Pem, in his ability to give and to want to give back. He’s dedicated his life to that,” Richardson said. “Pem often talks about Everest being a gift to him, and other sherpas do as well, because it has changed their lives. The book felt like it was a thank you to Everest.” 

Now that the book is published, Richardson hopes it will find an audience.  

“It’s so hard, unless you’re an established author, to get a book acclaimed, but I’m hoping that it will be seen,” Richardson said. “And it would make a fantastic movie.” 

“Beyond Everest” is available on Amazon.